Minimalist Manufacturing: Doing More, Better, with Less
“The principles of Minimalism can be distilled into a simple recipe for manufacturing management. Step one, decompose the manufacturing process so that disruptions are not propagated throughout the system. Step two, manage the difference between actual performance and what is theoretically possible, what we term “the competitive gap,” for a process, a manufacturing cell, or an entire plant. Step three, empirically validate the differences, isolate … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Ramchandran Jaikumar | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subject: Operations
India Outsourcing Market
Process Manufacturing Software: A Primer
Process manufacturing has unique requirements differentiating it from other types of manufacturing. When selecting software for the process industry, special attention and emphasis should be placed on these requirements to ensure that a company can operate at optimal levels, consistent with how it does business and not on how the software lets the company do business. This article defines process manufacturing; discusses its formulation, packaging, … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Joseph J. Strub | Source: TechnologyEvaluation.com | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations | Industry: Software
Jim Griffin
Ultimately, the only purpose of the buffers and caches we rely upon today, such as diskettes and compact discs and DVDs, is to overcome real or perceived supply inefficiency. As our networks become hyperefficient we will rely upon storage less and less. In other words, if you believe in a future of ubiquitous connectivity, where we can get all the digits we want wherever we … [ Read more ]
Content: Quotation | Source: Business 2.0 | Subjects: Operations, Trends / Analysis
BPO Process Maturity Evaluation Framework
What Can Go Wrong for $100 Million
Too many Air Garnetts. Too few Air Jordans. Nike lost money, time and a measure of pride when its demand-planning software led it astray. How did it recover? Patience, perseverance and, most important, an understanding of what it was trying to accomplish in the first place.
Content: Case Study | Author: Christopher Koch | Source: CIO Magazine | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations | Company: Nike
Five Ways to Achieve Better Forecasts
Even if you’re still working with a No. 2 pencil and scrap paper, there’s no reason you can’t produce outstanding quality forecasts with more predictability and reliability than you’ve ever experienced before.
Content: Article | Author: Pat LaPointe | Source: MarketingProfs | Subjects: Marketing / Sales, Operations
A Matter of Control
Why do so many executives feel their stomachs knot at the thought of turning over a vital business function to an outsider? Because they fear losing control. But a solid, collaborative business process outsourcing relationship can actually give you more control-and boost performance in the bargain.
Content: Article | Author: Jane C. Linder | Source: Outlook Journal (Accenture) | Subjects: Best Practices, Outsourcing / BPO
The Total Cost of IT Outsourcing
Offshore outsourcing of IT services can save companies 30 percent or more on labor costs, but that’s not the whole story.
Content: Article | Author: Eric Krell | Source: Business Finance Magazine | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Outsourcing / BPO
Assessing the Impact of Outsourcing on the Value Chain
F&A Outsourcing Accelerates
Supply Chains
Many firms held up as examples of successful knowledge management have developed comparatively long-lasting supplier links. But research has shed little light on whether and how firms with shorter links may benefit from knowledge-intensive sourcing, and on how the benefits of knowledge transfer vary with link duration. And while past studies show that buyers benefit when suppliers are intensively and durably involved in knowledge exchange, … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Hiroshi Domoto, Masaaki Kotabe, Xavier Martin | Source: STERNbusiness (NYU) | Subject: Operations
How BPM Strengthens The Supply Chain
Innovative applications of business performance management software can improve the supply chain by getting reliable information to the right locations quickly.
Content: Article | Author: Tad Leahy | Source: Business Finance Magazine | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations
It’s Time to Talk Sense about Outsourcing
Gregory Mankiw, head of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, ignited a firestorm of debate when he said outsourcing of U.S. jobs is probably a good thing in the long run. As tends to happen with hot-button issues in presidential election years, sensible discussion of this question was soon drowned in an uproar of political posturing. Experts at Wharton and the Boston Consulting Group … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Sources: Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Outsourcing / BPO
Vital Functions
HR outsourcing is booming, as companies send everything from payroll to training outside. But take out too much of the company’s core, and you risk losing its heart and soul.
Content: Article | Author: Pamela Mendels | Source: Chief Executive | Subjects: Human Resources, Outsourcing / BPO
Practice Safe Outsourcing
Not all vendor contracts are dependable. It’s up to you to make sure they are.
Content: Article | Author: Larry Ponemon | Source: Darwin Magazine | Subjects: Legal, Outsourcing / BPO
Are There Limits to Total Quality Management?
Many of the problems associated with quality programs are the result of increased complexity. The half-life concept, a new tool, strives to make complexity more manageable. By doing so, learning is accelerated and improvement becomes continuous.
Editor’s Note: a highly recommended read…
Content: Article | Author: Arthur M. Schneiderman | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Operations
Pull vs Push: a Discussion of Lean, JIT, Flow, and Traditional MRP
The lean manufacturing support philosophy has recently received increased interest, potentially allowing it to break like a huge wave across industry. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems of the 1990s have been burdened with the liability of carrying on some well-publicized Material Requirements Planning (MRP) problems like complex bills of material (BOMs), inefficient workflows and unnecessary transactions, activities, and data collections.
Companies such as John … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: P.J. Jakovljevic | Source: TechnologyEvaluation.com | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations