It was indeed a pleasant coincidence: Just the day before I visited Flex’s plant in Zhuhai on an invitation, I had read the new OECD report on The Future of Productivity:

The financial crisis, rising labor costs and fierce competition have been hurting the profit margin of foundry businesses. Widespread 3D printing technology has also brought changes to the manufacturing industry. How do those giant manufacturers meet the challenges?

Robots have become so omnipresent as to fade into the background as we go about our daily business. From software to hardware they come in myriad flavors. They are our self-guided vacuums, our GPS, an...