Examining the inner workings of the manufacturing industry

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When it comes to the business landscape, there are many people out there who offer advice on how to do things better. However, some people are far better to handle this kind of role.

A recent article from Cerasis featured an interview with Mike Monnier. He has been in the manufacturing industry sector for decades, working for small companies and larger enterprises, holding every role from "go-for" to supervising assembly plants to working in new product development. This provides him a unique perspective when it comes to manufacturing.

"Manufacturers do all kinds of really cool things that most people don't get to see," Monnier said. "We haven't done a good job of promoting ourselves (the manufacturing industry) as a viable career path. Thankfully, that is changing and a lot of smart people are recognizing what goes on in our facilities."

One of the most interesting pieces of information he talked about is the amount of weight he puts on the human factor in manufacturing. First, he covers the "graying workforce" and calls it the biggest obstacle that is facing the industry today. There is a knowledge transfer that is lacking as the Baby Boomers retire and Millennials attempt to replace them.

He also highlighted the importance of being an active participant in the sector. By leading and not sitting back, companies can network and look for different ways to improve their overall operations.

The manufacturing industry is changing rapidly and businesses need to be able to adopt if they want to succeed. By using a manufacturing business software solution, any company will be able to improve its overall operations.

Why nearshoring is the manufacturing wave of the future

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In the current business landscape, consumers expect a faster turnaround time. Waiting is something that no one likes to doand with how quickly the world is evolving, any slowdown cannot only upset clients but also make it possible for other organizations to hit the market first.

One major source of business slowdown is a solution that many companies have adopted over the years because it helps save money – offshoring. A recent article from Manufacturing Business Technology Magazine examined this idea by interviewing Victor Wong, the CEO of Austin-based company Music Computing.

His company has been innovating the marketplace with the MotionCommand Clearview TouchScreen and needed to figure out the best way to manufacture it. Offshoring production to China would seem like the best way to save money on mass production right?

"Here's the short-term view," explained Wong. "Overseas manufacturing makes great sense. We get to produce products for 10 cents on the dollar, we get great quality, and we don't have to pay for insurance. It comes to the States, and we can sell it at a lower price than our competitors, or at the very least we can compete at the same pricing level as other people who manufacture overseas. The long-term view is… never ever do that."

Wong goes on to explain that nearshoring manufacturing has several benefits. First, companies are not risking their intellectual property with a business across the globe. The second comes in when discussing innovation. Being able to create prototypes close to home, makes it easier to tweak designs during the creation process and address customer issues that come to light.

For companies to do this successfully, they need to deploy manufacturing business software that will be able to take operations to a new level and make nearshoring more effective.

Innovation changing the manufacturing landscape

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Innovation continues to touch every business sector and the manufacturing industry has been no different. Robotics, automation and 3D printing have been a few of the major technological advances that have manufacturing a breeding ground for some of some big leaps forward.

A recent blog post from Cerasis makes the case that manufacturing innovation can be used to help boost productivity and efficiency in the U.S. sector. The article examines several challenges in the industry including fuel costs and new strategies like quick response manufacturing, which, if managed properly, can improve operations.

The piece also examined the growing impact of big data and analytics. It seems that with every technological innovation, there becomes a new way to create and gather information. With an analytical eye or tool, business decision makers can breakdown nearly every process that find better ways to operate. However, this process is easier said than done and knowing what the data is telling you can be difficult to decipher.

"The amount of data in our world has been exploding, and analyzing large data sets—so-called big data—will become a key basis of competition, underpinning new waves of productivity growth, manufacturing innovation, and consumer surplus," the article reads.

Many discussions about the industry point to the fact that manufacturing plays a significant role in the strength of the economy. Any innovation that helps create a more effective atmosphere in this sector needs to be examined. Whether this means trying out a robot on the line or deploying new inventory management software, innovation will be the name of the game.

Reshoring manufacturing becomes a growing trend

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The cost of doing business across the world is growing, and companies need to re-evaluate their current methods to see if it is time to make a change. For years, many companies were hurrying to move manufacturing processes to places like China and Brazil because it was an opportunity to plant a flag in new territory and the cost of doing business was cheaper.

