The new year is an opportunity for a fresh start, a clean slate on which you can try to plan what you will become over the next twelve months. This is no different for companies trying to improve themselves, making better products while at the same time reducing costs. So what New Years' resolutions should your manufacturing firm be making?

• Emphasize visibility: "Process visibility" was once something not easily attainable. With modern technology, however, it's possible to access valuable information from all levels of the company instantaneously and analyze it in an actionable way.
• Go green: The electronic route is the way to go nowadays, as distribution of data via paper is both slower and more costly than digital filing and communication systems. As an added benefit, its environmentally friendly.
• Don't take shortcuts: While it may be tempting to try and save money wherever possible, it's important to remember that quality trumps everything. Only cut costs on something if you're not simultaneously sacrificing the integrity of what you're selling.
• Reduce energy intake: It's crucial to find ways to decrease the amount of energy your company consumes if you do want to slash expenses in a way that maintains the quality of your products. In many ways, this is related to process visibility, says Abigail Philips of Manufacturing Global: "Savings start with monitoring and recording energy consumption; so identify the activities that waste energy and put a strategy in place to reduce them."

How can you achieve that visibility though, and subsequently the other goals laid out above? One proven way to do it is to implement manufacturing ERP software. Accent Software is the company to turn to should you want to effectively integrate that new system into your business' operations.