Manufacturing Business Technology articles from May 2008

Manufacturing Business Technology archives from May 2008

Seeing manufacturing as a business process.
May 1, 2008... By Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor Mike Brooks has a message for all the vendors that sell production management solutions to process-oriented manufacturers: He's ready to embrace and adopt your products, but only if they satisfy his...

Find a good fit.
May 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor Experience, depth of knowledge, global presence figure prominently in consulting firm selection When the decision was first made at LSI Logic , now known as LSI, to work with San Francisco-based...

NetFlow-infused systems watch for trending, traffic patterns, network abnormalities.
May 1, 2008... By Karen Dilger (kadilger@comcast.net) Supply chain visibility systems are essential for companies looking to do more than just track movement of supplies from point A to point B. The same can be said of network behavior analysis (NBA)...

Nalco masters data governance with quality management tool.
May 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) With operations around the globe and more than 70,000 customers in 130 countries, data quality ended up being the hot button in Nalco Company 's migration to a single global instance of SAP... .

Automotive SOA exchanges live information between plant floor, enterprise solutions.
May 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher (jimfulcher@comcast.net) The sticking point when trying to connect the top floor with the shop floor is they usually aren't on the same common platform or infrastructure, claims Fred Yentz, COO, ILS Technology LLC . 'What...

SOA pinpoints links between services and business processes.
May 1, 2008... By Staff Progress Software says its Actional suite of service-oriented architecture (SOA) management software offers new ability to understand and manage the relationships between individual services and complete business processes. ...

Untethered efficiencies.
May 1, 2008... By Roberto Michel, senior contributing editor Toshiba America Medical Systems makes gains from mobile field service The two critical information flows in field service pertain to getting technicians out to customer sites quickly, and...

Supply chain execution proves a rich niche for best-of-breed solutions.
May 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor If the tendency for most manufacturers is to settle on a single enterprise suite standard for a wide range of functions, the warehouse remains a resolute exception. 'We looked at...

Lean sourcing: Automotive supplier develops protocol for cutting procurement costs.
May 1, 2008... By Ann Avery, contributing editor (ann@averywriting.com) The cut-costs mantra doesn't let up in the automotive industry, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) continue to turn to their suppliers to help alleviate the margin crunch....

Good deal: Web-based marketplace takes back, serves up surplus equipment and parts.
May 1, 2008... By Staff Industrial repair and spare parts mark the sweet spot for Ann Arbor, Mich.-based SurplusTrack.com . A Web-based marketplace, SurplusTrack.com offers companies a way to remove surplus or obsolete parts both from their books and...

Metal finisher enjoys real-time costs picture from ERP for the order-driven business.
May 1, 2008... By Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor (malcolm_wheatley@compuserve.com) When Rosler Metal Finishing hung out its shingle in Battle Creek, Mich., in 1999, its enterprise application needs were relatively few. As a manufacturer and...

Strategic applications shift from enterprise to industry networks.
May 1, 2008... By Julie Fraser The era of enterprise systems' strategic role is ending. In its current form, core ERP is not likely to provide full support for critical business processes, let alone strategic advantage. That's because acting as a...

Manufacturers leverage the expanding footprint of PLM.
May 1, 2008... By Ed Miller Once predominately focused on engineering design, product life-cycle management (PLM) is extending its reach to a broader range of activities, from early-stage product strategy development and planning to product engineering...

Oracle says it will leapfrog competitors in manufacturing intelligence.(Company overview)
May 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor By now it seems ancient history, but SAP 's acquisition of Lighthammer in 2005 marked a sea change in attitudes toward integrating plant operations with the business enterprise. Lighthammer...

Outsourcing maintenance opens up plant availability for Tier 1 auto supplier.
May 1, 2008... By Jim Fulcher (jimfulcher@comcast.net) The decision for Griffin, Ga.-based Nacom Corp. , an electronic assembly supplier to automotive OEMs, to relocate to Mexico wasn't an easy one. The most pressing priority leading up to the move was...

Above and beyond: ATS goes the extra mile to serve Reservist employees.
May 1, 2008... By Staff The Illinois Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an agency of the Department of Defense, recently gave Peoria, Ill.-based Advanced Technology Services (ATS) its 'Above and Beyond' award in recognition...

IT for green manufacturing is changing the cost-prohibitive mind-set.
May 1, 2008... By William Atkinson, contributing editor (w.atkinson@mchsi.com) For Harry Brix, director of procurement at Syosset, N.Y.-based Paradigm Group , a supplier of janitorial and sanitary products, green manufacturing is 'very chic.' Brix says...

Bold changes ahead: Electronics manufacturing rethinks the supply chain; the time is now to review your long-term strategies.
May 1, 2008... By Bruce Rayner, VP, consulting and research, Technology Forecasters Inc. Since the advent of contract printed circuit board assembly almost three decades ago, the one certainty in outsourced electronics manufacturing has been uncertainty....

Business intelligence solution presents customer data without delay.
May 1, 2008... By Karen Dilger, contributing editor (kadilger@comcast.net) The accounts receivable (A/R) department at Virtek Vision International had its hands full. Credit managers at the Ontario-based supplier of laser marking products needed to keep...

Fashionistas say they know as much about innovation-and outsourcing-as the others.
May 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker (kparker@reedbusiness.com) The needs of the fashion industry, when it comes to product life-cycle management (PLM), are different from those of other discrete manufacturers. But as systems evolve for fashion life-cycle...

Next-generation PLM: Avoid being a casualty in vendors' fight for market supremacy.
May 1, 2008... By Sidney Hill, Jr. (shill@reedbusiness.com) Product life-cycle management (PLM) software vendors are investing heavily in what they describe as next-generation solutions. That's good news and bad news for companies looking to deploy PLM...

A quick look at the varieties of intelligence needed for goods making.(Conference notes)
May 1, 2008... By Kevin Parker, editorial director What do former Michigan Governor John Engler, today president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and SAS, the provider of analytic tools, have in common? At the recent SAS...

Group Outlook: Raw materials, energy expenses are top of mind for SMBs.
May 1, 2008... By Staff Chicago-based Prime Advantage , a buying consortium for small and midsize enterprises (SME), says recent findings from its Group Outlook Survey pinpoint the top economic concerns of these manufacturers in 2008. Raw material and...

Seismic price shifts, changing global diets put the squeeze on food processors.
May 1, 2008... By Staff It doesn't take but a cursory glance at most agricultural commodity prices to know something seismic is occurring, and food processors are caught in the middle of thin margins and big cost increases. Some startling...

World Trade Group 'rethinks' how business is done.
May 1, 2008... By Staff If you find yourself wondering how executives in other companies and industries cope with globalization, the skills shortage, and economic shortfalls, you're a prime candidate for membership in the World Trade Group (WTG). ...

SMBs set to slash marketing costs using SaaS research model.
May 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) A partnership between Vantedge Group and AbsolutData aims to bring the value of manufacturing market intelligence to small and midsize businesses (SMB) via an on-demand model with an affordable...

USBIC study data: Imports still assail U.S. manufacturers.
May 1, 2008... By Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) Despite price advantages created by the weakening dollar, many U.S.-based manufacturers of high-tech and other capital-intensive products lost share in their home...