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Manufacturing Roundups

Are You Outsourcing the Right Way?
Outsourcing is a key piece in the strategy of many leading companies, and the benefits of properly conceived and managed outsourcing relationships have been well documented. In this IndustryWeek guide you'll learn how to successfully manage and optimize outsourcing relationships, as well as 10 practical insights for assessing the opportunity to outsource, selecting a provider, and transitioning the delivery of services. Read the free IndustryWeek guide!

Secret #1 About Big Data: It Doesn't Need to Be Expensive
Over the years, millions of dollars' worth of investment in data warehouse and business intelligence tools have failed to deliver as promised. As a result, there is a growing demand among businesses for initiating smaller pilots in a test-and-learn environment. Learn about this secret and other Big Data truths in this free guide. Learn More!

To a Lean Operation, Downtime Is Costly. Learn to Avoid It.
Idle lines do not add value. Restarting production after unplanned downtime takes a lot of effort. To avoid this waste, strategies to eliminate unplanned downtime are critical for a Lean operation. In this free IndustryWeek guide, learn how manufacturers are preventing critical application outages from stopping production. Learn More!

Free Guide: The Quiet Revolution of Sensor Data
Manufacturers have been using sensors in their plants for years. But there's a quiet revolution starting, as companies learn how to use sensor data for boosting efficiency, improving product development, and gaining market insight. Read about the findings from a recent IndustryWeek/SAS survey of 500 manufacturers, and learn how companies are using sensors, how to become more competitive thanks to sensors, and how to deal with the influx of sensor-related data. Learn More!

Current white papers

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  Plugged In: The Brave New World of Customer-Centric Manufacturing
  
  Find out how successful companies like Nike, Apple, Boeing and Coca-Cola are infusing analytics into their marketing to better engage customers throughout the buying life cycle....More
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  Best Practices for Shipping Perishable Goods Coast-to-Coast
  
  The food industry has made great strides in bringing perishable goods from the West Coast to East Coast markets in a safe and timely fashion. Yet even with today’s network of refrigerated rail cars, trucks, and intermodal containers, shippers of fresh produce, frozen foods, temperature-sensitive liquids, and other perishable goods face numerous hurdles to ensure that their products arrive on time, unspoiled, and with adequate remaining shelf life....More
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  How Abundant Connectivity is Changing Manufacturing
  
  Today more and more equipment on a plant floor is capable of intelligence -- which is driving greater visibility, speed, and collaboration across manufacturing companies. Regardless of whether your product is simple or complex, your company must adapt to stay competitive. Find out about the developments your company should expect thanks to these intelligent devices and systems. Read this free research brief from ARC Advisory Group....More
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  70,000 ppm to 150 ppm: How One Die Caster uses Technology to Profitably Produce a Challenging Automotive Castings
  
  Aallied was placed into an intense scenario involving high profile customers, which meant that our only option was to design our way to success. By using the most powerful and advanced tools at our disposal, such as MAGMASOFT, and our collective knowledge, the Aallied team had the confidence and ability necessary to charge forward without reservation....More
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  Spokane Industries: Simulation provides solutions
  
  At Spokane Industries, it’s clear that their use of process optimization software is yielding benefits across the entire business environment, from design through material use, production through part validation and in differentiating them from its competition. The result is more work being processed more efficiently, with the plant’s capacity utilization being much higher and more profitable, according to Spokane personnel....More
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  Usability Drives Profitability
  
  Why should manufacturers care about the look and feel of their ERP system? Does a consumer-like user interface really matter? Yes! Usability in ERP solutions is about more than pretty screens with bright colors. Although a pleasurable experience is one benefit of improved usability, the real benefits for manufacturers come from the improved productivity and increased efficiency. Intuitive screens with easy-to-find, contextual information speed decision making and ensure best practices are met. Improved ease of use also helps employee engagement, reduces training required and supports agile, responsive attention to meeting customer expectations. Learn more in this white paper by Manufacturing Performance institute (MPI)....More
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  Social Business: From nice-to-have to necessity
  
