Manufacturing Business Technology articles from March 2008

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from March 2008

Forging a Lean supply chain.
March 1, 2008... By Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor Lean supply chains don't just happen. They emerge from strong working relationships between supply chain partners who are thoroughly committed to continuous improvement. That's the type of...

Office goes server-side: Microsoft's blending of Office with SharePoint begets enterprise collaboration platform.
March 1, 2008... By Roberto Michel, senior contributing editor For Del Monte Foods , the San Francisco-based food manufacturer, Microsoft Corp .'s portal and office software were the foundation for a formula change management system. At Metro Vancouver ,...

IT adopts a service mentality.
March 1, 2008... By Tony Baer, senior contributing editor Change management has long been a byword in manufacturing. Many won't think of altering a product design, bill of material, production line layout, inventory plan, or supply chain schedule without...

Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! has Google searching for cover.
March 1, 2008... By Staff Microsoft 's $44-billion offer for Yahoo! seems to be an admission that Microsoft can't build a strong enough search/online advertising engine on its own to compete with industry leader Google . The question remains whether...

Fly high on a thread.
March 1, 2008... By Roberto Michel, senior contributing editor Lockheed Martin taps 'digital thread' to mate product and production management for F-35 Only several of more than 2,600 F-35 Lightning II aircraft that Lockheed Martin eventually will...

Simulation, better forecasting, and advanced planning smooth lean transition to the supply chain.
March 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor At Nissan 's Sunderland, U.K. manufacturing plant, demand for the new 'crossover' Qashqai sport utility vehicle has exceeded all sales expectations. Already running 24/7, the plant just...

Capgemini concludes: satisfaction, expectations on the rise for third-party logistics providers.
March 1, 2008... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) When starting a new business relationship, it is important to map out common goals and objectives using a two-way communication process. Then, when problems or challenges occur,...

New APICS partnership lightens the transportation-certification load.
March 1, 2008... By Staff A new agreement between APICS The Association for Operations Management and the American Society of Transportation & Logistics (AST&L) grants Certified Supply Chain Professionals (CSCP) and professionals or fellows who are...

SAP ties together transportation management with xApp from Neoris.
March 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) Neoris , a Latin American business and IT consulting firm and an SAP partner, recently redeveloped its Active Suite logistics execution applications as a composite...

Visibility ERP tracks deep into orders.
March 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor (malcolm_wheatley@compuserve.com) When Ontario-based Nanometrics Seismological Inc . decided in early 2007 to find a new ERP system, the company evaluated more than 20 solutions, explains Ian...

IQS quality solution remakes automotive supply chain in U.S., then China.
March 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor (malcolm_wheatley@compuserve.com) Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Cequent Group , which makes automotive towing systems, trailer parts, and associated brake and electrical components, recently...

Addressing specific demand challenges.
March 1, 2008... By Julie Fraser The path to becoming demand-driven starts with getting a firm grasp on demand. Without this foundation, all of the work to align other aspects of the operation around demand is ineffective. Beyond statistical...

Leverage engineering simulation across the enterprise.
March 1, 2008... By Ed Miller Manufacturers across a range of industries would be hard pressed to design products without simulation tools such as structural analysis, multi-body simulation, and computational fluid dynamics. Yet despite their importance,...

Corporate IT enters the plant.
March 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor Corporate IT is reaching deeper into the plant because it makes compelling business sense. While perhaps disconcerting to some-chiefly those in the plant who have long controlled it as a separate...

Monitoring, reporting play key roles in tracking, reducing GHG emissions.
March 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor (jimfulcher@comcast.net) PPG Industries uses a database solution from ESS , a provider of environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) and crisis management software, to monitor 130 manufacturing facilities....

Schneider Electric reaps huge savings by monitoring energy use.
March 1, 2008... By Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor (shill@reedbusiness.com) Looking for a fast and easy way of dropping $580,000 in annual operating costs? Take a look at the lighting in all of your facilities. Schneider Electric , the well-known...

A better view: Technology improvements make vision systems viable production tools.
March 1, 2008... By Staff Prudent use of machine vision systems can reduce the overall need for human labor, which is a critical cost factor in developed countries. Quality control processes that currently rely on human intervention also can be...

What does it mean to say it's model-based?
March 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director At the recent ARC forum, Rockwell Software and digital manufacturing vendor Delmia jointly demonstrated a production-line simulation meant to support virtual commissioning of the real thing. In response...

ARC forum discussions reflect changing operations/IT paradigm.
March 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director (kparker@reedbusiness.com) Following a day's worth of conversations, a visitor to ARC Advisory Group 's 12th annual Orlando Forum might be justified in having concluded: 1) Corporate IT departments have...

Purchasing's evolution to strategic sourcing is a multistage process.
March 1, 2008... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) When considering the move from transactional purchasing to strategic sourcing and world-class supply management, while there is no sure-fire method for refining procurement...

New partnership speeds setup of electronic trading communities-and ERP ROI.
March 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) Establishing trading partner communities just got easier given a partnership between B2B platform provider Seeburger and Edifecs , a specialist in streamlined...

Risk think tank: Prediction market platform taps the wisdom of employees, partners, customers.
March 1, 2008... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) Anticipating market response can be a virtual guessing game when it comes to launching a new product or determining key features during product development. Traditional surveys...

IDC issues top 10 predictions for manufacturing 2008.
March 1, 2008... By Staff Large manufacturers will move more assertively in 2008 toward constructing globally integrated business models, according to IDC Manufacturing Insights , the Framingham, Mass.-based market analysis firm. This trend tops IDC's...

No crisis here: IBM fulfills Wall Street firm's server needs.
March 1, 2008... By Roberto Michel, senior contributing editor (robertomichel@charter.net) Last August, when the subprime mortgage lending crisis triggered the need for more computing power at a Wall Street brokerage, the firm was able get the servers it...

Petrochemical feedstock's unwelcome surprise.
March 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) Price volatility surrounding petrochemical feedstock is a harsh reality that creates distress all along the supply chain. Feedstock is the process derivative-e.g.,...