Smart manufacturing is enabled by digital transformation. Fully implemented, it optimizes the manufacturing process through technology, like IIoT, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, cloud and mobile, driving cost efficiencies through every phase of the process.
Month: August 2020
How Manufacturers Can Pivot from Response to Reconceptualization
Reading Time: 4 minutes Over the past few months, the impact of the pandemic has left many organizations with no choice but to scale back operations or shut down completely. Other organizations have been in the fortunate position to pivot and reinvent their business model to remain relevant for the present. The key to survival however lies in the … Read more
What Does it Take to Pivot? Here are 8 Ways to Make Your Business More Agile
Car manufacturers rolling ventilators off the line. Breweries pumping out hand sanitizer. Laundry and uniform businesses outfitting healthcare workers with PPE. If there’s anything I’ve learned tracking companies through their COVID-19 pivots, it’s this: success means being agile.
Should Manufacturers Consider Coming Home or Stay Offshore?
It seems strange in August 2020 that only six months ago we accepted that many of our components should come from Asia. How times have changed! The thought of relying on one supplier in a far-away country now keeps many supply chain managers up at night. The primary consideration for procurement departments is no longer around cost but around reliability and availability. For manufacturers, the only way it seems possible to resolve these issues is by bringing suppliers back onshore – suppliers within the same region or country.
6 Challenges Facing Procurement and How to Address Them
The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic are far from over and a recovery timeframe is anything but certain. Among the strategies that businesses are adopting during this time in order to keep costs in check and reduce the size of layoffs, is to focus on procurement to maintain ongoing supplies of materials and components, and to reduce the risk of unanticipated costs. Procurement is no longer the department that gets discounts and places orders, it now has increased strategic value.
Customer Queries Hit an All-time High during Covid-19
When lockdown began, business and service provider customer support teams anticipated query loads would lessen, as businesses closed or operated at reduced capacity. However, customer queries hit an all-time high during Covid-19. With teams Working From Home (WFH) during lockdown, IT and admin resources were not as readily available as at the office. Though reachable via digital tools, if support was delayed or lacking for any reason, the end-user logged a query with their support partner, like SYSPRO. If you are still experiencing an influx of customer queries, consider these recommendations to better streamline the process:
