Industry WeekMore from Industry WeekBusiness Strategy AlignmentCan Innovation Be Organized, Structured and Repeated?When innovation comes to mind, the first thing people might think of is creativity, spontaneity or a momentary stroke of genius. But can innovation occur out of a structured, repeatable process? The answer, in short, is yes.July 31, 2012Business Strategy AlignmentManagers Often Struggle with How to Structure Quality Initiatives in the EnterpriseQuality is an everyday conversation on the manufacturing floor. Performance measures such as first-pass yield, reject rates, and scrap and rework are displayed on white boards at cells and assembly lines, ruthlessly analyzed and targeted for improvement. Quality tools abound.July 20, 2012All TechnologyHow Long Since You Had an ERP 'Refresh'? There Have Been a Lot of Developments Since Then.To put it mildly, today's ERP is not what it was a decade ago. In terms of mobility, speed and actionable intelligence, technology was in its infancy at the turn of the century.July 13, 2012Business Strategy AlignmentCan the U.S. Revitalize Its Manufacturing Infrastructure?Pushing the limits of an aging infrastructure, U.S. manufacturers face a future of increasing costs and instability unless new technologies and new investments can rejuvenate the system.June 29, 2012Business Strategy AlignmentThe 'Lean' Journey Is 'Fragile' But Highly 'Necessary'This year, Vermeer Corp. is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its lean journey, a remarkable milestone given one of the words President and CEO Mary Andringa uses to describe the continuous-improvement methodology. "Fragile" is the word.June 27, 2012All TechnologyImportance of Managing Indirect Procurement Costs Can't Be Overstated, Former CFO SaysAs the former CFO of such companies as Sprint, Eastman Kodak Co. and Unisys Corp., as well as vice president of finance of General Electric Co.'s plastics division, Robert Brust's management philosophy was to bring procurement into the finance department, at times meeting daily with the purchasing team to go over expenditures line by line.May 24, 2012Business Strategy AlignmentThe Evidence Is In: Continuous Improvement Programs Pay OffIf you're a CEO who thinks lean and Six Sigma can be left to the plant manager or a continuous-improvement (CI) specialist simply to improve factory operations, think again.April 25, 2012All TechnologyIs Your Plant Floor Having Unprotected Communication?To remain competitive in today's fast-paced, global environment, manufacturers are adopting newly designed, high-speed wireless networks to help take better control of plant operations. Engineers and operators are being armed with iPads, laptops and high-speed scanners running on these networks to bring their facilities up-to-date with instantaneous, real-time communication.April 10, 2012Business Strategy AlignmentGiven Skills Gap in U.S., Who Would Fill Any Manufacturing Jobs That Are Created?President Obama and his Republican challengers are ramping up their rhetoric about creating more manufacturing jobs in the United States. The question is, will employees be ready for manufacturing?March 29, 2012All LogisticsMost Thinking of Moving Manufacturing Operations Closer to U.S. Have Eye on Mexico, Report FindsMexico, the United States' southern neighbor offers transportation distances a fraction of those from Asia, a labor force a good deal cheaper than domestic workers, and a country causing fewer headaches about intellectual property and other trade concerns. But in recent years, drug-related violence along the border has caused some manufacturers to be more cautious about making the move to Mexico.March 26, 2012Previous PagePage 10 of 30Next Page