How is manufacturing is keeping the ‘iWatch’ off your wrist?

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When it comes to Apple, one of the hottest rumors of the last few years has been the "iWatch." This would be some kind of smartwatch with unknown functionality — although running iOS 7, integration with other Apple products, making phone calls have all been speculated — that could jump to the front of the wearable technology marketplace that could be worth billions.

However, as the months have passed, several other companies of various sizes have released their versions of a smartwatch. Despite Apple connectivity or slick marketing campaigns, these devices have yet to take hold. However, with Google Glass — the computerized eyewear — in the pipeline and hopes still high that the "iWatch" can deliver, the landscape could be getting ready to boom.

With this much activity in the marketplace and rumors of an elevated focus on the device by Apple, why has it continued to be just talk for so long? According to an article from CNet, the problem could be manufacturing.

The article says that screen and battery technology and corporate shuffling have slowed down the development process. When it comes to the physical issues, the problems spring from finding a screen that will be able to optimize the battery, but also be cost effective for mass production.

Ultimately, if Apple if working on a not-so-secret smartwatch, being able to keep up demand on launch day will be a challenge. This is where having the right manufacturing ERP software in place to manage every aspect of the process to ensure it remains on track is crucial for success.

All eyes are on the future of manufacturing

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Are preparations in place for you to make the most out of your business accounting program in the new year? As 2014 rolls around, it's becoming clear that there's a serious appreciation for what domestic business needs to do in order to succeed in the future of manufacturing.

As this blog has touched upon before, there are two areas in which businesses might need to focus: technology and staffing. It might seem that mechanization might threaten the presence of live workers, but there is perhaps a way that these two goals can be reconciled with a greater overall net result.

Work Force

There's an NPR story about the way that American companies are reacting to the current state of manufacturing in our country. According to writer Chris Arnold and information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount of U.S. employees working in production plants may pale in comparison to the astronomically high numbers seen in 1998, but represents a methodical climb up over the past few years to the level of $12 million this past November.

The way Arnold counts it, 665,000 jobs in the industry have opened up over the past three years. And more are expected to come as this generation of workers retires and passes on, which of course is one of the major topics of speculation within this branch of business today.

But it looks like the savvy business may yet be able to "have their cake and eat it too" when it comes to both streamlining production and giving others the chance to organically progress into a sustainable future.

Arnold also quotes a Boston-based economist named Barry Bluestone from Northeastern University on the viability for manufacturing, which he sees as on a definite rebound.

"We're seeing a new, almost renaissance in manufacturing," he said. "There are millions of jobs that will open up in manufacturing as the current workforce retires.

Staffing With an Eye for Technology

But "work force" can also apply to the expertise that is needed to design and maintain useful business accounting systems for optimization. An article from Manufacturing.net examines the ways that putting an emphasis on this aspect of successful expansion doesn't necessarily lock out other kinds of improvements that you may mean to implement.

The author of this piece quotes from Kelly Services America Product Group director Joseph Lampinen on the stratified approach to manufacturing staffing that could help businesses make smarter decisions about who they employ. This could include finding those skilled enough to use the business accounting solutions you take on for success.

"Let's say they're a software engineer that has been displaced out on the West Coast, in Silicon Valley," he's quoted as saying in this article. "They have the raw talent to program, but they just need to pick up the right programming language and they can go to Detroit and program embedded software, or work in developing infotainment systems for the automakers."

This way, you can start thinking about how not just staffing on the floor but also keeping other aspects of the business well-managed can be long-term answer to apparent lack of productivity that you need.

Are you using ‘brute force ERP?’

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A Forbes article by Louis Columbus has addressed the need not just for ERP, but for solutions that are of a certain nuance and can deliver a high quality level of performance. The way he puts it encourages manufacturers to turn away from what he calls "brute force ERP."

According to him, incompatible ERP software can be grandfathered into use simply because it always was, which could lead to mounting inefficiencies overall. It all comes down to an inability to adapt and update.

"Many monolithic, legacy ERP systems aren't capable of keeping up with the information needs of modern business models," Columbus writes. "At best, these legacy ERP systems, encased in their customized code and complex user interfaces like glass cases over protected exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution are only marginally effective in today's turbulent economic times."

What is the solution, then? To Columbus, it involves those solutions that can interact with the cloud and point the way forward to new changes as conditions improve and change. The need to make sure that the ERP software you choose can help you to compete might be the engine that drives evolution.

