Manufacturing And Warehousing IT News For VARs — September 15, 2014
By Trisha Leon, contributing writer
In the news, “design-led” innovation could provide your manufacturing clients with a competitive edge. Also, manufacturers are leveraging data to improve productivity, fulfill customer demand, and control costs.
Using “Design-Led Innovation” Can Boost Competitiveness
Manufacturers’ Monthly details a report launched by Australian Industry Minister, Ian MacFarlane, which identifies “design-led innovation” as a tool for manufacturers to boost global competitiveness. According to MacFarlane, manufacturers who apply design principals “have common attributes: they listen to customers, suppliers and researchers, and then turn their ideas into products and services their customers want.” Rather that compete on cost, these companies compete on value. Professor Sam Bucolo, of University of technology, who leads UTS’s Design and Innovation Research Centre, said in a statement, “A fundamental shift is needed for the manufacturing sector to remain competitive and relevant.” Design-led innovation could prompt such a shift.
Leveraging Data Leads To The “Intelligent Enterprise”
An IndustryWeek article, “Intelligent Enterprise is Key to Manufacturing Turnaround,” by Tom Bianculli, explains the need for “leveraging advances in connectivity and computing, we can drive new levels of data-driven insights,” something he calls the “intelligent enterprise.” He asserts that a technology transformation in the manufacturing sector is already under way. Bianculli writes, “For manufacturers, it is all about improving productivity on the plant floor with technology that reduces task time and physical strain, while fulfilling customer demand effectively and at an acceptable cost,” adding, “in order for this transformation to reach its full potential, manufacturers need to also focus on improving their production capability in addition to enhancing their warehousing and logistics operations. The more connected they are, the more effective they will become.”
Economy Shows Gains In Q3
Reports cited in the New York Times point to a strengthening third quarter. According to The Times, “American manufacturing activity hit its highest point in nearly three and a half years last month and construction spending rebounded strongly in July, providing further signs that the economy entered the third quarter on strong footing.” A particular bright spot was construction. As The Times reports, “Construction spending increased 1.8 percent in July to its highest point in five and a half years. This was the largest monthly gain since May 2012.” These reports show an encouraging economic picture moving through 2014 and into 2015.
Manufacturing And Warehousing IT Talking Points
Stephan Balzac of ComputerWorld explains a troubling behavior he’s noticed in some companies—ducking and covering. He gives examples of companies that have essentially “hid under their desks” in the face of challenges by continuing to employ strategies that are out dated. When manufacturers refuse to stray from tried and true methods that may have worked in the past but are now obsolete, they get left behind in the dust. This can be said of companies who yet to explore new technological innovations that can propel their business forward, innovations like Big Data capturing and Cloud Computing. VARs can assist their clients to understand new technologies, incorporate them within their businesses, and, as a result, see increased efficiency and market share.
VentureBeat reports that Salesforce.com, a dealer of enterprise software, seems set to launch Analytics Cloud at its Dreamforce conference next month. Jordan Novet writes, “It’s a big deal for Salesforce to finally do more to analyze data, and likely the data already sitting in Salesforce software for tracking sales leads, help-desk requests, and marketing-automation tools. Think business intelligence, think business analytics, which lots of companies, big and small, can do for Salesforce data. While Salesforce declined to provide an official comment, a spokeswoman did tell VentureBeat, “Stay tuned for Dreamforce.”
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Manufacturing And Warehousing Tech Center.