However, according to a recent article from Cerasis, re-evaluating outsourcing is critical because there could be a number of unknown risk factors associated with this practice. The biggest problem, according to the piece, is that many organizations were too quick to follow move across the world believing it to be "the next gold rush" based on a "flimsy foundation" of information.

That fact is frightening and it should make business owners want to look more closely at the numbers, and that's before the economic factors that have changed over the last few decades are taken into account.

"Several organizations are off to a good start. There are many positive movements reshoring manufacturing back to America and rebuild the U.S. manufacturing base," the article reads. "In other cases, the basic sourcing strategy might remain unchanged, but with significant wastes and costs eliminated in the total supply chain."

Manufacturing is going to start moving closer to home and businesses need to be ready for it. With the help of a company that specializes in business management software, any organization can be ready for whatever the the industry has in store.

Manufacturing industry hitting new highs

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There have been many people saying that the recent positive growth in the manufacturing industry is a concrete sign of recovery from the recession. A recent blog post from Cerasis examined the landscape and makes the case that the manufacturing sector is the backbone of American economic growth.

According to the piece, the industry is poised for a comeback. There was a surge in the sector at the end of 2013 and, for the first time in history, the United States landscape will surpass the $2 trillion mark.

While this number is eye opening, it highlights the need for the sector to improve operations with the goal of maintaining this momentum. This will involve an increased focus on areas like products, people and policy. The article makes the case that for the country to maintain leadership, the government policies need to help harness the innovation and ingenuity that comes along with world-class products and a dynamic workforce.

"Manufacturers in America are making more products today and making them better than ever before," the article reads. "Innovation is a big reason. The ability to adapt, innovate and improve shows up in abundance in manufacturing."

One of the biggest areas of development here has been the creation and adoption of more sophisticated manufacturing software systems. Businesses are now able to manage inventory and enterprise resource planning solutions more accurately than ever and in real time. With the help of an IT provider that specializes in these programs, any manufacturing company can take its operations to the next level.

Manufacturing industry experiences strong February growth

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In February, one of main stories that everyone was talking about was the weather. Massive snow storms and frigid temperatures kept workers home. Despite this, the manufacturing industry has once again experienced growth.

The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) released its most recent report on business. According to the numbers, the PMI—the index used by the ISM to measure manufacturing—increased for the ninth consecutive month. In February, the PMI rose 1.9 percent to 53.2, though that number was 0.6 percent below the 12-month average of 53.8. A rating of 50 is considered the benchmark for strong economic activity.

There are four key metrics in the report of which two were up, one dropped and one remained the same. New Orders, which is considered the driving engine behind manufacturing, rebounded from a 13.2 percent decrease in January to an increase of 3.3 percent.

According to Bradley Holcomb, the chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, the weather did impact the industry and it primarily showed up in the production data.

"Production can be impacted by [weather-related] things like certain plant closings, the inability to get all workers to the job and raw materials inventory, due to shipping and weather problems, and backups at ports," Holcomb said. "That seems to be the story behind February production, with things hopefully getting better as the weather improves in the spring."

The manufacturing industry continues to show strong growth. With the use of manufacturing business software, any company can keep the positive growth coming.

U.S. government investing in malfunctioning hubs

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There is currently a push underway in the United States to increase the manufacturing landscape. While some states like Indiana have been able to rebound following the recession, others are still struggling to get things turned around.

To help fix this, according to the Chicago Tribune, President Barack Obama officially announced this week that $70 million in federal funding will be handed out to various cities as a way to create manufacturing innovation hubs.

Started with facilities in Youngstown, Ohio and Raleigh, North Carolina, the newest ones will find homes in Chicago and Detroit. There are also four additional cities in the pipeline for the future, though no indication of where those will be located.

"If we stay focused on winning this race, we will make sure the next revolution in manufacturing is an American revolution," Obama said. "I don't want the next big job-creating discovery to come from Germany or China or Japan. I want it to be made here in America."

He went on to say that the country that is able to get new products to market faster and at a lower cost will be able to win the race for the jobs of the future. In the manufacturing industry, these positions will be more specific roles. what kind of specific roles?

