Manufacturing Business Technology

• The right direction: Demand signaling helps fleet operators grow business over the long haul
  
  Erv Bleumner, October 17, 2007
  Innovative fleet operators have proven that the use of demand signaling throughout the supply chain helps them optimize routes, drivers, and loads—all while saving millions of dollars and driving revenue growth.
  
• Cut cycle times: How Lean can impact product development
  
  Jeff Covert, October 17, 2007
  A few pioneering companies have applied Lean to product development processes. The results are impressive, including product development cycle times routinely being slashed by 60 percent to 70 percent, and errors being caught at the concept stage—when they are least expensive to correct—rather than at the manufacturing stage.
  
• It’s payback time: The next generation of RFID may hold real value
  
  Bryan Tracey, October 17, 2007
  EPCglobal has ratified a new standard that promises to finally make RFID a tool for gaining complete supply chain visibility.
  
• Best-of-breed lives: Preactor expands global customer base
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 16, 2007
  Though their numbers have dwindled in recent years, best-of-breed supply chain management software vendors can still thrive by offering solutions that manufacturers can apply to specific business problems.
  A recent list of customers signed by Preactor International, a specialist in production planning and scheduling applications, underscores this trend.
  
• Grading performance: SaaS-based Emptoris 7 offers new supplier management capabilities
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 16, 2007
  While acknowledging the SaaS model has become an attractive selling point for e-sourcing solutions, Emptoris CEO Avner Schneur is more excited about the new supplier performance management capabilities the company's new SaaS-based platform offers.
  
  
• A world view: New IFS platform caters to global business models
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 16, 2007
  Enterprise software vendor IFS released a new version of its IFS Applications suite that the company claims offers greater support for global business models.
  
• Business as usual: Users shouldn’t sweat an Oracle takeover of BEA
  
  Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor, October 16, 2007
  Oracle has shown a knack for keeping customers happy following high-profile acquisitions. Its strategy for staying in customers’ good graces has been to simply continue supporting the solutions they had been using, and it has pledged to do the same for current BEA customers.
  
• Why performance improvement programs don’t meet expectations
  
  Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor, October 15, 2007
    Lean is by far the most popular performance improvement initiative. But at least a third of companies with active Lean programs are not practicing what many consider to be basic Lean principles.
  
• Worksoft and IntelliCorp test out SAP apps deployments
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 15, 2007
  The goal is to ensure thorough functional testing of key business processes using Worksoft Certify prior to implementation.
  
  
• Four pillars: GMA offers food safety action plan
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 15, 2007
  The Four Pillars program seeks to improve the safety of food imports through an integrated "life-cycle" approach centering on prevention.
  
  
• Detroit conference update: Lear likens lean to productivity hikes, reduced costs
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 15, 2007
  The Lear Manufacturing System relies on employee involvement and a commitment to efficient product design.
  
  
• Looking good: Cognos reports strong second-quarter earnings
  
  MBT Staff, October 11, 2007
  Business intelligence software supplier Cognos—suddenly a subject of takeover rumors—reported double-digit increases in revenue, profits, and earnings per share for its most recent fiscal quarter. 
  
• A strong denial: SAP refutes claims that Oracle pushed it toward Business Objects
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 11, 2007
  SAP CEO Henning Kagermann says the decision to buy business intelligence is in line with a previously announced SAP strategy to double its customer base by 2010.
  
• Making a comeback: supplier management issues revive e-sourcing market
  
  Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor, October 11, 2007
  While Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) clearly has become the e-sourcing deployment model of choice, vendors contend a recent upturn in sales is driven more by users’ desire for functionality that helps manage supplier relationships.
  
• Greater control: Siemens simplifies advanced process automation
  
  MBT Staff, October 10, 2007
  Siemens Energy & Automation says the latest version of its SIMATIC PCS 7 system makes it possible for almost any plant worker to install and manage advanced process control networks.
  
• The heat is on: SAP’s purchase of Business Objects is a defensive move
  
  Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor, October 8, 2007
  SAP’s plan to acquire Business Objects is an indication that the German software giant is feeling pressure from Oracle, its chief rival in the enterprise software space.
  
  
• Strong analytics: SAS and Teradata launch relational database partnership
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 8, 2007
  A partnership of two former competitors brings together the respective strengths of both companies in business analytics and enterprise data warehousing.
  
• Mobilizing BI: MicroStrategy offers report-validation tool for BlackBerry Smartphones
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 8, 2007
  MicroStrategy has expanded its business intelligence platform with a brace of software modules that enhance report mobility and quality.
  
• Skill saver: Cognos merges Microsoft Excel exploration and analysis with secure BI foundation
  
  By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff, October 8, 2007
  A new capability enables Microsoft Excel users to analyze centrally controlled Cognos 8 Business Intelligence performance information for improved decision-making.
  
  
• Epicor promises “technology uplift” from new version of its SOA-based ERP suite
  
  Sidney Hill, Jr., executive editor, October 8, 2007
    Epicor Software has released a new version of its Vantage ERP package that the company says demonstrates how a service-oriented architecture (SOA) can support global supply chains.