  The use of social media concepts in business environments is growing rapidly: but to many executives, the applications and benefits are unclear. In this white paper, we'll examine how social media and social business differ, how social business is being used, and why companies should care....More
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  Designing Security into The Connected Industrial Enterprise
  
  New technologies that securely connect plant information with enterprise systems and the Internet can improve productivity, asset utilization, and decision-making. But connecting plant-floor data with the enterprise and the cloud poses Cybersecurity risk....More
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  Master the Multi-Site Contact Center: A Management Model that Works
  
  In today’s flatter, more global environment, price and product are no longer enough to keep the connected consumer loyal to a brand. New value has been placed on customer–facing initiatives like service, engagement, and experience. While the contact center has always been an important interface between companies and customers, it’s now more valuable than ever....More
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  Manufacturing Outlook: Improving time to market, operational effectiveness and innovation in a highly competitive environment
  
  Manufacturing production is expected to grow over the next few years but many manufacturers are still struggling to recover from the contraction in the industry that began in 2008. As the industry rebounds, manufacturers now face a more competitive environment where they must do more with less. They will have to optimize resources, choose projects wisely, better manage risk and find the time and budget to innovate in order to thrive....More
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  Time-to-Market: The Need for Speed in the Automotive Industry
  
  Bringing new vehicles to market quickly has never been more challenging. Not only are new vehicles more complex than ever before, but supply chains are stretched, consumers are more demanding and even small delays can cost millions of dollars per model. To bring new models to market on-time and on budget, automakers need an Enterprise Project Portfolio Management solution that can improve financial management, provide greater operational excellence, and risk mitigation through project or portfolio analysis....More
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  Integrated Business Planning: Powering Agility in a Volatile World
  
  Integrated business planning aligns demand, supply and finance plans for a clear line of sight across an organization. With this complete view, businesses can test the financial impact of different “what if” options in the supply-demand continuum in response to global marketplace volatility and changing customer demands. This paper outlines seven success strategies for maturing your Sales & Operations Planning process toward full Integrated Business Planning....More
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  Safety Maturity: Three Crucial Elements of Best-in-Class Safety
  
  Best-in-class manufacturers are showing by example the value of having a safety program that can support the promise of an information-enabled connected enterprise. Integrated safety technologies are improving diagnostics and reducing unscheduled downtime...More
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  Harnessing the Potential of the Industrial Cloud
  
  Commercial technologies like cloud, mobility and big data are quickly migrating onto facility floors, and driving industrial companies towards an inflection point where their value proposition surpasses the complexities involved in implementing them. Recognizing the broad industrial potentia...More
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  Market Trends and IT Innovations for Manufacturing Verticals
  
  Product and industry experts outline their predictions for the evolving market trends in manufacturing and how IT solutions will change in order to meet new demands. The predictions offer valuable insights on vertical industries and point to future growth opportunities for manufacturing companies. The whitepaper will help you envision pending market changes and how software innovations will impact your operational potential....More
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  Five Levels of Collaboration in Manufacturing
  
  How to plan and build an effective collaboration platform for the stringent demands of manufacturing. Learn how business collaboration is different from social media and how integrated collaborative tools serve as a knowledge management platform and help manage transactional data, speed decisions and support proactive attentions to issues....More
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  Social Business: Big Benefits for Manufacturers
  
  Accelerate and elevate information sharing with action-oriented, strategic conversations. Social tools offer manufacturers many benefits, including the ability for users to immediately send, search, receive, sort, and digest information. Social media is a faster, more efficient way to communicate than emails, phone calls, and meetings....More
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  Increasing Employee Engagement
  
