Midsize manufacturers: “We need integrated solutions”
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 6/18/2008 8:26:00 AM
Midsize automotive and industrial equipment manufacturers see integrated technology platforms as the most effective vehicle for developing business processes that keep demanding customers satisfied, according to recent surveys conducted by Microsoft Dynamics.
Microsoft Dynamics is the division of Microsoft Corp. that offers business management applications for midsize companies.
“The biggest change in the past two years is the amount of instability in customer demand,” said one survey respondent, the VP of operations for a midsize automotive parts manufacturer. “Demand can go from 100,000 units one month to 20,000 units the next month. Things can change from week to week. [We] have to see it coming—and be able to respond.”
Most of the respondents to the Microsoft surveys were suppliers to large original equipment manufacturers (OEM). The respondents noted that demand from these larger customers has become so volatile because global competitive pressures are forcing the OEMs to constantly adjust their own business strategies.
The best way for midsize suppliers to respond to these constant demand shifts, according to the majority of respondents, is to have an integrated set of technology solutions that facilitate fast, easy flow of information throughout the value chain.
Sharon Ward, worldwide manufacturing industry director with Microsoft Dynamics, says midsize manufacturers seeking to maintain high customer service levels actually need a two-pronged approach.
“It requires a specific attitude, and the adoption of technology to support that attitude,” Ward declares. "Companies need to embrace their customers, suppliers, and distributors as partners. Almost every company that sends out a purchase order says it wants to be partners, but very few act like true partners in the sense of working together for mutual benefit. We need to bring that sense of working together for mutual benefit into the actual business transaction, so that one partner is not asking other partners to take on the responsibility of managing inventory in a way that allows them to serve their customers without any regard for the suppliers’ profitability.”
As Ward points out, however, even companies that want to engage in true partnerships often are hampered by the IT systems on which they run their businesses.
“Most ERP and supply chain systems today actually inhibit efficient supply chains and good customer service because they are not integrated—they are built on varied technology stacks," explains Ward. "That makes it difficult to control and coordinate your data, and gain the visibility into the movement of goods that's necessary to provide superior customer service.”
A Manufacturing Business Technology Webcast offers more details on the Microsoft survey and why midsize manufacturers believe integrated technology solutions are the key to offering better customer service.
