Manufacturing Business Technology articles from December 2006

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from December 2006

Speaking the language of midsize manufacturers.
December 1, 2006... By Sidney Hill, Jr., Executive Editor Industry consolidation has all but stopped enterprise software vendors from trumpeting the virtues of large, monolithic application suites built on one technology platform and linked to a single...

A market remade by mergers & acquisitions has new models for serving manufacturing enterprises.
December 1, 2006... By Jim Shepherd, Senior VP, AMR Research Throughout 2006, ERP vendors consolidated. The major vendors refocused business strategies on product offerings and capabilities that better suit the changing needs of global-oriented customers....

A growing yet complex market is set to benefit from emerging standards.
December 1, 2006... By Alison J. Smith, Senior Analyst, AMR Research After a decade of lackluster--if not downright depressing--performance, the market for manufacturing operations application software is showing signs of a healthy recovery. In fact,...

Risk and reward are found in logistics, transportation, and global trade.
December 1, 2006... By Mark Hillman, Research Director, AMR Research In today's environment, businesses are global, complex, and interdependent. Supply chain organizations at these companies vary widely in maturity, and in the technology investments they...

All the right stuff.
December 1, 2006... By Erik Keller, Contributing Editor Every vendor has a value proposition; choosing what's right for a business is the challenge Somewhere in the world right now, an enterprise software salesperson is pitching a prospect for one of the...

How to procure manufacturing software.
December 1, 2006... By David Caruso, Senior Contributing Editor It's time to rethink selection processes for the backbone of the business Without question, today's manufacturers wrestle with issues of connectedness, speed, and quality of performance of...

Seeking plant-savvy services.(Company overview)
December 1, 2006... By Roberto Michel, Senior Contributing Editor As IT opportunities in manufacturing operations grow, services provider skill sets must continue apace Growing user interest in an application category not only represents an opportunity...

Emerging trends in plant operations management.
December 1, 2006... By Kevin Parker, Editorial Director Congratulated at Rockwell Automation Fair on a just-inked agreement to put OSIsoft's PI System into Rockwell's FactoryTalk suite, OSIsoft founder and CEO Pat Kennedy's immediate, characteristically...

Top U.S. companies find benefit in reducing working capital.
December 1, 2006... By Staff The largest 1,000 companies in the U.S. saved $72 billion in working capital in 2005 by enhancing the way they collect bills from customers, pay suppliers, and manage inventory, according to survey results from Atlanta-based...

Oracle undersells Red Hat for Linux support.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Capping rumors that it would enter the Linux business, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison used his Oct. 2006 OpenWorld keynote to announce support of Red Hat Linux at a cheaper price. The program, called Unbreakable Linux , offers...

NAM sees opportunity in election upheaval.
December 1, 2006... By Staff "The Nov. 7 election should be seen not as a radical shift to the political left, but rather an expression of widespread frustration," says Jay Timmons, a senior VP with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). "I...

QAD picks up FBO Systems for EAM extensions.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Enterprise systems vendor QAD has acquired enterprise asset management (EAM) vendor FBO Systems (FBOS) in a $4-million, all-cash deal expected to be paid over a three-year period. Says Pamela M. Lopker, QAD chairman and...

Business study says IT career paths stall in small enterprises.
December 1, 2006... By Staff IT managers who want to make a big impact on a business should focus on companies with 200+ employees, says a study from Ontario-based Info-Tech Research . That's because decision-making for IT department purchases in smaller...

Search engine locates U.S.-based suppliers; presents supplier rating for more meaningful results.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Craig Landy knows how difficult it is for manufacturers to find the right suppliers. With that in mind, Landy founded eMvoy , which offers a search engine for U.S. suppliers of plastics and sheet metal, industrial...

Vendor alliance results in Lean solution for electronics industry.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Siemens Automation and Drives Group is working with a small software vendor on a solution that promises to make it easier for electronics manufacturers to align production schedules with actual customer demand. In an...

Model-based approach to emissions monitoring boasts regulatory advantages.
December 1, 2006... By Staff In the harsh environment of a smokestack or other effluent outlet, points out Don Hart, a marketing director with Pavilion Technologies , sensors can fail or misread. On the other hand, models predict by-product emissions based...

Economic forum report shows a decline in U.S. competitiveness.
December 1, 2006... By Staff The United States fell from first to sixth place in competitiveness, according to an annual report from the World Economic Forum, released in September 2006. The forum, an independent international organization that engages...

Order-management solution supports multifarious customer interactions.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Sterling Commerce 's applications portfolio now builds on a strong base of multichannel order management (MCOM) capabilities that address supply chain execution where it is most challenging: at the point where companies must...

Automotive-focused solution broadens support for JIT sequencing.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Apriso says its new production management solution for automotive manufacturers will facilitate making multiple products on a single line--an essential capability for just-in-time (JIT) business models. Apriso unveiled the...

Flexibility and mobility increase CRM adoption rate.
December 1, 2006... By Staff One frustrating aspect of an IT system deployment is getting workers to actually use the technology once it's live. So what is the secret to a higher adoption rate? When it comes to customer relationship management (CRM), the...

Companies needn't gamble with global commerce, foreign exchange risk.
December 1, 2006... By Staff A constantly fluctuating foreign exchange rate is one of the biggest challenges companies face when expanding into international markets. They must manage numerous currencies and changing interest rates, and try to hedge...

Group's generic model to blend ISA 95, OAGIS standards.
December 1, 2006... By Staff An industry coalition looking to blend two standards for the integration of plant-level data with enterprise systems will have a generic model that supports this convergence ready by May 2007. The Manufacturing Interoperability...