Manufacturing Business Technology articles from April 2006

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from April 2006

Microsoft studies work roles to boost business productivity.(Up front)
April 1, 2006... Jeff Raikes joined Microsoft when it was a $12-million company with about 100 employees. He went on to become a force behind Microsoft Office, which has approximately 450 million users. Today Raikes is president of the Microsoft Business...

Aggregation and dissemination of plant data is common note across disparate themes.(ARC CONFERENCE)
April 1, 2006... Two areas of discussion received heightened attention at this year's annual ARC Forum in Orlando: 1) wireless as a means to low-cost plant-floor networking; and 2) manufacturing intelligence--i.e., software solutions that aggregate plant-data...

Plant design market to grow 11 percent in 2005.(CORPORATE)
April 1, 2006... Plant design software and services will enjoy 11-percent growth to $800 million in 2006 says Cambridge, Mass.-based Daratech. While energy demand is a prime driver of the increased investment, process manufacturers also play a part These...

Invensys director continues with wireless standards work.(OPERATIONS)
April 1, 2006... Harris (Hesh) Kagan, technology marketing director at Invensys Process Systems, has been elected to a second term on the board of directors of the Wireless Industrial Networking Association (WINA). Kagan directs wireless strategy at Invensys,...

Windows quietly assumes top spot among server OS.(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2006... Framingham, Mass.-based IDC recently reported this surprising bit of news: Microsoft Windows edged out UNIX to become the top-selling server operating system (OS) in 2005. Why is that surprising? Because most casual observers probably...

Execs say they'll tackle market dynamics with demand-driven models, innovation strategies.(BUSINESS 2010)
April 1, 2006... Accelerating the pace of innovation and adapting to change will be keystones to competitiveness through 2010, according to a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit, London. The report, Business 2010: Manufacturing--Embracing the...

Centric Software.
April 1, 2006... Centric Software recently purchased Product Sight's data search technology, which will be integrated with Centric's product life-cycle management solutions to facilitate searching, classifying, and connecting to multiple design programs, as...

SYSPRO.
April 1, 2006... SYSPRO announces CyberStore, an e-commerce application that enables 24/7 order placement integrated with SYSPRO enterprise system modules, and multiple payment gateways. CyberStore contains all the features of the Web shopping cart experience,...

Made2Manage Systems.
April 1, 2006... ERP vendor Made2Manage Systems bought AXIS Computer Systems, gaining ERP software and services for the metals, wire, and cable industries. AXIS will now operate as a business unit of Made2Manage.

CIOs focused on master data management see information quality, governance as key issues.(BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE)
April 1, 2006... According to 2005 software investment surveys of CIOs released by New York-based Merrill Lynch, better business intelligence (BI) consistently ranks among the top three business user priorities. Knightsbridge Solutions, a Chicago-based BI and...

Eight companies beat logistics heat.(BEST PRACTICES)
April 1, 2006... International logistics, an essential activity for companies that outsource and partner globally, requires reconceived business models to make processes more transparent, reliable, and flexible. In January, Boston-based AberdeenGroup issued...

Microsoft revamps partner program with focus on 13 competencies.(CHANNEL STRATEGIES)
April 1, 2006... Without a direct sales force, perhaps it's not surprising that Microsoft excels at channel partnerships. "It's pretty important to Microsoft," says Sherle Webb-Robins, general manager of Microsoft partner program strategy and architecture. "We...

The premises and pitfalls of market studies.(In perspective)
April 1, 2006... As a pundit or journalist, market studies and averages are key bullets in one's holster. Unfortunately, it is easy to be misled by averages and such studies as they often oversimplify and misrepresent very complex issues. A recent study on...

Best performers know the value of IT.(In perspective)
April 1, 2006... U.S. manufacturing productivity grew an average 4.4 percent per year from 1995-2005. In fact, productivity gain registered 7.5 percent in 2002, 5.2 percent in 2003, and 5.3 percent in 2004. This is a remarkable achievement, as it indicates...

High-volume production, razor-thin margins: global rollout of intelligence solution shaves cost per can for packaging vendor.(Cover story)(Company overview)
April 1, 2006... With 23,000 employees, $5.6 billion in revenues, and no fewer than 90 plants in 22 countries, Rexam is one of the largest manufacturers you've never heard of. The reason for the London-based company's relative anonymity isn't difficult to...

It starts with the customer: but after that, for the auto industry supply chain, things get really hairy.(Industry profile: Automotive)
April 1, 2006... How do consumers want to buy automobiles? Do they want to order the car of their dreams and then wait for it to be built? Or would they rather go to a dealership, find a reasonable, affordable fit, and drive it home that day? In many parts...

Less clutter, more customer: Milicron and Rockford Corp. find integration key to customer service goals.(Applications & Services)(Company overview)
April 1, 2006... In theory, business is about getting and keeping customers--knowing what products they want, when and how they want them delivered, and what will keep them coming back for more. In practice, manufacturers are focused on other things--optimizing...

Line fades between open source and proprietary systems.(OPEN SOURCE)
April 1, 2006... Proprietary software vendors are taking a more active role in the open-source movement. In February, Oracle bought Sleepycat, maker of Berkeley DB, a popular open-source embedded database; and SugarCRM released its open-source Sugar Suite 4.5...

Oracle claims leadership with customer-friendly pricing.(SOFTWARE PRICING)
April 1, 2006... Buying enterprise software can be a lot like buying a car. With both, the price you ultimately pay often depends on your negotiating skills, and most customers end up wondering if they paid too much. But Oracle claims its new pricing...