This is important to keep in mind as NBC News reports that manufacturing in areas like transportation equipment have gone up. New orders for aircraft alone exceeded 21 percent in growth and Boeing will be creating more than 100 new planes.

With a system of ERP manufacturing business software in place that can help companies respond to these changes as they happen, your business might become a part of this drive toward more efficient manufacturing practices.

What can pilots teach us about business intelligence?

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It's easy for newcomers to the IT world to get caught up in the hype surrounding business intelligence and business management software. With IT now touching every department — and not just confined to IT professionals — the language of business intelligence needs to be more accessible than ever before.

Or, as Yahoo contributor contributor Anna Young puts it, "the demand for user-friendly BI tools has been on the increase with business users seeking a more flexible and mobile BI experience."

At its core, business intelligence is meant to streamline operational processes and make it easier for companies to achieve their goals. It shouldn't impede progress or create additional work for employees.

So how can businesses get the most of of their business management software?

According to Harvard Business Review contributors Vijay Govindarajan and Srikanth Srinivas, the best way to optimize returns of your business intelligence system is to think of it in the context of an airplane flight.

"We believe the primary purpose of an investment in business intelligence should be to help companies reach their intended destinations in spite of all the storms they are likely to encounter along the way," they write.

Just like pilots, those who manage business intelligence need to follow these six steps to achieve their goals:

  • Starting Point (the reality of current circumstances)
  • Destination (your goals and vision for the future)
  • Plan (how business intelligence will get you from the present to the future)
  • Variation (the ability to adjust a plan as variables change)
  • Act Early (correct miscalculations and adjust the plan as early as possible)
  • Act Often (account for volatility in your plan)

That's the best way to ensure your business intelligence system gets you to where you want to go, safely and on time.

How to plan ahead for shipping

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This blog has already spoken of the infrastructure dangers that might face your fleets on winter roads, but in addition to those physical elements, what about the larger problems you might find in your path due to the massive Christmas Crush? 

Even if you aren't shipping or managing important materials, your business might be faced with traffic delays caused by those who are, especially when it comes to rush delivery jobs that might tie up the planes and trucks needed to transport packages even further.

And though there's been a lot of press about buying, the last week, in which "deadlines" start cropping up in the news, can finally put both business and consumer priorities into perspective.

The hassle of this time of year might be enough to prompt a rescheduling of any major trucking your business will need to accomplish. Apple, for example, has announced that it will ship its new Mac Pro this February, perhaps to help escape these kinds of hassles and keep its processes running smoothly.

Times writer Salvador Rodriguez has some other theories for why this could be, one of which could apply to other domestic businesses.

"The new machine is the first Apple computer to be built in the U.S. in a long time, so there's a good chance Apple is still fine-tuning the domestic assembly process," he writes. "That may have caused some shortages."

So, in addition to the problems posed by heavy amounts of shipping and travel, the state of your new business can be managed better with some manufacturing business software that allows for this flexibility. Specifically, Microsoft business software can be a way to stay integrated with mainstream solutions.

Respond to changes in local transportation and travel

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Does your supply chain involve multiple fleets of trucks bringing supplies to different plant locations across the country? You will most likely be able to use an ERP software system to support your operations.

Even if you work mainly within one state, chances are your operations could potentially be made difficult with the arrival of unexpected snow. But even aside from that, roadways always offer other potential dangers.

So when significant changes are announced that might make highway travel through Indiana safer and more reliable, your company's ears should pick up. And according to news from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), this may be, in fact, happening, at least in one location.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has released a statement announcing that this state is increasing rotation of snow patrols to keep the roads clear. Some regions stand to have as much as six inches.

"INDOT has had crews pre-treating highways already today, and will begin plowing and treating interstates, U.S. highways and state routes as needed once snow begins," the release states. "A second shift of drivers will exchange at midnight, working until noon Saturday."

Meanwhile, Indiana is also reportedly planning on adding lanes to a stretch of highway in the Northwest area of the state. When that is done, there will reportedly be six lanes to travel on, which could both help reduce the impact of winter weather on travel and allow for your transport vehicles and trucks to move more easily year-round.

ERP manufacturing software can help you look at your transport and infrastructure in the context of other developments that could have an impact on your production.

Car companies to reshuffle its Indiana strategy

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With manufacturing ERP software in place, transitions to new factory spaces or the placement of a different set of resources in other facilities can be streamlined to greater effect. According to Automotive news, there are some changes that are coming to the manufacturing plant in the state of Indiana for one major car company.

