Articles
The Lead
Cloud Computing Week
May 13, 2013 | by Manufacturing Business Technology | Comments
Manufacturing Business Technology is devoting this week to Cloud Computing. Check here daily for articles, blogs and videos being featured this week. Hear from industry experts on how they've integrated technology, the solutions currently being offered in the industry and gain insight on making the most of your operations.
Business Agility In The Evolving Workforce
May 17, 2013 11:03 am | by Bob Dean, Executive Director, Business Transformation, Cisco | Comments
Eighty five percent of companies with global supply chains experienced at least one supply chain...
How Manufacturers Can Benefit From Cloud Computing
May 17, 2013 10:53 am | by Jon Minnick, Associate Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology | Comments
Manufacturing Business Technology took some time to talk with Sanjay Ravi,...
Benefits Of Cloud Based Inventory Management Software
May 15, 2013 11:21 am | by Acumatica | Comments
For a long time sophisticated inventory management software solutions were too costly for most...
Meeting And Beating New Product Cost Targets
May 15, 2013 11:04 am | by Julie Driscoll, Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Product Management, aPriori, Inc. | CommentsIf you are working on a new product development initiative (NPI) for a discrete manufacturer, you’re likely under pressure to develop those products within specific cost, weight, market and quality targets under very tight timeframes. Developing and producing products that can meet all of these criteria, particularly cost, can be extremely challenging.
Q&A: Maintaining A U.S. Manufacturing Presence
May 14, 2013 10:24 am | by Lindsey Jahn, Associate Editor, Food Manufacturing | CommentsFood Manufacturing spoke with Roger Kilmer of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) about the importance of maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in the United States, and what resources are available to domestic manufacturers.
Cloud Applications, A Challenge For User And Access Control
May 14, 2013 10:18 am | by Dean Wiech, Managing Director at Tools4ever | CommentsFor an IT department, working with cloud applications and their providers can present a number of new challenges. Where the IT department previously took a facilitating role that is now transitioning to a coordinating role. In addition, it can be significantly more difficult to control user and access privileges in cloud applications.
Cloud Readiness For Logistics Providers
May 13, 2013 10:39 am | by Joe Pampel, Consulting Director, SunGard Availability Services | CommentsCall it the Logistics Cloud. It’s cloud-computing technology for logistics service providers, or LSPs, and it’s a huge universe that encompasses every industry. It’s computing that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet and employs a network of remote servers to store, manage and process data rather than a local server.
Finally, Uniform And Secure Enterprise Data Storage Ideal For Manufacturing
May 10, 2013 10:29 am | by Andres Rodriguez, CEO of Nasuni | CommentsManufacturing companies have a notorious need to store large files and provide access from multiple offices, all on a restricted budget. In a world where manufacturing production is king, capital expenses are laser-focused on tools and equipment, leaving IT to strategically minimize capital investment while delivering enterprise-class IT operations.
Microsoft Director: 'Manufacturing Is A Hotbed Of Innovation'
May 10, 2013 9:49 am | by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director | CommentsThe fundamental DNA of our business is to unleash the potential of people and organizations. And we have a long history of success in productivity tools. So that’s what we want to continue to do for our manufacturing customers — provide the tools to unlock their potential in growth, innovation, quality and customer service and help them improve productivity by optimizing and connecting their operations.
Understanding The Options In Manufacturing eCommerce
May 6, 2013 12:21 pm | by Bob Barr, Senior Vice President, Acquity Group | CommentseCommerce is driving new opportunities in manufacturing and other B2B industries. With the right technology, a manufacturing brand can dramatically improve its online presence, but for many manufacturing companies, the decision to launch an eCommerce initiative isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Preparing To Succeed When Your Network Has Been Breached
May 6, 2013 12:13 pm | by Jeff Multz, Director of North America Midmarket Sales, Dell SecureWorks | CommentsIf you don’t have a Computer Incident Response Plan (CIRP), resolving an incident will be much more difficult on your company and much more expensive. Because the longer you wait to eradicate a threat, the more time the intruders have to steal valuable information on you and your customers, and to make fraudulent wire transfers from your banking accounts.
The Key To Mobile Success In Manufacturing
May 6, 2013 11:58 am | by Jim Somers, Antenna Software | CommentsWhile mobile application adoption in traditional industrial manufacturing corporations has lagged some other industries, many people in manufacturing today have begun to realize the vast potential mobility has to benefit their organization.
Forget The Gym, Join A 3D Printing Factory
May 6, 2013 11:44 am | by David Mantey, Executive Editor, PD&D | Comments3D Creation Systems is an additive manufacturing facility that offers SLS, SLA, FDM, and composite technologies to members for as little as $2,500. The 3D Creation Systems concept is reminiscent of Tech Shop, another membership-based, do-it-yourself workshop.
Why Manufacturers Need To Bulletproof Their Virtualized IT Environments
May 6, 2013 9:51 am | by Frank Hill, Stratus Technologies | CommentsThe benefits of virtualization, including cost control, higher productivity, and better long-term planning, are indisputable. Yet, some manufacturing engineers and plant IT departments are missing out on these benefits because they think virtualization involves too much risk.
Sustaining Market Leadership By Leveraging Business And Manufacturing Intelligence
May 3, 2013 10:11 am | by James Montgomery, Product Manager, Apriso | CommentsManufacturers cannot expect to sustain success with traditional decision making when facing today’s unprecedented shifts in markets, demands, technologies and opportunities. To maintain a leadership position and profit margins, companies must respond intelligently to more frequent, drastic and faster changes.
ISM: Manufacturing Slowing, But Still Expanding
May 3, 2013 10:03 am | by Jon Minnick, Associate Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology | CommentsEconomic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April for the fifth consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Report On Business. Although U.S. manufacturing continued to slow in April, underlying metrics show that there is more good news than there is cause for concern.
Five Reasons For Small To Mid-size Manufacturers To Adopt PLM
May 1, 2013 10:32 am | by Chuck Cimalore, CTO and Co-founder of Omnify Software | CommentsBy implementing a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system, companies both large and small, benefit by simplifying and shortening each phase of the product development process. However, deciding whether or not to adopt PLM software has been a challenge for smaller organizations due to a reputation of PLM being difficult to implement.
Creating Better Jobs For Manufacturing’s Comeback
April 28, 2013 2:13 pm | by Ray Attiyah, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Definity Partners | CommentsA favorite saying of mine is that we hire people not just for their hands, but also for their hearts and minds. When we hire frontline employees, it should not be just for the work they do on the line, but for the creative thoughts in their hearts and minds. What if we paid frontline manufacturing employees just $2 per hour for their labor but $14 per hour to use their minds?
