Manufacturing Business Technology - March 1, 2009

Maintaining a lean supply chain during flush economic times isn't exactly easy, but staying lean during a recession times is tougher by far. In recent years, many companies could count on steadily growing demand, but the downturn has sent demand patterns plummeting in many industries, necessitating nimble short-term balancing of the supply picture against current demand in an effort to stay lean.

• Columnists
• In Perspective
• Cindy Jutras: What gets measured does get managed
• Julie Fraser: S&OP matures into strategic process
• Bill Polk: Tremendous opportunity ahead in automation software
• Viewpoint
• Sidney Hill, Jr.: Let's fix our economic state of mind

• Computing Infrastructure
• Skillfully social: Companies embrace wikis, blogs, collaboration tools found on the lofty Web 2.0 landscape

• Emerging Technology
• Unified communications: Microsoft pushes forward with its collaboration vision

• Enterprise/Supply Chain
• Best-of-breed supply chain vendor thrives by tackling specific customer needs

• Plant Operations
• Double shot and score: Link your advanced control systems to predictive models to improve plant yield, profitability

• Product Engineering
• Revved-up innovation: PLM platform speeds development of aftermarket auto power boosters