The 2007 Microsoft Office System in Manufacturing

The 2007 Microsoft Office System in
Manufacturing Improving business processes and driving growth in manufacturing A whitepaper developed in collaboration with Capgemini. The value propositions developed by Microsoft in this white paper are based on Capgemini's point-of-view of key industry trends and challenges. Published: March 2007 Republished: May 2007 Version 1.5 For more information about the 2007 Microsoft Office system, please visit www.microsoft.com/officesystem
Contents
Contents .............................................................................................................................................1
Executive summary ............................................................................................................................1
Twenty-first century manufacturing-an emerging landscape ...........................................................3
Driving product innovation ..................................................................................................................5
Building customer centricity ................................................................................................................9
Strengthening collaborative value chains ........................................................................................ 12
Improving operational efficiencies ................................................................................................... 14
The Microsoft value proposition for the manufacturing industry ...................................................... 16
How manufacturers are using the 2007 Microsoft Office system and realizing business impact ... 17 Examples of how manufacturers are benefitting from the 2007 Microsoft Office system ........... 18
Are you ready? ................................................................................................................................ 19
Appendix A - Case study bibliography ............................................................................................ 20
Appendix B - For more information ................................................................................................. 21

1
Executive summary
Demanding customers, globalization, product proliferation, shorter lifecycles, and increased competition all add up to a challenging environment for manufacturers. To remain competitive in a rapidly changing global market, manufacturers must develop and deliver innovative products to meet changing customer demands, and collaborate effectively with their value chains of partners worldwide. At the same time, they must also increase operational productivity and reduce product unit cost. To do so, they need software that amplifies the impact of their people to drive innovation and growth. They need software to connect people, helping them to exchange ideas and information quickly and easily. With software that is easy to use and already familiar, people can hit the ground running. They will have easier access to information; will make smarter decisions; and be better equipped to cut costs, streamline processes, impress clients, react quickly to changing demands, and take advantage of new opportunities. This white paper highlights the key challenges facing the manufacturing industry and discusses how the 2007 Microsoft® Office system can help maximize employee contributions and affect business performance with innovative and powerful enterprise capabilities that extend far beyond personal productivity to address the following: ? Drive product innovation. To bring profitable new products to market faster, at a lower cost, and of a higher quality, people across the organization need to work together-exchanging ideas, sharing information, and contributing insight. Design, engineering, sales, and marketing information must be easily accessible to the people who need it and must be securely managed to protect intellectual capital and competitive advantage. Recent research revealed no direct link between research spending and profitability, yet found a common trait-connection and collaboration-among a small set of companies who are achieving consistent positive returns on research: ?High levels of cross-functional integration and collaboration-especially among 1groups that deal w... [download for more]