Manufacturing Business Technology articles from January 2008

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from January 2008

SaaS economics seem to favor users more than vendors.
January 1, 2008... By Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor NetSuite closed out 2007 with one of the year's most successful initial public offerings (IPO). It also sparked some questions about the future of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. On...

Global supply chains need SaaS to drive competitive advantage.
January 1, 2008... By Patricia Meisner, CEO, RedTail Solutions In his 1985 book, Competitive Advantage , Michael Porter introduced the concept of the value chain. The premise is that people and processes add value at every step of the product life cycle-from...

Zebra changes stripes, extending technology reach, market scope.(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... Staff As a global leader in bar-code printing, Zebra Technologies startled some market watchers in January 2007 with its $126-million cash acquisition of WhereNet, one of the largest and best-known suppliers of real-time location systems,...

Zebra printers see XML and SAP extensions; more wireless security.
January 1, 2008... Staff Zebra Technologies has expanded its line of XML-enabled thermal printers, making direct-connect capabilities available for the 105SL, S4M, and Z Series. Enabling firmware with Zebra XML technologies means XML output can be sent...

AIM issues its Top 5 RFID predictions for 2008.
January 1, 2008... Staff AIM Global, the industry trade association for automatic identification and mobility solutions, says these five components will impact the RFID landscape in 2008 and beyond: Consumer recognition . Broader initiatives and more...

IBM sees three key areas appropriate for RFID.
January 1, 2008... Staff IBM recently looked at its 2007 RFID efforts in the automotive and aerospace industries, identifying special value in areas that included reusable container management, yard management, and work-in-process (WIP) tracking. 'We...

Richlin Machinery taps 3D design, recasting itself as custom builder.
January 1, 2008... By Roberto Michel, senior contributing editor Manufacturers of all sizes constantly revitalize their operations to remain competitive. In product development, technologies such as digital prototyping and digital manufacturing help companies...

Several paths to best practices for SAP ERP users in process industries.(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, Sr. contributing editor Formed in 2004 from a collection of state-owned chemical companies, Beijing-based ChemChina recognized in early 2007 its need for a world-class ERP system to match its aspiration of becoming a...

Feedback management solution creates and engages 'the nurtured customer'.
January 1, 2008... Staff Achieving customer satisfaction is a common goal for any company. If customers are already very satisfied, the bar is raised, and customer loyalty is the next step. Reaching this goal requires some type of feedback from customers...

IT in airplane manufacture: Where does responsibility lie?
January 1, 2008... By Bill Atkinson, contributing editor (w.atkinson@mchsi.com) Among the biggest challenges airplane manufacturers face is how to integrate manufacturing and information technology in supplier organizations, where more responsibility for...

Kroll: Corporate fraud is almost 100-percent preventable.
January 1, 2008... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) Corporate fraud and corruption may seem like the stuff of movies, but such threats can be found in your own office. Shocking but real statistics show four out of five companies...

Manufacturers less worried than other sectors about fraud.
January 1, 2008... Staff The figures for perceived vulnerability to corporate fraud within the manufacturing sector are generally about the same as the overall average, although in some instances they are slightly lower. Only in one area-procurement fraud-is...

Warehouse management system sets stage for prime product location, customer satisfaction.
January 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor Most manufacturers strive to ensure warehouse inventory is at the appropriate level. Doing so reduces costs and enables faster response to customer demand. The process becomes far more complex when...

The devil's in the industry detail for scheduling.
January 1, 2008... By Julie Fraser Much of the supply chain software market had its start in detailed finite scheduling. So why is it that many companies aren't using supply chain software for detailed production scheduling? Sometimes it just boils down...

The PLM footprint steps onto the factory floor.
January 1, 2008... By Ed Miller Once predominately focused on engineering design, product life-cycle management (PLM) today encompasses a broadening range of activities-from early-stage product strategy to design, manufacturing engineering, and field...

S&OP encompassing broader financial and performance parameters.
January 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director Say there's a software application that models some common business process or function. Over time, the solution's footprint traipses around like a veritable Pac-Man, swallowing up neighboring functional...

GE Fanuc gets new name; backs new ARC manufacturing model.
January 1, 2008... Staff Dedham, Mass.-based ARC Advisory Group is offering up what it calls 'Collaborative Production Systems' (CPS) as a new manufacturing model that views operations management and automation control as a single collaborative space. ...

Next-gen MES embraces enterprise standard no matter what manufacturing mode.
January 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor Manufacturing execution systems (MES) have gained increasing acceptance in key industrial verticals, most recently based on their role in multi-plant production scenarios. But it's still difficult for an...

Change or be changed: Examples from the manufacturing and software industries.
January 1, 2008... By Frank Smith, senior contributing editor SAP says its latest business model is unique. The vendor is 'evolving' its Enterprise Business Suite to service-oriented architecture (SOA), even as it introduces a new SOA-based 'on-demand'...

Statistics-based language translation supports growing international communications needs.
January 1, 2008... Staff Manufacturers doing business internationally often rely on third-party language service providers-or LSPs-to translate owner's manuals for them. With the advent of advanced computer translating capabilities, the process is changing,...

Third dimension in design solutions cuts truck maker's race to market.
January 1, 2008... Staff The jump from two-dimensional to three-dimensional (3D) design is a leap that saves Loveland, Colo.-based SVI Trucks weeks of rework on the fire, police, and emergency trucks it makes for local governments around the U.S. The switch...

Digital manufacturing puts PLCs in contact with PLM.
January 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director Continuing debacles at Airbus and Boeing demonstrate a looming chasm exists between today's advanced computerized design capabilities and shop-floor realities. The cure is called 'digital manufacturing.'...

SAP senior execs talk about ERP, SOA, and the demise of three-letter acronyms.
January 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director (kparker@reedbusiness.com) By introducing SAP Business ByDesign-an SOA-based, on-demand enterprise system for midsize companies-and selling it through in-direct sales channels, SAP , the world's leading...

Innovation engine: ILOG upgrade could spawn new generation of supply chain applications.
January 1, 2008... Staff Supply chain management software users may soon find themselves fielding pitches from vendors offering new applications that promise to solve more complex problems much faster. That's because ILOG recently announced an upgrade to...

Viewpoint: Harvest live information from the plant floor without sacrificing productivity.
January 1, 2008... By Fred Yentz, SVP, COO, ILS Technology When executive officers request live production data, they put production IT managers focused on plant-floor operations in a difficult predicament. To comply, these managers must add tasks to their...

Rising metal prices abate somewhat, but long-term trend is continuing price increases.
January 1, 2008... Staff Any supply chain starts with raw materials. For many, this includes industrial metals such as aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin, and zinc. Steep price increases the last two years-leading to recent historic peaks-prompted Supreme...