The source shows that there are plans from the Subaru company to stop producing the line of Camry vehicles for Toyota in exchange for the space it will need to achieve its higher level of 420,000 sales, as well as a place to start assembling its vehicle known as the Impreza. 

Despite this, the state's Subaru branch insisted that there are no job cuts coming. In fact, if the increased production numbers are matched, this could turn out to be a positive improvement for the company. Subaru has already seen a steady climb in sales over the past few years, suggesting that the future predictions of success may not be entirely off track. 

This appears to be a case of changing tactics to meet an expected demand, and with ERP business software installed in your computer systems, planning could get far easier to account for these changes. This should be a strong focus for your business in order to make it over the bar of your expectations, and this software could be a very useful addition to the planning that you have in mind.  

Even if your particular business is not planning on a change of this sort any time soon, using this software can be a way to help understand the maneuvers of those who do.

USDA reports possible strong numbers for Hoosier crops

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Do you operate a business that depends on a cheap and abundant supply of corn for your production? Then here's some more potential good news courtesy of the USDA: the country is on a positive trend for corn growing, and since this crop is important not just in food manufacturing but other industries as well, there's a good chance that you can stand to benefit by accounting for this information with the help of manufacturing ERP software.

The government agency recently published a report identifying the "crop progress" of selected states and compared them to the corresponding numbers from this past October and November of 2012. The results are encouraging: Indiana placed among the top producers over a four year period with a 72 percent corn harvest rate and a prediction of more than a billion bushels of corn for 2013.

It's not just corn that this state has shown recent successes in, either. The same report also notes that soybeans are an area of strong production as well as reaching harvest levels of 87 percent. In the grand scheme of things, the entire country will supposedly be reaching a mark of 14 billion bushels. Other crops included in the report were such staples as cotton, sorghum and rice.

With manufacturing business software in place and ready to go, the specific results of surpluses, surges and positive numbers can be looked at in relation to a business' various components and partners. Is there proper communication between the different sectors of your business to account for the growth you plan to see? It could make a big difference when it comes to the final product.

Keep greater issues in mind with proper process management

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The larger your company grows, the more "moving parts" may be included in the chain of different connected parties necessary for mass production and operation. Various resources need to be coordinated, and there's the space for many things to suddenly appear and upset the natural flow of this setup against your company's favor. In addition to making processes run better, business management software solutions can take the guesswork out of what happens at each step of the way.

One article in the Wall Street Journal has pointed out that anticipating and solving these problems is increasingly a chief concern for those managing supply chains. According to the piece, these could be a wide range of issues, on both a small and a large scale.

Some of the bigger issues the author mentions include processes that intersect with human rights issues, like the employment of a safe and fair labor force. Such concerns are an important part of making sure your work reflects positively on your brand name and positions itself in a way that is sustainable.

This article quotes The CSR Group's president Paula Ivey as highlighting the connections between the way that companies control their own operations and the manner in which they are perceived.

"Risk management is probably the number one defense by companies for properly managing corporate social responsibility," she said. That can include taking a hard look at what a series of supply processes may depend on and forming productive questions to grow from.

The helpfulness of manufacturing ERP software can extend from basic tasks to the spreading of larger forms of awareness about the potentially dangerous things that can go on while these chains are being established.

Integrating automation with your current manufacturing workforce

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With the right manufacturing software in place, working across different sectors and maintaining high standards should be simple, no matter what your business' workforce and equipment looks like. Northeast Indiana Public Radio recently profiled one particular approach to production that carries possible overtones for the future of the industry: the integration of human laborers with robots in manufacturing plants.

The article cited information recently published in the MIT Technology Review that looks at a newer school of thought surrounding the robotic arms seen in plants, which have become so advanced that humans can work alongside them efficiently without fear of danger. Putting them to use in tandem with each other, as the report notes one BMW plant in South Carolina does, could be a way to take advantage of the strengths of both in order to see more worthwhile results.

In the report, MIT professor Julie Shah discussed why these technological replacements are best seen as augmenting the traditional workforce as opposed to replacing them.

"Oftentimes, the robot will need to maneuver closely around people," she said. "It'll need to possibly straddle the moving floor—the actual assembly line; it'll need to track a person that is potentially standing on that assembly line and moving with it."

Though the arrival of such devices could change the way an older plant is run, it might also lead to faster production times and a general increase in productivity. To account for any such changes, your company can use the planning capabilities of Microsoft business software to help track how much of an increase in resources robotics could require and what the outcome could be.