Feature Article

Know your domain: Successful lean practitioners need vertical industry knowledge

Aberdeen Group research shows that knowledge of lean methodologies is not enough to ensure a successful lean program. Best-in-Class process manufacturers are 36 percent more likely to use consultants with specific vertical industry experience when implementing lean.
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No wasted movement: Business analytics tool slashes Welch’s transportation costs

Bill Coyne, director of purchasing and logistics at Welch's, says a SaaS-based business intelligence system paid for itself within a month by isolating opportunities for saving on transportation and logisitics costs.
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Fast answers: AXLE Studio presents critical data without delay

The accounts receivable department at Virtek Vision International is much more efficient since the company adopted a business intelligence solution known as AXLE Studio. Credit managers get automatic warnings when an account becomes 45 days past due. The system also identifies which companies should be given restrictions on future orders.
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Multiple personas: Knowing what each user needs from a service is critical to SOA governance

Multiple personalities can be a good thing—at least when it comes to a service-oriented architecture (SOA) governance strategy. That’s the conclusion offered by analysts at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner, who argue that the best solutions for managing an SOA are offered by vendors that realize that people with a variety of roles—or personas—must be part of the SOA governance process.
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Research

A different kind of WIP: Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence Architectures Still a Work in Process

Demand for manufacturing performance visibility and enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) continues to grow, and vendors from all corners of the market have joined the fray. However, depending on where you sit within your organization, the phrase enterprise manufacturing intelligence evokes everything from production and asset performance indicators displayed as Web parts in plant-level Microsoft SharePoint portals to higher level intelligence and integration frameworks like SAP’s MII. Users get the highest returns from their EMI investments when they take an architectural approach that blends these very different applications to take full advantage of their respective strengths. AMR Research says prospective users need to recognize that achieving manufacturing performance visibility isn’t as simple as buying a one-size-fits-all software application. They should focus on roles, use cases, and the design of an information architecture that can be tapped at multiple levels to serve up what’s needed by the various consumers—in a form that’s easily digestible and role appropriate.
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