Tim Minshall, "How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing" (Ecco, 2025)

May 25, 2025

Tim Minshall, a Professor at Cambridge University, specializes in manufacturing and has authored the book exploring its hidden processes. He shares fascinating insights about how everyday products reach us and reflects on the pandemic's impact on manufacturing perceptions. The conversation covers the role of technology, such as AI and robotics, in transforming the industry and the balancing act between tradition and innovation. Minshall also discusses the urgent need for sustainability and planning in the face of global challenges and labor shortages.

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ANECDOTE

Toilet Paper's Complex Journey

Even something as simple as a sheet of toilet paper has a complex manufacturing journey involving global shipping and intricate processing.
This example reveals how deeply manufacturing touches everyday life in ways we rarely consider.

INSIGHT

Fragile & Polluting Supply Chains

Global manufacturing systems lack resilience, as a single disruption can halt a significant share of global trade.
The heavy shipping fuel consumption also raises important sustainability concerns.

INSIGHT

Uncertainty Hinders Supply Chain Shifts

Trade tariffs introduce uncertainty that hinders strategic supply chain investments and planning.
Companies value certainty to adapt supply chains effectively rather than facing ambiguous policy scenarios.

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This book from Cambridge University Professor Tim Minshall provides an enlightening view of how the world of manufacturing world has an immense influence on our lives. We all reside in a world of multiple manufactured products, which include our clothing, food, furniture, electronics, automobiles, and so many other products upon which we rely, including commercial aviation, pharmeceuticals, baked good, and medical devices.

Nonetheless, the processes by which these items are made and enter our lives are nearly unknown to us. How often do we think about from where these items come, how they are made, and how they come into our lives?

Professor Minshall delivers answers in How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing (Ecco, 2025). The book traces the amazing paths that everyday products take to enter our lives, showing how products are designed, delivered, and assembled in small shops and giant factories throughout the work. The book depicts the role that global shipping hubs plays as well as the role that home delivery is playing in providing us with the products we want and upon which we depend. The book also delves into the important question of how we can improve the resiliency of the global manufacturing system. What makes the book special is that Professor Minshall pays substantial attention to the impacts of global manufacturing on nature and on how we can move to a more sustainable future.

Brimming with vitality and sparkling examples, this book depicts the grand system of global of manufacturing that allows us to have all the products we need for virtually every aspect of our existence. By making sense of this astonishing and largely concealed world, Professor Minshall is enabling us to make better choices for ourselves, our communities, and the planet.

Alfred Marcus is Edson Spencer Professor Chair of Strategy and Technology Leadership at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.

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