Manufacturing And Warehousing IT News For VARs — December 9, 2014
By Trisha Leon, contributing writer
The ways mobility is impacting the manufacturing environment is in the news this week, as well as the benefits of timely, accurate information sharing to vendor managed inventory (VMI). Also in the news are tips for improving search engine optimization (SEO) and for joining a public cloud.
How Mobility Is Optimizing Performance
The LNS blog post, “9 Ways Mobility Is Impacting the Manufacturing Environment Today,” by Mike Roberts explores the many types of mobile devices being used by manufacturing professionals today and ways in which these are making the industry more efficient. Digitizing many processes that were previously accomplished with pen and paper is one major way mobility has optimized performance. Alerts are another. Roberts reports, “With nearly any type of mobile device, real-time alerts can be set up to streamline notifications based on some type of predetermined parameter. For instance, a statistical process control (SPC) app could push a notification to an operator in the case of performance variability starting to stray outside of a threshold.” Many of the ways mobility can aid manufacturing require little up-front investment but deliver vast benefits. According to Roberts, if your customers aren’t on the path to using mobile apps to better manage production operations, they’re “seriously at risk of being stuck in the past.”
Timely And Accurate Information Sharing Key To Making VMI Work
Tariq Choudry, E2open’s vice president of field operations, Americas, writes in Industrial Distribution the article, “The ABC’s Of Vendor Managed Inventory.” In it he explains what benefits there are to be gained from vendor managed inventory (VMI) and how to best implement this strategy. As Choudry states, the advantage to VMI is “Instead of the customer reordering when its supply has been exhausted, the supplier is responsible for replenishing and stocking the customer at appropriate levels.” In order to accomplish this, both the supplier and customer must share information in a timely and extensive manner. Only by maintaining this high degree of visibility can suppliers ensure customers reduce stock outs and build heightened trust between the parties. When properly executed, VMI can provide a mutually beneficial relationship to customer and supplier.
How To Make SEO Work For Your Company
In an IT World article by Tom Kaneshige, Home Depot’s senior manager of search engine optimization (SEO), Sean Kainec, explains how to use SEO to get an operations message to rise to the top of the search page. Kainec says, “With SEO you really have to think like a customer,” adding, “If your site isn’t deemed an authority, you won’t show up.” Content is important and site owners may need to constantly tweak their strategies. Overall, SEO is a state of mind, and managing SEO will become increasingly important the digital world evolves and grows. As Kainec states, “My personal opinion is that SEO stretches through everything,” and adds, “SEO is not a job title; it’s a frame of mind.”
Article Offers Tips For Joining A Public Cloud
In a Computer World article, “Your New Legacy System: The Public Cloud,” Charles King gives tips for joining a public cloud. Getting the opinions of executives, managers, and staff; understanding cloud options; shopping for services extensively; reading the contract thoroughly; having an exit strategy; and preparing for worst-case scenarios are steps companies can employ to enter the public cloud with a degree of confidence. As King states, “The public cloud can be hugely beneficial,” but he warns, “it is effectively your new legacy system. So consider it realistically, make sure your provider is treating you fairly, and do everything you can to protect your workplace and yourself.”
Business Optimistic Approaching 2015
According to Industry Week, a survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers reveals that 91.2 percent of businesses feel at least somewhat or very positive about their company’s outlook in 2015. Increased hiring and stronger sales and domestic demand through much of 2014 have led to this optimism. According to Industry Week, “The current model is very encouraging and suggests that manufacturing production should continue to accelerate, growing 3.2 percent over the next two quarters. In addition to an increased manufacturing outlook, the rising stock market, better housing permits, data, and decent growth in consumer spending help push this figure higher.”
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Manufacturing And Warehousing Tech Center.