  Employee engagement is a critical issue to business continuity and organizational performance. Increasing employee engagement requires strong leadership and the right tools to facilitate communication and collaboration. Learn how to marry business information with business processes. This means your employees will be able to communicate and collaborate more easily, promoting employee engagement and talent retention....More
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  The Connected Industrial Enterprise
  
  Learn how unlocking data can enable you to build a connected enterprise, vital to the future of manufacturing...More
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  Design Considerations for Securing Industrial Automation and Control System Networks
  
  The industrial control system represents the heart of production, and the security of information used for control, configuration and monitoring is critical...More
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  Solving Common Problems in Hydraulic Actuators by Using Electric Actuators
  
  Electric actuators are quickly becoming the preferred method of automating manufacturing processes. This white paper outlines the problems associated with hydraulic actuators and how they can be solved or avoided by using electric actuators while improving performance, providing a safer system, cutting costs and leaving a smaller footprint....More
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  On the Clock: The Possibilities of Workforce Mobility
  
  Your workers use smartphones and tablets during their time away from work. So at work, why are they still relying on a bulletin board in the back room, filling out paper forms, and making phone calls to request a day off? Workforce mobility is changing the way companies operate, and the ROI is quick. Read this free white paper to learn how companies are enjoying greater productivity thanks to mobility....More
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  Minimizing the Impact of Recalls
  
  More than half of supply chain and operations executives say they wouldn't be able to execute on a recall quickly. The stakes are high, since the average recall cost for food and consumer products companies is $10 million -- and that doesn't count damage to brand reputation and lost sales. Learn why traceability is so important, and how you can protect your company and your customers....More
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  On the Trail to Traceability
  
  Today's supply chains are more complex, and that makes supply chain traceability a huge challenge for manufacturers -- since only 54% are fully compliant with existing traceability rules. In this easy-to-read presentation complete with data and charts, you'll see why companies should be worried about their current tracking capabilities, and where the opportunities are....More
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  Moving to Cloud Financials: Adoption, Expectations, and Guidance
  
  Existing systems are inadequate and inflexible in meeting their business requirements. But to run Finance in the Cloud, CFOs must provide leadership...More
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  Real CIOs of the Cloud
  
  True innovation is happening ONLY in the cloud. This new whitepaper features two technology leaders discussing their cloud strategy...More
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  What Your Peers Are Doing to Prime Their Human Resources and Financial Systems for Growth and Change
  
  Organizations like Sallie Mae, CareerBuilder, and AAA are realigning their HR and finance systems to accommodate growth and change...More
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  10 Critical Requirements for Cloud Applications
  
  Growing interest in cloud computing has prompted almost every enterprise software vendor to claim it's "in the cloud." However, in the industry's rush to fulfill demand...More
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  Generate Greater Cash Flow by Optimizing Opportunities
  
  Unlocking existing contingency funds can boost operational agility and give your company more room to develop future profit. This report explains how visibility and increased governance is key to reducing risk. It contains the latest findings from The EPPM Board. You'll learn how business value can be gained from greater executive oversight into performance....More
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  The Future Of Procurement Collaboration White Paper
  
  Virtually all companies are under intense pressure to find the next generation of cost savings given both the commoditization of their products and mandates from customers to deliver more. This is particularly true for manufacturing companies, most of whom have wrung out costs for the past decade. Learn the implications for logistics procurement....More
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  CEOs Are Increasingly Being Held Accountable
  
  How susceptible is the CEO's reputation to poor performance across the project portfolio? What impact can delivery failures have on the executive board, and what are the challenges they face to introducing greater accountability? These are the central questions behind this research report, which examines how a lack of operational visibility, allied to the inherent risks that accompany any large capital investment, can have a direct impact on bottom line results -- and by extension the career prospects of senior executives....More
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  How Share Price Affects a Company's Senior Leaders
  