There are multiple ways that the manufacturing industry will be innovating in the next few years. This includes things like 3D printers and manufacturing ERP software, which will not only change the way that consumers get their products, but also how organizations operate.

Indiana tops all states during record manufacturing job growth

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The entire business world has been recovering from the recession that hit hard in 2009. Over the last five years, the tide has started to turn. While it may have taken some sectors longer to get there than others, this stronger outlook is spreading.

A recent article from Manufacturing.net features a breakdown of the current manufacturing landscape through the 2013 quarter four data. According to the numbers, over 12 million jobs were added nationwide, the highest levels since 2009. On top of that, factory payrolls increased by an annualized 1.6 percent quarter on quarter.

The numbers show that most of the improvement came from the durable goods sector, particularly transportation equipment.

There was also a breakdown by state. Indiana fell in the group of states with the highest level of improvement, experiencing growth between 4 percent and 11.6 percent. Indiana has experienced steady growth over the last five years and accounts for 16.5 percent of total nonfarm employment in the area, which is the highest share of all states.

The report points to the transportation equipment sector as helping push Indiana to the top as plants like Subaru, Toyota and Rolls Royce all added hundreds of jobs. There is also belief that this record growth will continue in the years to come.

This report shows that the industry is strong and has the ability to rebound, as this growth is nothing to scoff at. Organizations are also expanding and upgrading technology solutions to run more effectively. Business management software solutions are experiencing widespread adoption to help organizations meet the current demand.

Chinese manufacturing downturn hurting global industry

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When it comes to manufacturing, many organizations are looking for the most cost effective way to handle operations. In some instances, companies have relocated production to China as a way to lower operational costs.

However, according to an article from the International Business Times, a key gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity dropped in February, increasing the concern in this area. The number to focus on here is the HSBC Holdings flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index, which dropped to a seven-month low of 48.3 in February, down from 49.5 in January. For context, a reading above 50 shows expansion in manufacturing activity, while anything under 50 indicates contraction.

"New orders and production contracted, reflecting the renewed destocking activities," HSBC's chief economist Hongbin Qu told the news source. "The underlying momentum for manufacturing growth could be weakening."

According to Capital Economics' China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard, the manufacturing conditions have continued to deteriorate. It has become much weaker than most expected, falling below even the lowest economist estimates.

The effects of these problems are also measurable. A recent article from Bloomberg Businessweek profiled luxury sports car manufacturer Aston Martin, which has experienced glitches in the Chinese leg of their supply chain. The company just had to recall 5,000 cars built since 2007 because of faulty throttle pedal arms that were breaking because they were created with counterfeit materials.

Every organization should continually examine its supply chain to make sure it is operating at peak efficiency. By deploying manufacturing business software, companies can get a better view of their business and make sure everything is running smoothly.

Manufacturing could be changing because of 3D printing

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3D printing has been on the minds of many manufactures since the technology started to garner some major headlines last year. Consumers suddenly have the ability to create replacement parts on their own, which can have a major impact on the supply chain.

A recent article from Cerasis examined the potential impact that a wider adoption of 3D printing will have on the manufacturing industry. Small businesses and corporate departments can suddenly become "makers." With a computer, individuals are able to download and modify a template, click "print" and create a physical object that can be used.

"Although at present is nowhere near displacing the standard supply chain or the way we manufacture, 3D printing and the supply chain has the potential to transform certain parts of manufacturing over the longer term," the article reads. "In addition, instead of taking place in bespoke factories, 3D printing will create demand for smaller and more standard premises, opening up opportunities for developers and investors."

There are several different ways that 3D printing and the supply chain will change once there is mass adoption, This will include:

  • Customized production
  • "Pulling" by end customer demand 
  • Local printing and distribution
  • Short lead time
  • Low transport costs
  • Low carbon footprint.

The piece makes it clear that any kind of mass disruption of the manufacturing industry is still several years away, but it should be on companies radar. Once it takes place, organizations will suddenly find themselves in need of the right manufacturing business software that is able to manage this new form of manufacturing.