Walking Through the Warehouse
I was walking through the warehouse area of a plant the other day and couldn’t help doing a quick analysis – it’s an occupational hazard; as a consultant and supply chain professional, it’s really in...
View ArticleConsider Remanufacturing
The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) group, has identified remanufacturing as an emerging technology in manufacturing that is likely to produce major industry changes in the coming months and...
View ArticleBI Dashboard Mistakes
Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards should be easy – grab a few key metrics and scatter them across a screen in color and graphics. Unfortunately, a careless approach to BI dashboards has the...
View ArticleInnovate or Buy Innovation
Innovation efforts are subject to high risk of failure and often represent significant investment. In operations, most companies strive for 99 percent success (defect free), whereas 90 percent of...
View ArticleKPIs
Most companies have identified and use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as a way to keep an eye on the business and identify emerging problems or to measure improvements. Executive dashboards and...
View ArticleMid-size Manufacturers Optimistic
According to a recent survey by Prime Advantage, a purchasing group for industrial manufacturers, the attitude of mid-sized manufacturers is positive about revenues and employment despite concerns...
View ArticleManaging Parts
Equipment manufacturers have struggled with how to manage inventories that have two distinct sources of demand – as components for manufacturing and as replacement parts for sale to customers....
View ArticleLean and Innovation
Is Lean an innovation killer? Lean, Six Sigma, ISO, and TQM, are all good things. But if taken too far, the rigid focus on standardization and control can inhibit the openness that drives innovation. A...
View ArticleIndustrial Machinery Will Drive Trade Growth
Over the next three years, manufacturers plan to use increase their use of service as a competitive differentiator and aim to grow business through product service innovation and value-added services...
View ArticleMegatrends and Manufacturing
Megatrends are large, long-term changes that spawn shorter-term business and societal trends. A few of these megatrends offer interesting possibilities for manufacturers. Understanding megatrends is...
View ArticleVariation
It is an accepted “fact” that variability is bad for manufacturers and manufacturing. And it happens to be the truth – and not a myth or mere folklore. Variation is the source of quality issues and the...
View ArticleSocial in the Supply Chain
Social networking is not about socializing, but about facilitating people-to-people communication and collaboration, which is at the heart of managing and executing supply chain processes. Social...
View ArticleInside Outsourcing Decisions
Companies struggle with outsourcing decisions. Too little outsourcing may lead to uncompetitive costs and pricing. Too much increases quality and control concerns along with supply chain and...
View ArticleNot Your Father’s Purchasing
High profile companies are in the spotlight, not only for their own actions and policies, but also for the activities of their suppliers. Labor practices at Chinese assembly plants, environmental...
View ArticleA Surprising Re-shoring Trend
Clothing manufacture is a labor intensive business, and was one of the first to leave the U.S., headed for low wage areas. The economics are undeniable. With significant labor content, why wouldn’t...
View ArticleERP Critical to Good Customer Experience
Do you view your ERP system as a key enabler of a great customer experience initiatives? When it comes to the customer experience, ERP is not the first application set that comes to mind. Yet, newly...
View ArticleNew Rules – Higher Costs for Trucking
New regulations in the trucking industry have made significant changes in the way trucks and drivers are scheduled – and will likely increase costs for shippers. The rules, that went into effect on...
View ArticleExcel Might Be Your Biggest Problem
Excel is, without a doubt, the most widely used business tool in existence. It is often used for budgeting, forecasting and planning as well as analysis and record-keeping. Many organizations start...
View ArticleGlobal Inventory
A software executive, intrigued by the question “how much inventory is there out in the world?” did some math and made an estimate. His guess: about $12 trillion worth. Considering that the best guess...
View ArticleMobile Devices are Changing the Face of BI
Mobile devices are becoming more and more common in the corporate and manufacturing worlds, providing access to corporate information anywhere, anytime. They are also opening decision-makers at all...
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