  Senior executives are more accountable than ever before for operational failings that contribute to poor share price performance. In this independent report, you'll see the intrinsic connection between long-term capital investment and short term market performance -– and how this can impact the profit outlook. It examines existing research, industry examples, and explores practical approaches to maintaining effective visibility and control over key operational metrics....More
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  Supply Chain Segmentation Enabled Why Focusing on Operations and Using New Technology Makes All the Difference
  
  Today's supply chains -- stretched by globalization, outsourcing, and the rapid proliferation of SKUs and product configurations -- are exceedingly complex. They're also exceedingly hard to manage. Companies know that in order to provide customers with more customization, more service, and more intimacy than ever, they need to segment their supply chain. But most still rely on a "one-size-fits-all" approach....More
- White Paper
  
  Big Data and Big Analytics for Product and Process Quality
  
  A comprehensive IndustryWeek survey of manufacturers reveals a key opportunity: collecting and sharing quality-related data across the entire organization can transform manufacturing....More
- White Paper
  
  Choosing the Right LED Product for Industrial Applications
  
  The way to reduce that massive energy expense is to upgrade to intelligent industrial LED lighting, which can reduce lighting energy use up to 90%. This white paper provides a comprehensive overview of industrial LED alternatives....More
- White Paper
  
  Shift Your Focus - Exploring the Future of Manufacturing Execution Systems
  
  If manufacturing drives your business, then business should drive your manufacturing IT. Forward-looking manufacturers are shifting the focus of manufacturing IT from operational tactics to a holistic business strategy. HP takes a closer look at today’s most advanced Manufacturing Execution Systems....More
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  Reengineering the Foundation for B2B Information Exchange in the Supply Chain
  
  Cloud platforms represent a truly radical shift in how companies exchange information with one another. Examine the shortcomings of yesterday’s technology and how new platforms based around the economics of cloud are enabling companies to become agile and hyper-efficient networked organizations. Without the extra-enterprise nervous systems to see and control the supply chain, companies are at a strategic disadvantage in their markets, and this paper explains why....More
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  Industry Edge: Aerospace Edition ezine
  
  The aerospace industry is navigating challenges and opportunities: ranging from going global, seeking growth markets, overcoming complexities, and driving innovation and differentiation. Learn how HP helps aerospace and defense companies harness the new style of IT with solutions that enable innovation and growth....More
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  Accelerating Speed to Market in the Highly Competitive Automotive Industry
  
  Dramatic changes in the auto industry are making speed a necessity for product development and production. You need a funnel for innovative ideas and resource management -- to accelerate your time to market. Learn why timely product releases are growing in importance throughout the automotive world, and how your company can ensure speedy product launches....More
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  5 Core Principles of Supply Chain Excellence
  
  Supply chain management has evolved into a science, and achieving an efficient supply chain from end to end is a priority. Read about the 5 core principles of manufacturing supply chain excellence (including customer centricity, differentiated services through segmented supply chains, and more) in this free white paper....More
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  Capitalizing on Sensor Data Opportunities
  
  Product-embedded sensors are proliferating and provide an unprecedented amount of granular data on how customers use products and how products perform. But to turn this data into actionable knowledge, manufacturers need to have an integrated business analytics platform. Otherwise, sensor-generated data will not return full benefits.....More
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  Cloud Information Technology: A Model for the Networked Company
  
  Cloud technology is rapidly changing the way B2B interactions are carried out. It provides a benefit that no amount of investment in traditional software can obtain — the exponential effect a robust network of companies with a common goal has on the quality of the technology and its users. As companies move to cloud-based software, their IT teams must correspondingly adapt the department’s structure....More
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  Post Accident Cost Control and Accident Prevention
  
  What’s the best way to minimize the cost of an injury? The answer is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. The simple truth is that workplace accidents will happen. What happens next, however, can significantly impact the productivity and profitability of any company—large or small.....More
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  Manufacturing Solutions Enable IT And Business Execs To Address Key Strategic Priorities
  
