Compete More Effectively by Acting as Your Own Supply Chain

TEN INSIGHTS
FOR SUCCESS IN AN
ON DEMAND WORLD:
AN IBM PERSPECTIVE FOR
THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR.TABLE OF
CONTENTS
On Demand: New Opportunity for Smaller Manufacturers ............1Executive Brief - On Demand Manufacturing:How Smaller Companies Can Leverage Today's Market Realities ........2
Organizational Cohesion:Using ERP to Get Everyone on the Same Page ................7
Finding Enterprise Solutions That Fit .....................8Executive Brief - Building a Sound Applications Infrastructure:Taking Advantage of the Solutions Landscape ................9
What It Means to Go Lean .........................15Executive Brief - Becoming a Lean-Driven Organization ...........16
The China Factor .............................21
Fighting the High Cost of Materials .....................22Executive Brief - Controlling Material Costs for Profitability ..........23
Plantwide Systems Boost Manufacturing Performance.............28Executive Brief - Plantwide Information:Manufacturing Execution Systems for SMB..................29
Advanced Applications: Overkill for SMB? ..................35Executive Brief - Beyond ERP:Advanced Applications Can Deliver Rapid Payback and Competitive Edge ...36
Gain Supply Chain Clout by Adding Value ..................42Executive Brief - Supply Chain Performance: The Supplier's Role .......43
CRM for SMB: Make it Profitable ......................49Executive Brief - Focusing CRM on Profitability ...............50
Executive Brief - Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance:Benefiting from the Mandate ........................55
IBM SMB Industrial Web Column January 2004 On Demand: New Opportunity for Smaller Manufacturers By Julie Fraser Feeling the squeeze? In today's economy, most small and mid-size manufacturers are. Markets are volatile, competition is fierce and increasingly global, and customers are narrowing their supplier base to those who can meet unique requirements. These shifts can actually benefit smaller industrial companies - if they can reliably adapt and respond. Many small and medium businesses have long been more nimble to respond. What's different is that many larger customers are now outsourcing more pieces of their operation, and they want responsive, reliable business partners to take on broader responsibilities. Companies of every size are learning to compete as supply chains, not just as individual companies. It requires dependability, good communications, low cost structures and extreme flexibility to adapt to change. In many cases, small and medium sized manufacturers are already more flexible and cost-effective than others, based on tight coordination among all departments. Still, most managers in smaller industrial enterprises are not fully comfortable competing in this fast-moving, connected market. Taking existing advantages to the next level will mean moving to an on demand manufacturing model. Like most business transformations, moving to on demand business involves organizational, process and IT aspects. Becoming an on demand business requires re-thinking the organization and its processes so they are responsive, focused, variable and resilient in ways very few businesses have been to date. In owning your niche, you must be ready to respond - even in the face of unplanned events and unexpected demand patterns. The IT infrastructure that supports an on demand manufacturer also breaks new ground. It must be open to share data with others in each supply chain - and not just in daily batches, but as changes occur. Systems must be cost-effective to implement and own. Further, IT must be ready to change, expand and contract as your business does. On demand systems must also be totally reliable and secure. The migration to on demand manufacturing is already occurring. You can watch the transformation and be left in a tight spot, or you can work to become an on-demand manufacturer. Small and mid-sized companies have a golden opportunity to act quickly and keep - or gain - a competitive advantage.
Page 1 On Demand Manufacturing: How Smaller Companies Can Leverage Today's Market Realities Executive Brief . January 2004 Small and medium manufacturers are feeling squeezed by a host of current market realities. Globalization has opened up competition, so local customers may look to suppliers in areas with low labor... [download for more]