Thanksgiving is the best holiday of the year for me hands down. As I did last week, I get to enjoy many traditions with family and friends without all the pressures that the next holiday typically brings.  More than 30 years ago, I used to play in the annual “Turkey Bowl” football game at the grade school at 10 am. Just show up and play. Now, the kids play and my friends and I just chat on the sidelines and reminisce on our once greatness of catching that great post-pattern pass. When the game is all over we head our separate ways to the true holiday quest of the perfect Turkey dinner and some “real” football games to watch on TV.

I do not know about you but I think there are probably 100 different ways to cook that turkey. Personally, I have become a fan of the deep-fry turkey myself over the past few years or the bourbon marinated one...Read More

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My company will soon publish some startling research that we have conducted with AMR Research about the use of metrics in food and CPG plants.  What makes this research startling is that, in a nutshell, an overwhelming majority of companies either do not have proper plant metrics in place, or do not have enough confidence in their metrics to use them for meaningful decision support.  In other words, manufacturers are flying blind.

Since this blog is titled “The Power of the Plant Floor” I bring up this topic because I believe that this dire state of plant metrics is, indeed, a threat to the power of the plant floor.  How can the plant floor have any impact on improving operations if there are no reliable metrics that show what it is doing?  

In the food sector specifically, margins have gotten squeezed by rising commodity...Read More

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I do not know about you but I do not look forward to this time of year. Don’t get me wrong, it is not the fall or football season or even the upcoming holiday season I dread. It is the annual budgeting season for next year. It is the time of year when we try to predict the future of next year by looking at the past. Though it has been a long time since my college days I do remember one thing from my Logic Class, that there is no such thing as a perfect analogy, it does seem sort of like driving a car by looking in the rear view mirror though. The biggest challenge this year is how can someone predict next year based on what is happening around us.

With revenues coming to a grinding halt or modest growth at best, the focus on bottom line EBITDA and improving efficiencies is the new mantra. Never mind that cash is king. So what does this mean for the manufactur...Read More

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In my last post, I cited two examples of course corrections that food producers were making to preserve their margins and their brand leadership.  The existing long-help processes or behavior norms, also known as, “the sacred cows” are most often never deviated from.  So, congrats to those leaders of companies who dare to challenge the “sacred cows” in response to today’s economy. I mean, isn’t this why the big bucks are being paid?? 

The hallmark of sophisticated management is not  process adherence or staying with “norms” any more than being a skipper in the America’s Cup is about knowing how to tie a Bowson’s knot or leaving the sails in a text book configuration, (that steady state behavior pattern does not win the race).  Neither is it about erratic and ill-considered tactical ...Read More

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Amid the dire economic headlines of the past several weeks, two stories about food production in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye.  They both point to strategic course corrections that food companies are making to respond to accelerating input costs and pocketbook-conscious consumers.  They both remind us that the seemingly ironclad policies and practices that exist in our organizations are only relevant in the context of the macro-economic environment in which we operate. 

Both articles address responses to margin erosion, the first through branding: 

“Kellogg Co’s new advertising push for staple cereals such as Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies, while Campbell Soup Co. is about to launch a mult...Read More

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In the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at plant level business systems that empower people, by providing the timely information needed for each individual job function and department to improve decision-making and take action that can improve the overall level of customer service and profitability of the business.
We’ve reviewed Customer Sales and Production Planning and Scheduling already, so let’s move to Production Operations next, for a closer look at the different types of information needs. From the plant manager, line supervisors, to individual production work centers/cell operators, we will explore the types of improvements that can result from the right person having timely access to the information they need, on an ongoing real-time basis.
Over the next few weeks, my blog colleagues (would that be “blolleagues”?) w...Read More

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I was just leaving the Blockbuster Video store when I was approached by a young lady with a clipboard.  She looked like she had not been having much luck that morning, so, given I was not in any sort of rush, I stopped to answer her questions. 

She asked about my exercise regime, calorie intake and alcohol consumption.  As I considered my responses, I experienced a twinge of guilt, as many of the questions centered around a healthy lifestyle.  This youngster was clearly fit and healthy herself, I didn’t want to disappoint myself or her. 

So, let’s say I was not as truthful as I might have been.  I considered the last week, when I had travelled to Chicago and Boston and fine-dined on both occasions; not to mention the wine.  I rationalized to myself that this was not a “normal” week, and as such I sho...Read More

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Recently, China's tainted milk scandal widened as melamine was found in products of a second dairy company, after infant formula contaminated by the chemical was linked to 1,253 cases of infant kidney stones, as well as the death of two babies.  Milk powder produced by 22 Chinese dairy producers was found to contain melamine.  Besides the international milk issues, locally in the U.S. there have been recent recalls related to tomatoes, frozen pizza, chicken breasts and other foods.  The need for more and reliable testing laboratories where you can check these products is a growing concern on a global basis.

Even though there is a difference between food safety and food defense, the larger global issue is how to build better visibility, accountability and reliability in the manufacturing and supply chain processes.  Though the food industry is highly reg...Read More

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We’re following the idea that plant level business systems like ERP, MOM and MES need to empower the people who really power the plants, by providing accurate and timely exception information needed for each individual job function and department, to make their next decisions and actions better. 

We’ve looked at Sales and Customer Service so far, so I’ll look at an example of another department next, Production Planning and Scheduling, for a closer look at today’s information needs of Planners and Schedulers and the types of improvements that can result from the right person having access to the right information, at the right time.

Example #2: Production Planners and Schedulers

The same accelerated speed of business that’s changing the way Sales manages customer demand, one order at ...Read More

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We’ve established that we need to empower the people who really power the plants. The challenge of business systems, then, is to bring just the accurate and timely information needed by each individual to make their next decision and the actions that follow, better – whatever information that may be, for each specific job function and department. 

Sounds reasonable, so in my next free blog postings, I'm going to dig into a few examples to better explore who needs what kinds of information, and the types of manufacturing improvements that can result from the right person having access to the right information, at the right time. 

Example #1: Customer Sales and Service

               ...Read More

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With this first entry on the “Power of the Plant” I have a chance to set the stage as the first of three distinct voices you'll hear from over the coming weeks and months, regarding the various challenges/opportunities today’s manufacturers are facing on the plant floor.

It's about how every direct and indirect department, cost center and operating work center that creates value and is focused on providing perfect order performance can overcome real-world challenges and better improve plant floor operations and productivity, for the benefit of the overall business.

Make no mistake – in the midst of today’s global economy, at a local level manufacturers are successful and continuing to maintain and grow the business every day. Inside every manufacturer you can find people who know their customers, products and services, their competition and m...Read More

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