Manufacturers of everything from computer chips to frozen chips use batch processing as their method of production. Probably the most famous example is the Swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea. Using batch manufacturing gives the company flexibility to produce similar items of its product range as the market demands. Even though a company has a great product, … Read more
For several decades, manufacturers have developed their strategies based on relatively stable assumptions. But in the last few years, the business model of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) has started shifting to where firms increasingly have to provide services along with their traditional physical products. Adding services to products was originally termed the servitization of business … Read more
Over the past year, manufacturing and distribution industries have noted just how drastically the nature of work has evolved, from the shift to remote and more flexible environments to the growing importance of skills over credentials, which have all impacted L&D. Corporate training has been through a number evolutions, each driven by technological and economic … Read more
Within African manufacturing organisations, there is a need to educate the industry on new technologies, what they are, and how they can be effectively deployed within their business operations. For years, manually inputted spreadsheets have gone hand-in-hand with ERP, which often result in manual capturing errors, and siloed information. There are a number of benefits … Read more
Technology is causing significant transformation, and that transformation is ongoing. Primarily, organizations have sought to improve collaboration within teams, and to streamline business processes throughout the internal value chain so that different departments work more efficiently together. There is a focus on integrating the processes, transactions and information within and between functions. To achieve the … Read more
Part of the process of selecting an ERP system is to appreciate how the software is going to be used. In Part 2, I discussed the ‘Dimensions of Change Model’, a method of how to think about the process, system and structural changes that an organization will go as a result of an ERP implementation. … Read more
Barbie had a spacesuit before Neil Armstrong took his “giant leap for mankind“ on the moon. Six decades later, the percentage of women in computer occupations is waning, leaving mainly men to build the systems shaping the world in which we live. Being the mom of two young girls, I have learned to embrace the … Read more
Like in so many other industries during the pandemic, technology is having an impact on job shops. Final products are produced in small batches of varying quantities, and because they are custom products they are not usually standardized. This has advantages in that sales discounts and finished good inventory are reduced, and stock obsolescence can … Read more
The pandemic exposed serious weaknesses in the operations of manufacturers and distributors, not the least of which was the lack of robustness in our supply chains. Six out of ten manufacturers were negatively affected by supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, according to a December survey of manufacturing leaders from SYSPRO. In response, many are … Read more
