Manufacturing Business Technology - December 1, 2007

As 2007 comes to a close, Manufacturing Business Technology turned to some of those it knows best in the vendor community to get an idea of what may lie ahead in the ongoing convergence of manufacturing systems and information technology. Based on a recovery in capital goods investment and increased exports, by 2006, 14 of 22 U.

• Applications and Services
• Acsis/SAP tool provides plant-level integration, MES adjunct, track & trace
• Asset performance management is the backbone to culture of reliability
• High-availability server ensures centralized IT network access for German automaker
• Content-centric application puts context into engineering document management
• Put down that spreadsheet: ERP follows food to the plant floor, and out the door
• Excel-based collaboration tool is free; ensures single version of truth

• Business Performance
• Global agendas power compliance concerns; IT tools for coping
• Google's shine dulled as e-business scores take a hit in customer satisfaction survey
• There's New Momentum afoot to minimize risk, forge a stronger supply chain
• Solution monitors IT systems for strict regulatory compliance
• When BOMs slow batching processes, you need an archive

• Columnists
• Back Talk
• Sidney Hill, Jr.: Vendors benefit from SOA just as much as users
• In Perspective
• Erik Keller: So long, and thanks for the fish
• Simon Jacobson: Pending U.S. import safety act drives reconsideration of quality management
• Cindy Jutras: Best-in-Class make judicious use of selected lean methodologies
• Up Front
• Kevin Parker: A skilled yet aging workforce sees wages squeezed by globalization

• Special Report
• Pacific Rim
• Tigers of Pacific Rim poised to profit from China growth

• Views From the Front
• MCA asks: Why choose one major ERP partner when you can have two?
• Oracle targets enhanced S&OP with Interlace buy
• Rockwell partners eye information management
• Manufacturers tackle complexities of online, indirect sales
• Rockwell Automation Fair highlights process-sector push
• Stanford forum unearths big benefits in B2B outsourcing
• Parsec Automation urges tangible financial spin on OEE