Manufacturing Business Technology articles from December 2007

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from December 2007

Asset performance management is the backbone to culture of reliability.
December 1, 2007... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor Asset optimization holds new cachet as globalization forces enterprises to deal simultaneously with often conflicting objectives. 'All worlds come together at the asset,' says Alison Smith,...

High-availability server ensures centralized IT network access for German automaker.
December 1, 2007... By Staff MAN Nutzfahrzeuge -a Munich-based vehicle manufacturer that sold 80,000 commercial vehicles and 7,300 buses in 2006-places a premium on a high level of server availability. After successfully using high-availability software...

Excel-based collaboration tool is free; ensures single version of truth.
December 1, 2007... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) Using a spreadsheet for personal use is a lot different than managing one in a process involving a whole group. There are plenty of applications available to enable spreadsheet...

Acsis/SAP tool provides plant-level integration, MES adjunct, track & trace.
December 1, 2007... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor (malcolm_wheatley@compuserve.com) Originally conceived as a means of efficiently passing data between the manufacturing execution system (MES) layer and an ERP transaction backbone, an...

Content-centric application puts context into engineering document management.
December 1, 2007... By Carolyn Heinze, contributing editor (carolynheinze.blogspot.com) Engineering organizations have long struggled with management, modification, and distribution of project documentation. With efficiency a priority, how does one get the...

Put down that spreadsheet: ERP follows food to the plant floor, and out the door.
December 1, 2007... By Jean Thilmany, contributing editor (thilmanyj@yahoo.com) Retailers looking to stock Berner Foods ' line of meats and cheeses often ask Berner to demonstrate how nimbly it could respond to a food recall. When bidding for business,...

Vendors benefit from SOA just as much as users.
December 1, 2007... By Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor Over the past several years, MBT has chronicled the ways in which manufacturing companies-large, small, and medium-size-are using service-oriented architecture (SOA) to create innovative new business...

Global agendas power compliance concerns; IT tools for coping.(Company overview)
December 1, 2007... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor When OptiMedica outgrew its Intuit QuickBooks-based financial management system, the 30-employee company started a systems search that led it to the Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP platform. Founded...

There's New Momentum afoot to minimize risk, forge a stronger supply chain.
December 1, 2007... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor (jimfulcher@comcast.net) As more companies realize just how fragile the links in a global supply chain actually are, risk mitigation moves from a low-level to a high-level priority. 'To cope with...

When BOMs slow batching processes, you need an archive.
December 1, 2007... By Jean Thilmany, contributing editor (thilmanyj@yahoo.com) Ever notice some computer slowness after you've downloaded music or photos? The same thing can happen with a manufacturer's ERP system. While the overloaded PC may take...

International Truck keeps engines running with RFID-based performance checks.
December 1, 2007... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor (jimfulcher@comcast.net) As the cost of RFID tags continues to drop, manufacturers are making more and better use of the auto-ID technology. Today's front-runner RFID applications are found in the apparel...

Solution monitors IT systems for strict regulatory compliance.
December 1, 2007... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) Regulations are there for a purpose, but that doesn't change the fact that complying with them can be a real pain. Compliance management capabilities help companies execute a...

Google's shine dulled as e-business scores take a hit in customer satisfaction survey.
December 1, 2007... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) The University of Michigan's annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) tracks how successful e-business providers are at pleasing their customers. After six straight...

Panel of thought leaders see pains, gains in manufacturing enterprise IT.
December 1, 2007... By MBT editorial staff As 2007 comes to a close, Manufacturing Business Technology turned to some of those it knows best in the vendor community to get an idea of what may lie ahead in the ongoing convergence of manufacturing systems and...

Pending U.S. import safety act drives reconsideration of quality management.
December 1, 2007... By Simon Jacobson The current flurry of product recalls has finally attracted government attention. A cross-agency task force recently presented President Bush with an action plan containing short- and long-term recommendations for...

Best-in-Class make judicious use of selected lean methodologies.
December 1, 2007... By Cindy Jutras Think industrial equipment (IE) manufacturing and you automatically think BIG: that is, big machines, big money, big operations. Big also can mean slow and clumsy, but it doesn't have to be that way. Big can be lean and...

So long, and thanks for the fish.
December 1, 2007... By Erik Keller This, the December issue, marks my last column. So rather than spend the next 500 words telling you why-and no, MBT didn't fire me-I'd like to reflect on what things have changed, and what things have remained the same, over...

Tigers of Pacific Rim poised to profit from China growth.
December 1, 2007... By Cole Ollinger, senior contributing editor China has transformed the global manufacturing landscape. What's less apparent is the role that smaller Pacific Rim countries-specifically Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia-have played...

A skilled yet aging workforce sees wages squeezed by globalization.
December 1, 2007... By Kevin Parker, editorial director Manufacturing Business Technology recently surveyed its corporate, operations, and IT management readership to gauge where it's at when it comes to employment conditions and attitudes on use of...

Rockwell Automation Fair highlights process-sector push.
December 1, 2007... By Roberto Michel, senior contributing editor (robertomichel@charter.net) A steady stream of acquisitions by Rockwell Automation is enhancing its appeal in process industry verticals. The automation giant-historically strong in discrete...

Rockwell partners eye information management.
December 1, 2007... By Staff The industrial machinery and equipment skid partners that use Rockwell Automation controllers in their products are still the bread and butter of Rockwell's Automation Fair, but not all exhibitors at this annual event are...

Parsec Automation urges tangible financial spin on OEE.
December 1, 2007... By Staff Operational equipment effectiveness (OEE) looks at three factors: asset availability, performance or rate, and quality. Getting plant managers, Six Sigma gurus, and other process excellence experts excited about OEE metrics is one...

Manufacturers tackle complexities of online, indirect sales.
December 1, 2007... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) It's easy to get lost in the world of online shopping. There are so many paths to take as you try to find the exact product you need, often passing through links to manufacturers,...

Stanford forum unearths big benefits in B2B outsourcing.
December 1, 2007... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) According to Stanford University's Global Supply Chain Forum , companies using outsourced B2B solutions experience a return nearly 2.5 times their annual...

Oracle targets enhanced S&OP with Interlace buy.
December 1, 2007... By Staff In another shot across the bow of SAP , Oracle is in the process of buying Interlace Systems, a supplier of integrated business planning tools. Interlace's offerings ensure that sales & operations planning (S&OP) efforts remain on...

MCA asks: Why choose one major ERP partner when you can have two?
December 1, 2007... By Staff MCA Solutions has reinvigorated its relationship with Oracle , becoming an authorized reseller in the Oracle Partner Network. That allows MCA to offer Oracle's database technology pre-integrated with MCA's Service Planning...