Manufacturing Business Technology articles from April 2008

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from April 2008

Innovation as a collective undertaking applied to newly pervasive technologies.
April 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director Why is innovation the current king of management concepts? How has it become in manufacturing circles something akin to one of the 'four big truths' or 'five shining lights' that used to emerge with the...

Consult those in the know when stretching Lean's boundaries.
April 1, 2008... By Cindy Jutras Lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System (TPS) were born of the discrete industries, with mature levels of industrywide adoption being seen in the automotive, A&D, and industrial equipment industries. As these...

Strategy versus compensation in the search for manufacturing excellence.
April 1, 2008... By Alison Smith Manufacturers sorting out their five-year strategic manufacturing architectures have come to realize that strategic vision-while vital to the future-isn't going anywhere until the fires in the plants are put out. Just...

Boeing's tanker contract protest raises questions about globalization.
April 1, 2008... By Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor When Boeing filed its formal protest of the U.S. Air Force's decision to award a $40 billion contract to build refueling tankers to a competing bidder, the Chicago-based aircraft maker also raised a...

Tech traffic cop: SOA tries the enterprise system on for size.
April 1, 2008... By Tony Baer, senior contributing editor Having just completed an acquisition that doubled the company's size, Cohoes, N.Y.-based Mohawk Fine Papers needed to rationalize a diverse collection of enterprise applications, a manufacturing...

Closed-loop RFID drives new market growth.
April 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) Although 2007 was the year that RFID market prognosticators sobered from the deluge of hype about imminent explosive growth-especially for open-loop supply chain...

Automating vendor managed inventory in the ultracompetitive papermaking industry.
April 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor Korsnas AB makes the specialty board and papers used in packaging liquid and food products. Papermaking at the moment is an intensely competitive industry. In fact, Korsnas says...

Exploring new frontiers for 3D models.
April 1, 2008... By Kenneth Wong, contributing editor Businesses repackage CAD data for downstream consumption The online product configurator found on Newark, Ohio-based Holophane 's Web site-www.holophane.com -could turn you into a lighting-fixtures...

Why SaaS-based ERP means putting your head in the clouds.
April 1, 2008... By Gregg LeBlanc, principal, F5Direct Enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems are important because they integrate, automate, and create processes that capture-and fundamentally change-how business works. ERP systems therefore...

Switch to SOA spurs trends in IT/automation convergence.
April 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor Automation is an engineering discipline. Automation products exist in the physical world, and the results they deliver are fairly easy to measure. Software is an information technology (IT)...

Trade-offs abound in journey to globally integrated enterprise.
April 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor Evidence suggests a fundamental change is taking place inside companies with global operations. Strategies to outsource, collaborate, and execute seamlessly across the length and breadth of the...

SaaS approach to ops performance management finds dashboards' sweet spots.
April 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director (kparker@reedbusiness.com) The idea of using 'dashboards' to support management decision-making would seem to be just what the doctor ordered. Track the right operational and financial parameters and,...

Honda at heart: Plexus multi-industry enterprise system built on automotive supplier foundation.
April 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor (malcolm_wheatley@compuserve.com) In use at more than 1,200 plants worldwide-and boasting a 100-percent customer retention rate-the Plexus Online on-demand enterprise system from Plexus...

Use technology to cultivate a skilled workforce.
April 1, 2008... By David P. Spencer, VP, discrete manufacturing, Infosys Technologies We've all read articles on the growing workforce epidemic spreading across the global marketplace. As the Baby Boomer generation-more than 78 million strong in the U.S....

Pharma makers secure full chain of custody using Acsis track & trace.
April 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor (jimfulcher@comcast.net) It's one thing to track drugs moving through production; following them throughout the supply chain is the bigger headache-and one for which there is no magic pill. 'As an...

Rockwell and Cisco back network integration via standard Ethernet technology.
April 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor (jimfulcher@comcast.net) Optimizing network integration across the factory floor and throughout the enterprise using standard Ethernet technology brings IT standards onto the plant floor, and is an...

Autodesk to 'democratize' industrial design as it has 3D product engineering.
April 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director Autodesk , with annual revenues that will soon top $2 billion, is the largest computer-aided design (CAD) vendor in the world. The company believes some day manufacturers will create 'virtual' product...

SOA virtuoso IDS Scheer unveils process governance road map.
April 1, 2008... By Tony Baer, senior contributing editor (tbaer@tbaer.com) By year's end, IDS Scheer will roll out a new engine that will provide what the business process management (BPM) specialist calls 'the missing governance link' in the business...

CMS Advisory: ECM systems are not SOA-compatible.
April 1, 2008... By Staff CMS Watch , an Olney, Md.-based analyst firm that evaluates content technologies, finds enterprise content management (ECM) products ill-equipped to meet the security requirements of service-oriented architecture (SOA). ...

Siemens bets ERP/PLM integration will continue apace.
April 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, sernior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) In January, Siemens AG focused its systems-integrator resources by rolling five operating units into its new Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS) division. The...

ISA advisory: May IT forum connects IT and automation.
April 1, 2008... By Staff A growing shortage of skilled engineers underlies the need for better use of IT in plants, says Eric Cosman, an engineering consultant with Dow Chemical Co. But 'line-of-business managers and IT need to work together,' Cosman...

Still a dream: mature S&OP processes yet to solidify for European manufacturers.
April 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor (malcolm_wheatley@compuserve.com) While 92 percent of manufacturers have a formal sales and operations planning (S&OP) process in place, 62 percent of those haven't gained any quantifiable...

Avnet, others address need for greater transparency in outsourced manufacturing operations.
April 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) Outsourced manufacturing paired with extended value chains in fast-moving markets is a recipe for complex management challenges. Add lean to the value chain mix and...

ERP gone bad: a case study.
April 1, 2008... By Thomas J. Hall, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz The following is based on a true story. A manufacturer of specialized metal parts-let's call the company 'Customer'-not long ago realized it needed an enterprise...

In a down economy, opt for demand-pull strategies that lead to inventory reductions.
April 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) Inventories-especially for finished goods-are a major concern for everyone in an extended supply chain, especially whenever there's threat of an economic downturn....