Manufacturing Business Technology - April 1, 2008

Korsnäs AB makes the specialty board and papers used in packaging liquid and food products. Papermaking at the moment is an intensely competitive industry. In fact, Korsnäs says competition within its carton board segment is higher as a result of imports from low-cost countries like Brazil and Chile, the weakened state of the U.

• Columnists
• Back Talk
• Sidney Hill, Jr.: Boeing's tanker contract protest raises questions about globalization
• In Perspective
• Alison Smith: Strategy versus compensation in the search for manufacturing excellence
• Cindy Jutras: Consult those in the know when stretching Lean's boundaries
• Up Front
• Kevin Parker: Innovation as a collective undertaking applied to newly pervasive technologies

• Computing Infrastructure
• Tech traffic cop: SOA tries the enterprise system on for size
• Closed-loop RFID drives new market growth

• Enterprise/Supply Chain
• Honda at heart: Plexus multi-industry enterprise system built on automotive supplier foundation
• SaaS approach to ops performance management finds dashboards' sweet spots
• Trade-offs abound in journey to globally integrated enterprise

• Plant Operations
• Use technology to cultivate a skilled workforce
• Pharma makers secure full chain of custody using Acsis track & trace
• Rockwell and Cisco back network integration via standard Ethernet technology

• Product Engineering
• Autodesk to “democratize” industrial design as it has 3D product engineering

• Supplement
• Emerging Technology
• Why SaaS-based ERP means putting your head in the clouds
• Switch to SOA spurs trends in IT/automation convergence
• Exploring new frontiers for 3D models

• Views From the Front
• Still a dream: mature S&OP processes yet to solidify for European manufacturers
• SOA virtuoso IDS Scheer unveils process governance road map
• ERP gone bad: a case study
• ISA advisory: May IT forum connects IT and automation
• In a down economy, opt for demand-pull strategies that lead to inventory reductions
• CMS Advisory: ECM systems are not SOA-compatible
• Siemens bets ERP/PLM integration will continue apace
• Avnet, others address need for greater transparency in outsourced manufacturing operations