The Global Factory Revisited

Abstract The global factory concept is key to understanding global production systems and their evolution in response to environmental change over the past 70 years. Adaptation is apparent with shifts in location, control, and ownership. Stages of value adding have become more fragmented and increasingly externalised, providing the global factory with dominance in network orchestration. Future developments are likely to require further adaptation as the global factory and its lead firm respond to emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain, the demise of the global rules-based system, and the increasing use of geoeconomic measures. We consider past adaptations, the continuing dominance of global factories in higher value tasks, and what future adaptation might require.