Category: Uncategorized
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It’s Time to Revisit Vendor Managed Inventory
A few decades ago, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) was a hot topic. Many manufacturers saw it as a way to reduce inventory levels and costs. If they could get their suppliers to maintain ownership of raw materials or subcontracted components until consumed, inventory levels would naturally drop—on paper anyway. Because they were giving most, or…
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3 Prerequisites to a Modern Demand-Driven Supply Chain
In 2010, Gartner estimated that manufacturers outsourced about 70% of the products they make to other manufacturers. I haven’t seen a recent statistic, but that still feels about right. So, it only makes sense that, for most manufacturers, implementing modern demand-driven or pull-manufacturing techniques will require collaboration with many partners across the entire supply chain.…
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Guest Blog: Real-world Advice for Getting Started on eKanban
by Jim Shore Through this guest blog series, I’d like to share some of my experiences implementing supplier quality and Lean manufacturing initiatives by focusing on eKanban systems. This first entry offers advice for planning an eKanban rollout – suggestions that can also be applied across any Lean manufacturing project. As a result, my hope…
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Aligning Metrics to Strategy
Measuring your strategic goals against their value and the time, money and attention they need When we began our metrics discussion, we talked about how behaviors are too often dictated by metrics—and whether or not these behaviors actually “move the needle” for sustainable supply chain improvements. Mark Davidson’s blog about aligning metrics to larger goals…
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Modern Metrics
How Technology Has Changed What We Measure The two areas of my working world are embracing technology like never before: Marketing and manufacturing. While digital content and automated technologies gave birth to the modern marketer, a more real-time, digitally connected enterprise is driving modern manufacturing strategies like the Factory of the Future, Smart Manufacturing and…
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Visual Beats Verbal
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then visualizing a factory floor says a lot for an organization. The ability to translate any environment into a visual representation is incredibly empowering and is a strong step toward evolving a manufacturer into a connected, cutting edge company. I have had the privilege of working with…