Activplant simplifies plant-floor tracking, reporting with Excel interface.(MANUFACTURING INTELLIGENCE)
April 1, 2006... Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software is the most common planning tool used in manufacturing, and "spreadsheet hell" refers to the confusion that follows when each tracks his own version of the truth in his own personal planning tool. ...

Common processes, platforms fix common automotive problems.
April 1, 2006... Laurie Harbour-Felax, an automotive industry consultant, says downsizing and layoffs aren't the best way to fix what's wrong with the U.S. domestic auto industry. Speaking at the Activplant user conference held recently in Orlando,...

Honeywell integrates plant security and process control.(PLANT OPERATIONS)
April 1, 2006... Honeywell has created a prototype solution that promises to reduce safety mishaps and security breaches, including cyber attacks, at chemical plants. The system, now running at a Honeywell Specialty Materials plant in Geismar, La., was funded...

Lean talk doesn't equal lean walk.(In perspective)
April 1, 2006... Although senior executives are receptive to lean, the 2006 Lean Benchmark Study by AberdeenGroup uncovered a large performance gap between those companies using certain lean tools versus those having successfully "leaned out" manufacturing and...

Tools invoke return on IT spend: from spreadsheets to advanced portfolio tools, users seek means to track value from IT investments.(Business Performance)(Company overview)
April 1, 2006... The evaluation of proposed IT projects at EFW is rigorous--says Harry Butler, support center manager for the Fort Worth, Texas-based supplier of high-tech products to the military--but so is the assessment of every significant would-be...

Citrix Online boasts "go-to" solutions for remote PC users.(REMOTE ACCESS)
April 1, 2006... Citrix Systems has long been known for giving users a single interface for accessing information and applications that are spread across various locations on corporate networks. Now, a separate division of Citrix is offering a family of...

Consortium seeks open technology for configuration and access to field devices.(ASSET MANAGEMENT)
April 1, 2006... Nowhere in the manufacturing enterprise has interoperability been harder to achieve than at the control level, Multiple communication protocols and systems complicate asset condition reporting. Now, Brussels-based FDT Group is making progress...

What actions constitute good asset management?(Ask Aberdeen Group)
April 1, 2006... External market forces are pressuring companies to rapidly deploy manufacturing resources to meet unpredictable demand. Good asset management lets companies optimize resource performance, avoiding shutdowns and excessive maintenance. A new...

Mapping a plan (and sticking to it) eases IBM's PC business transfer to Lenovo.(PROJECT MANAGEMENT)
April 1, 2006... When IBM announced the sale of its PC business to Beijing-based Lenovo, Tim Carroll found himself facing a huge job. As IBM's VP of supply chain operations, Carroll was responsible for ensuring that the information systems supporting IBM's...

IPC.
April 1, 2006... As the deadline for compliance with the EU's RoHS directive draws near, global trade association IPC has published IPC-1752. Materials Declaration Management standard, which outlines a supply chain materials declaration format and process for...

Springfield Remanufacturing, Behlen, and SC Johnson deliver outstanding "return on individuals".(HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT)
April 1, 2006... If you'd invested $10,000 in Springfield Remanufacturing (SRC) when it was founded in 1983, you'd be sitting on $12 million today. For CEO Jack Stack and a dozen other managers who took on a great deal of debt to buy a floundering...

RFID apps move in-house: manufacturers find use of RFID technology meets compliance labeling mandates.(Integration & Infrastructure)
April 1, 2006... So far, the adoption of REID has been driven primarily by not-so-gentle requests from large customers. That could change as manufacturers discover ways in which this technology can improve internal business processes. "The need for...

Sun and Oracle offer new server/database deal.(COMPUTING INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2006... It almost seems like ancient history now, but there was a time when Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and his counterpart at Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, seemed united in battle against Microsoft. In public appearances, both men routinely made...

Electronic filing cabinets have customer-based benefit.(DOCUMENT STORAGE)
April 1, 2006... Though we are well into the digital age, the need to manage existing paper is driving interest in electronic filing cabinets. These systems digitize and store documents ranging from invoices to printed email. Ontario-based paint producer...

i2 beefs up SRM with Endeca's search functionality.(SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT)
April 1, 2006... A reseller agreement between supply chain management vendor i2 Technologies and search specialist Endeca will allow i2 to offer specialized datasearch capabilities typically missing from general-purpose search engines such as Google. ...

BearingPoint deal brings the big guns to enterprise search.(GOOGLE PLUS)
April 1, 2006... The announcement that McLean, Va.-based consulting powerhouse BearingPoint is opening a search-solutions practice that will build on Google's Search Appliance (GSA) is a sign that Google is serious about competing in the enterprise-search...

Wireless plant networks seen as significant development at process industry confab.(ARC CONFERENCE)
April 1, 2006... The significance of wireless technologies as a means to low-cost plant networking was quantified by John Berra, president, Emerson Process Management, in his conference keynote address at the annual ARC Forum. "Wireless, as a...

Symbol Technologies' MC9000-G RFID mobile computer now integrates Ekahau's location-tracking software.
April 1, 2006... Symbol Technologies' MC9000-G RFID mobile computer now integrates Ekahau's location-tracking software, which, in conjunction with a computer running Ekahau's Positioning Engine 3.1 (EPE) application, uses existing Wi-Fi networks to show...

How to survive the "interesting" times.(Back talk)
April 1, 2006... Anyone running a business these days must occasionally wonder if they have been victimized by what is purported to be an ancient Chinese curse. This particular hex--May you live in interesting times--is a way of telling someone you hope the...