More than 50 percent of manufacturers plan to enter a new market in the next five years and almost all plan to expand existing sites or open new facilities in countries with existing operations.

Today market conditions and opportunities, the search for talent, and business disruption risks drive primary location decisions. But by 2020 the drivers are expected to shift to access to technological advances and investment in the talent pipeline. As a result, manufacturers should optimize their footprints to put assets in the right places at the right times to drive performance.

So where's next? Brazil, China and India remain at the top of the list for companies looking to enter new markets, but the middle class boom and associated spending power also pushes South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam higher up the priority list.

For those planning to expand in countries where they already have a presence, the majority of future investments will occur in the U.S. and China, where technology and talent investments continue to attract deeper investments.