Manufacturing Business Technology - November 1, 2004

As a major supplier to Wal-Mart, computing giant Hewlett-Packard Co.(HP), Palo Alto, Calif., is well along in its RFID efforts. HP—which supplies printers-ink jet cartridges, and other products to Wal-Mart—expects to gain efficiencies from RFID. "There are basic benefits to RFID, like labor savings in warehouses, and consequential benefits that come from greater control of...

• Columnists
• Back Talk
• Vendor viability is irrelevant, as long as the system can live on

• Corporate Project
• Customer satisfaction bodes well for some; means trouble for others
• Top CEO concerns vary globally
• Get the most out of search
• Bolstering Our Base
• U.S. steel industry undergoing revolutionary change; health on the horizon
• Cargo Security
• GE releases container security device to protect its own supply chain—and many others
• China and the Risks
• McKinsey special report outlines concerns when doing business in China
• Logistics Visibility and Control
• Upturn in market—tied to more robust solutions—surprises analyst
• Semiconductor Projections
• Short- and long-term changes afoot for semiconductor market

• Departments
• Hot Bytes
• Alliances, funding, acquisitions .... solutions
• IT by the Numbers
• IT vendors could see growth spurt
• Metrics That Matter
• Evaluating turns
• Solutions Spotlight
• Solutions Spotlight
• Up Front
• A cornucopia of current concerns

• Information Technology
• IBM program yields prototype results, works students chops
• In Brief
• In Brief
• Why PeopleSoft needs IBM's WebSphere
• At least the benefits are clear
• Case-In-Point
• Siemens bucks conventional wisdom by planning—and executing—large-scale IT project
• Contact Management
• ACT system gets Microsoft-centric facelift for the corporate IT arena
• Database Wars
• IBM unveils DB2 for small business; Microsoft, Oracle say: "We're not impressed"
• Project Management
• New Goldratt-fashioned approach saves project time, money
• Sun Products Strategy
• COO apologizes to customers; outlines new "open" product strategy

• Operations
• Plan with the big "S"
• Global Standards
• Fits and starts toward a single standard means measuring wattage "differently"
• ISA Expo 2004
• Security solutions begin to trickle, but deluge is near
• Small and Midsize ERP
• Exact Software touts productivity boost from "manage by exception"
• Technology Adoption
• Seeing clear path to benefit, the RFID mandates roll in
• The Critical Node
• New management at Pelion Systems sees "Lean" opportunity
• The Shape of Things to Come
• Chrysler embarks on "most advanced supplier colocation project"
• Traceability Legislation
• Not yet clear how EU food regulations will impact American producers

• Views From the Front
• Auto-Tech display shows promise for future of collaborative commerce
• Corporate
• Saying nothing too late has its costs
• Frontline Expo
• Supply chain, printer vendors gear up for RFID's Gen 2 electronic product code
• Information Technology
• Market pressures dictate vendor strategies
• Midmarket ERP
• SSA Global outlines growth strategy
• Operations
• The fruitful joining of unlike minds
• Plant-Floor Security
• Microsoft patch management a top-level plant-floor concern
• Procurement Strategies
• Understand costs before outsourcing
• Real-Time Performance Management
• Lighthammer strikes commanding pose at user conference
• Top of Mind at ISA
• Plant automation, IT dead center in cyber terrorism concerns