We are starting 2012 off with a discussion of an area of manufacturing systems that is finally getting ready to come of age over the next year or two. Many industry analysts and writers in the technical press have written for years about the need for system interoperability to reduce the high cost and inflexibility of system integration. In the. Read More
In August, we discussed the how collaborative manufacturing methods are required to compete as a global manufacturer. A critical next step in the transformation process toward this goal is aligning of supply chain and plant metrics in support of near-real-time operations decision making. Many manufacturers come at this challenge from only top-down business intelligence methods with financial metrics based on. Read More
Master data, which may include reference data, is information that is key to the operation of business and is the primary focus of the IT discipline of Master Data Management (MDM). This key business information may include data about customers, products, employees, materials, suppliers, etc. which often turns out to be non-transactional in nature. In this regard, master data supports. Read More
Whether you believe the overwhelming evidence of global warming or not, next generation manufacturing is about minimizing the amount of water and energy used per produced unit while minimizing the amount of waste created and cost of waste processing. While 20th century manufacturing was about minimizing labor and materials used per produced unit, 21st century manufacturing is about minimizing water,. Read More
Collaborative manufacturing only happens when the MES/MOM systems are truly integrated into the supply chain management (SCM) systems to support end-to-end business processes through dynamic change management. Many companies have learned that global SCM does not work without real-time status of the plant fleet’s capabilities and capacity as well as the same level of information for supply side for the. Read More