Global Lighthouse Network 2025

Images: Getty Images The Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) is the leading industry community celebrating the world’s top-performing production and operations sites. Network members showcase proven performance improvements and achieve operational excellence across technology, talent and sustainability domains. The Global Lighthouse Network is a World Economic Forum initiative. The initiative was co-founded with McKinsey & Company and is counselled by an advisory board of industry leaders who are working together to shape the future of global manufacturing. The Advisory Board includes Foxconn Industrial Internet, Johnson & Johnson, Koç Holding, McKinsey & Company, Schneider Electric and Siemens. Sites and value chains that join the network are designated by an independent panel of experts. Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2025 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.Contents Executive summary 3 1 Lessons from the latest lighthouses 5 1.1. The GLN today: a network of inspirational peers 6 1.2. Introducing the new Lighthouses of 2024: raising the bar 8 for operational excellence 1.3 Trends in technology: AI hype and Lighthouse adoption 11 2 The mindset for making digital transformation stick 12 2.1 Preventing process debt 13 2.2 Investing in your capabilities 17 2.3 Assetizing for scale 20 2.4 Localizing adoption with the frontline 21 3 Beyond productivity: applying AI across value chains for agility 24 and sustainability 3.1 Intelligent product introduction tools to accelerate product 26 development cycles 3.2 Driving supply chain agility through intelligent resilience hubs 27 3.3 Moving from linear to circular for value chain sustainability 30 Conclusion 34 Appendix 35 Contributors 48 Endnotes 49 Global Lighthouse Network: The Mindset Shifts Driving Impact and Scale in Digital Transformation 2