Feature Article

Still a dream: Mature S&OP processes yet to solidify for many European manufacturers

While 92 percent of manufacturing businesses have a formal sales & operational planning (S&OP) process in place, 62 percent of them reckon not to have gained any quantifiable benefit from doing so. It doesn’t have to be that way, as a number of best-in-class manufacturers in a new survey can readily demonstrate. Read more

Business process perk: Costa Coffee reengineers order taking, debt management using Epicor enterprise system

Costa Coffee is reporting many benefits out of a newly completed phase of a major business engineering project that uses Epicor Enterprise from Epicor Software Corp. to help maintain strong growth within its Corporate Sales Business. Read more

Clouds in the forecast: IBM and EU launch joint research for an emerging shared-infrastructure approach

IBM is leading a joint research initiative of 13 European partners to develop technologies that automate fluctuating demand for IT resources in what is called a cloud computing environment. Called RESERVOIR—also known as Resources and Services Virtualization without Barriers—the aim is to explore deployment and management of IT services across different administrative domains, IT platforms, and geographies. Read more

Find it online: Adobe technology makes MFG.com an easier place to buy, sell goods

Founded in 2000, Atlanta-based MFG.com is the world's largest online manufacturing industry marketplace, with $15 billion worth of transactions made on the platform since its inception. MFG.com recently completed a major revamp of its commerce platform, making extensive use of Adobe Systems technology. Read more

Part portal: Supply chain redesign gives Volvo CE options in after-sales service

All too often, when owner-operators went to Volvo CE's after-sales counters to pick up parts needed to get excavators, backhoes, and graders moving again, they were only available over-the-counter some 60 percent to 70 percent of the time. The solution lay in Volvo redesigning its supply chain using a global planning application from Syncron International that allowed Volvo CE to model options for improving service, choosing a strategy, and then putting that plan into practice. Read more

Research

Getting It Right: ERP Solutions for Mixed-mode Manufacturers

Mixed-mode manufacturers operate in both discrete and process environments. In the past, these organizations have not been well served by traditional discrete or process enterprise resources planning (ERP) solutions. But a recent trend in the ERP market has been the offering of software solutions by major discrete ERP vendors to the mixed-mode manufacturing sector. Download the report.
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