Manufacturing Business Technology articles from January 2007

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from January 2007

Buying into the right strategy.
January 1, 2007... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor Manufacturers use outsourcing, on-demand, and hybrid approaches for procurement savings Mohawk Industries made a somewhat surprising discovery while investigating the possibility of...

SYSPRO/Preactor integration promises advanced plant scheduling out of ERP.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Manufacturers running ERP systems from SYSPRO will soon be able to license a tightly integrated, PC-based advanced planning & plant scheduling tool from U.K.-based Preactor International . Called SYSPRO APS to avoid confusion...

Medical device sector's new frontier is automated quote and contract generation.
January 1, 2007... By Staff One consequence of medical-device market growth is that manufacturers may find themselves needing a customer relationship management (CRM) solution, says Ehab Samy, senior product manager at Pivotal , the CRM division of CDC...

Laser equipment maker uses Omnify PLM for central product information database launch.
January 1, 2007... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor As our image-conscious society continues to focus on appearance, the demand for all types of skin rejuvenation procedures is reaching new heights. And the equipment makers that serve noninvasive medical...

Enhanced customer service, flexibility, accuracy put dental supplier on growth curve.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Denver-based Rocky Mountain Orthodontics (RMO) was ready for the enterprise system of the future. Not only did it want to save time, reduce administrative tasks, and improve accuracy, but it was looking to enhance the entire...

In brief.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar is using StatSoft 's PROCEED software to optimize engine designs and overcome conflicting manufacturing process requirements. PROCEED finds the root cause of process issues, recommends new...

Spotlight on transportation management and logistics.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Transportation management gets its due Staff Rising freight rates, fuel costs, and constrained capacity account for the newfound interest in transportation management systems (TMS). So says a recent report out of...

Manufacturers look to ERP for the "granularity" needed for lean, global supply chains.
January 1, 2007... By Staff There is consensus that software applications are necessary to support Lean operations, especially for global supply chains. The question surrounds what ERP vendors are doing in response. Says Colin Masson, director of...

Sterling Commerce tackles logistics costs with on-demand solution, networked providers.
January 1, 2007... By Staff While consumers rarely think about how products get to the store shelves, many manufacturing executives are preoccupied with the cost of delivering goods. "Most companies are seeing double-digit growth, in percentage terms, in...

Let's do some social networking.
January 1, 2007... By Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor A lot of people have made--and lost--a lot of money trying to predict how the Internet will change the way we live and work. The one thing all these prognosticators seem to have gotten right is that...

The four things that must be known.
January 1, 2007... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor Integration and collaboration technologies applied to manufacturing systemsput emphasis on getting the right information, right now Based on a survey of its members, the National...

How software application pricing models are likely to change.
January 1, 2007... By Erik Keller, principal, Wapiti LLC With every technology platform innovation there comes a change in the pricing model. The software market today is at the height of such change, which last occurred in the early 1990s with the advent...

Vita-Tech goes for simplicity, manageability with QAD enterprise system selection.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Working in a highly regulated industry is no walk in the park. It demands thorough record keeping and strict attention to detail just to meet the daily pressures surrounding government standards. For Vita-Tech --a...

MESA moves metrics framework to the next level of operational improvements.
January 1, 2007... By Staff The challenge inherent to manufacturing performance management is in knowing what drives improvement and delivers strategic business benefit--next comes how to track and measure it. MESA International, in conjunction with...

How is globalization changing inventory policies?
January 1, 2007... By Staff Properly managed, inventory policies drive revenue and increase efficiency. But as the nature of supply chains change, so must the policies. Traditional inventory management practices are being made obsolete by the...

Find the right balance between enhanced customer service, less inventory.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Is it possible to reach supply chain utopia? Some would define this as achieving both enhanced customer service and low inventory levels. Yet even attaining a balance between the two remains elusive, as a company typically...

In brief.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Paper makers adopt inventory-reduction strategies ToolsGroup announces inventory-optimization solutions contracts with three leading paper manufacturers: Fater , a joint venture between Procter & Gamble and Angelini Group;...

