Manufacturers’ goals and barriers
Manufacturers’ business development goals
When you’re looking to develop your business, there are lots of goals you might have in mind. For most manufacturers, the number one goal is to reduce costs or the time they spend on tasks.
| Development goals | Development goals value |
| Reduce costs or time spent on tasks | 44% |
| Improve existing products/services | 32% |
| Develop new products/services | 30% |
| Upskill my employees in our core business activity | 23% |
| Improve my marketing, promotion or sales | 22% |
| Upskill myself in my core business activity | 16% |
| Become more digital | 15% |
| Improve my general management capability | 14% |
| Foster business succession | 14% |
| Get better at business planning and governance | 12% |
| Employ more staff | 10% |
| Begin exporting, or increase exporting | 10% |
| Improve my business’s impact on the environment | 8% |
| Improve my business’s cultural capability | 6% |
| Contribute to wider social outcomes | 3% |
Barriers to achieving business goals
You may have goals in mind, but you may also see some hurdles ahead. You're not alone. The biggest barrier is a lack of time, followed by being unsure about your future income or revenue.
| Barrier | Barrier value |
| A lack of time/too busy running the business | 61% |
| A lack of stability/lack of certainty about future income or revenue | 52% |
| Lack of funds/capital | 50% |
| Costs – too expensive | 43% |
| Access to finance | 35% |
| Staff shortages/lack of certainty about the labour market | 31% |
| There is too much risk involved | 23% |
| There’s so much information it’s overwhelming | 21% |
| It’s hard to find the right information/advice | 21% |
| Lack of infrastructure/tools | 19% |
| I don’t know where to start/how to progress | 16% |
Manufacturing industry overview
The manufacturing industry makes up 10% of New Zealand’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It’s a rapidly changing industry at the forefront of innovation and cutting-edge technology.
Proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by sector
Manufacturing is Aotearoa’s third largest contributor to GDP behind Services and Government.
| Sector | % of GDP |
| Services | 67% |
| Government | 17% |
| Manufacturing | 10% |
| Primary | 6% |
Proportion of manufacturing sector by industry
Food and beverage is the biggest manufacturing sector, with machinery and equipment taking the second biggest spot.
| Sector | % of manufacturing |
| Chemical and refining | 6% |
| Plastics and rubber | 2% |
| Food and beverage | 33% |
| Metals | 10% |
| Wood and paper | 12% |
| Other manufacturing | 14% |
| Machinery and equipment | 24% |
Contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by manufacturing sector
Food and beverage is New Zealand’s largest manufacturing sector by GDP contribution, followed by machinery and equipment.
| Sector | Real GDP 2023 ($ Million) |
| Food and beverage | 7,456 |
| Machinery and equipment | 5,401 |
| Other manufacturing | 3,181 |
| Metals | 2,715 |
| Wood and paper | 2,194 |
| Chemical and refining | 1,314 |
| Plastics and rubber | 512 |