  Today’s leading manufacturers are aggressively implementing wireless solutions throughout their industrial facilities and using these wireless solutions to enhance agility. This study focused on identifying key strategic and business priorities of IT executives and business decision-makers enabled by WLAN/Wi-Fi and other wireless infrastructure technologies....More
- White Paper
  
  5 Tips for Enterprise Asset Management Software ROI
  
  How can enterprise asset management (EAM) software deliver return on investment (ROI)? Learn the five ways EAM delivers ROI, so you can plan your selection and implementation around these deliverables. Download this white paper to take advantage of the cost savings and revenue enhancement features EAM offers, and avoid the potential problems....More
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  What’s Missing from Your Lean Initiative? TPM’s integral role, with 5 takeaways to guide your strategy.
  
  Most business owners and general managers recognize just how critically important proper equipment maintenance is, particularly in an asset-oriented work environment. Simply put, poorly maintained equipment leads to production downtime, lost revenue, dissatisfied customers, and low morale. Yet, in the context of lean initiatives, debates crop up regarding the role of preventive and predictive maintenance versus Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Read more......More
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  When Disaster Strikes
  
  Disasters that affect the supply chain will never be avoidable – but the operational and financial havoc created by them can be. Globalization and the concept of a lean supply chain exposes companies to more risk from major disasters than ever, and companies must plan for and act confidently when they occur. Hear stories of disruptions and the best strategies for handling them with cloud technology....More
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  Manufacturers Take Risky Bets on Supply Chain Resiliency
  
  A recent BBK and IndustryWeek survey indicates manufacturers may not realize the risks that lurk within their supply chains. Findings from the BBK/IndustryWeek Supplier Risk Survey indicate a deficiency gap in the perceived strength of supplier risk management systems and the actual knowledge of potential problems that exist throughout the supply chain. While many manufacturers expressed confidence in their company’s supply chain processes, they cited challenges that could negatively impact their networks. These include a lack of talented supply chain professionals, little visibility into supplier finances, logistics issues and capacity and resource constraints....More
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  A U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance
  
  Renaissance Era = Evolving customer priorities, an expanding marketplace, and rising competition Manufacturing’s new era is about transformation - in how you view the market and adopting a new approach to doing business....More
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  Comau and Siemens Collaborate to Develop a Revolutionary “Digital Factory” for Automobile Manufacturing
  
  At Comau, a $1.8 billion global provider of advanced vehicle production systems, a game-changing modular, automated design enables time-saving parallel production, reduces work-in-process, improves material logistics, saves energy and reduces floor space up to 50%....More
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  UPS 2012 Change in the (Supply) Chain Survey; Exporting & Global Trade
  
  The Change in the (Supply) Chain survey provides new insights on the future of U.S. exports and global trade, which is crucial to stay competitive in today's market....More
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  Manufacturer IT Applications Study
  
  What kinds of downtime problems are manufacturers currently facing, and what are they doing to prevent downtime from impacting their operations? Read the results of this IndustryWeek study to pick up insights into companies' downtime woes, and to learn about the strategies and best practices manufacturers are using to prevent it....More
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  Five Steps to a High-Performance Supply Chain: A Guide to Reaching New Levels of Agility by Enhancing ERP Software with Collaborative Cloud Technology
  
  Traditional ERP systems are no longer enough to make the cut in this complex global manufacturing arena. To extend the functionality of their legacy software, companies are plugging into a cloud-based supply chain network – one that connects partners, shows a complete supply chain picture through better visibility and data quality, and allows for a new level of collaboration and efficiency....More
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  Is it Time to Purchase a New ERP?
  