High-speed business processes.
January 1, 2007... By Sidney Hill, Jr., Executive editor Coty reaps value from SOA in record time Anyone struggling to understand the business value of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) should have a chat with David Berry. Berry is CIO of New...

Report indicates upswing in satisfaction for manufactured nondurable goods.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Customer satisfaction for manufactured nondurable goods typically is high, but the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) says it's getting better than ever. Generated by the University of Michigan's Ross School...

The case for wireless on the plant floor.
January 1, 2007... By Paul Leicht, senior editor ZigBee and mesh network technology said to solve reliability challenges Thomas Pridonoff, like a lot of manufacturing executives, sees the potential benefits of running plants on wireless networks. But...

Enterprise security measures may heighten vulnerability of plant-floor solutions.
January 1, 2007... By Staff As manufacturers integrate plant, enterprise, and supply chain operations, in many cases looking for a real-time view of production, the threat of a cyber attack becomes more of a concern--or it should, anyway, say industry...

In brief.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Symbol Technologies mobile computers and RD5000 RFID readers are available via Rockwell Automation's Encompass Partner Program. Other Symbol products approved by Rockwell include XR400 and XR480 fixed RFID readers that comply...

Intermec pledges 40 more years serving data collection, mobile solutions users.
January 1, 2007... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor Mention auto-ID, and one of the first vendors that comes to mind is Intermec . The company's longevity certainly contributes to that recognition. Intermec--known for its RFID, data-collection and...

Specialized handheld devices deliver situation-specific advice on demand.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Expert systems--applications that mimic the human decision-making process--have proved their worth in many situations, from IT help desks to online sales and process control. One promising area for expert systems is field...

In brief.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Ontario-based Info-Tech says U.S. companies will spend a total of $61 billion on IT security for 2006, or 7.3 percent of all IT spending for the year. The proliferation of mobile devices in business means IT managers need to...

Market expands with acquisitions, funding.
January 1, 2007... By Staff RFID middleware market builds out in 2005 Staff The global market for RFID middleware exceeded $24 million in 2005, with growth projected at a compounded annual rate of 50 percent through the year 2010, says Venture...

The different meanings of "yes".
January 1, 2007... By Cole Ollinger, senior contributing editor Finding profit in China depends on close analysis of supply chain needs, knowledge of local players Opportunities for U.S. manufacturers that go to China are twofold: cutting costs by...

Doing well, manufacturers look to do better.
January 1, 2007... By Kevin Parker, editorial director Based on a recovery in capital goods investment and increased exports, in 2006, 14 of 22 U.S. manufacturing sectors surpassed their pre-2001 recession production levels, according to the National...

Greenspan and AMR Research on innovation in enterprise software markets.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Two opposing viewpoints on prospects for continuing innovation in enterprise business applications were debated at the recent AMR Research Executive Leadership Conference, and no less a personage than Alan Greenspan, former...

Dell Global Services grows with new hires.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Despite losing the personal computer lead to HP, Dell 's global services division is one of its fastest-growing businesses. In addition to three other recent hires to the Global Executive Management Committee, Steve...

PLM seems to be catching on in Asia.
January 1, 2007... By Staff The need for smoother collaboration among trans-global trading partners is fueling interest in product life-cycle management (PLM) applications in Asia, says Chuck Yuan, VP of Greater China Operations for PLM vendor UGS....

World-class IT organizations spend more than peers.
January 1, 2007... By Staff Atlanta-based The Hackett Group says world-class IT organizations are investing 17 percent more on technology-enabled solutions than typical companies, making IT the only area studied by Hackett wherein world-class performers...

"Structural" costs inhibit manufacturing growth, says NAM report.
January 1, 2007... By Staff U.S. manufacturers face a large structural cost disadvantage--31.7 percent to be exact--as they compete with companies from the country's nine largest trading partners, according to a report from Washington-based National...

More C-TPAT staff expected to shorten validation delays.
January 1, 2007... By Staff The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program is a popular initiative for reducing supply chain security risk, but according to some companies involved with the voluntary program, it's also fraught with...