  According to data collected for the Mint Jutras 2011 ERP Solution Study, 62% of businesses with ERP installed are running the first solution ever implemented in the company. Why? Because for years most people equate replacing ERP to brain surgery....More
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  Kaikaku: Moving Beyond Kaizen One Organization’s Story of Radical Process Change using 3P
  
  3P is a method by which teams develop and deploy radical improvement in product and process design....More
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  Selecting ERP for Engineer to Order (ETO) Manufacturing
  
  Most enterprise resource planning ERP software was not designed for a project-oriented environment like ETO. How do the needs of ETO manufacturers differ from more traditional manufacturers?...More
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  Unlock Innovation: Create a Collaboration-Driven Ecosystem to Accelerate Innovation from Idea to Product
  
  Today, product-based companies face tremendous business challenges—driven primarily by continued worldwide economic uncertainties that contribute to weak and fluctuating product demand....More
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  Smart Manufacturing and Competitiveness; How technology-driven productivity improvement is shaping the future of U.S. industry
  
  Special Report: Smart Manufacturing and Competitiveness; How technology-driven productivity improvement is shaping the future of U.S. industry....More
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  Treating Maintenance as an Asset, not an Expense
  
  In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, everyone from top floor to shop floor is being asked to do more with less. That expectation is requiring companies to explore new approaches for maintaining lower operating budgets while increasing efficiency....More
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  Selecting and Implementing Secure Mobile ERP
  
  Is Mobile ERP Security an oxymoron? With bring your own device (BYOD) comes the realization that data from enterprise applications like ERP will wind up on mobile devices. In this white paper, IFS CTO Rick Veague discusses technological, process-based and cultural ways to handle this change in how enterprise data is handled....More
- White Paper
  
  Data Usage in Manufacturing
  
  This metrics-rich report is based on a survey conducted by IndustryWeek to investigate data collection and usage among manufacturing companies....More
- White Paper
  
  Why ERP Fails at Enterprise Project Management
  
  Most ERP does a poor job with enterprise project management (EPM), management of enterprise-wide projects like engineer-to-order, engineering procurement construction and process manufacturing initiatives....More
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  Siemens Integrates the Drive System for Optimized Efficiency
  
  The ARC Advisory Group has researched how the industry sources, designs, specifies, deploys and maintains industrial drive trains, across a number of industries around the globe....More
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  Has Your BOM Solution BOMBED?
  
  In the world of product design and manufacturing, the bill of materials (BOMs) is a critical product information record for both the engineering and manufacturing teams. Managing BOMs with the wrong tools can cause product errors, delays and compliance failures....More
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  Plan In Perfect Sync With Customer Demand
  
  Some companies have gotten away from putting the sales and marketing perspective into executive sales and operations planning (ES&OP); however, this is risky business in today’s economy....More
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  Mobile Initiatives for Manufacturing Executives: A How-To Guide
  
  From sourcing to production, distribution to customer service, manufacturing companies have tirelessly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations to increase responsiveness and profitability. Mobility takes these initiatives ever further, uncovering untapped ROI in your enterprise processes and systems....More
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  3 Key Areas to Reduce Costs with Lean Techniques
  
  Continuous process improvement is more critical than ever for manufacturers to become lean. One key area of focus is on the flow of product from supplier to customer....More
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  The Case for Cloud ERP in Manufacturing
  
  With its roots in Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has long been used by leading manufacturers to uncover untapped efficiencies, reduce costs, and provide visibility to enable managers to make in formed decisions....More
- White Paper
  
  Data and Decision-Making: Connecting the Big Disconnect
  
  Operational Excellence alone is no longer adequate to maximize ROI, free up cash, and grow revenues....More
- White Paper
  
  Maximize ERP Value with Inventory Optimization
  
  This white paper examines why challenges emerge as manufacturers and retailers make the transition to using analytical and optimization approaches for inventory and supply chain management...More
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  Manufacturing Velocity: Positioning Your Auto Manufacturing Operations to Keep Pace With Market Demands
  
  There’s no slowing down in the automotive industry. A customer base with a range of differing priorities for new-vehicle purchases – including safety, fuel efficiency, performance, design and options – means you’re producing more vehicles in more variations than ever while also undergoing more frequent design refreshes....More

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