A new packaging design can make a huge difference for brand awareness, sales, and the environment. BillerudKorsnäs collaborated with a manufacturer of outdoor grilling products to develop and implement a new packaging solution from renewable, fiber based material. BillerudKorsnäs worked with a company who was struggling with inconsistent packaging and high carbon emissions. By replacing the PET and PE plastics, BillerudKorsnäs was able to produce packaging that delivered uniform results to multiple OEM locations. The company was able to increase its market share and customer base while making a sustainable contribution to the environment with more than 47, 000 kg of PET plastics removed from the packaging’s lifecycle. Read the full case study below!
Read More →API Install Galaxy Horizontal Arm CMMs At Nissan Mexico Plant
When Nissan Motor Company built their new production facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico they looked to Automated Precision, Inc. (API) to assist them in providing CMM inspection for the stamping shop, body shop and tooling departments. Initially, Nissan purchased nine dual horizontal arm API Galaxy-H multifunctional CMMs. These coordinate measuring machines are manual-controlled horizontal arm layout and measuring CMMs that are designed specifically for measuring thin-walled components such as automotive car bodies and sheet-metal panels. The Galaxy-H CMM is a double-arm design that features the table installed in a foundation at floor level so components and fixturing can be easily moved on and off the table for fast inspection. In the article below, find out more about the dual horizontal arm API Galaxy-H multifunctional CMMs and how the arms are being used in the Nissan Mexico Plant today. Nissan engineers even said that API was able to meet the schedule for production in a small window of time, despite the demanding requirements of the task. Check out the full article below!
Read More →Infographic: A Strong S&OP / IBP Process is Designed to Reduce Costs While Growing the Top Line
This infographic by the Aberdeen Group and the TBM Consulting Group outlines the top business pressures facing sales and operations planning and integrated business planning (S&OP/INP) process. S&OP/IBP Users have superior customer service, cash-to-cash cycle, and forecast accuracy, driven by the effective measurement of their process and strategic actions. These improvements move them from predicting results toward a prescriptive approach, allowing them to manage their costs while growing their top line. View the full infographic and read the report on this topic below!
Read More →Q&A with Intel: Looking at the Factory of the Future
When looking at the future of manufacturing, we wanted to gather thoughts and insights from our American Manufacturing Summit elite speaker Dr. Irene J. Petrick of Intel, an internationally recognized expert in strategic road mapping and innovation, and the Director of Business Strategy for the Industrial and Energy Solutions Division in Intel’s Internet of Things Group. At Intel, it is Dr.Petrick’s job to provide leadership in the integration of business and technology strategy and to develop solutions that will drive exciting technology to create smart edge devices and end-to-end solutions. In the manufacturing space, there have been major shifts towards smart manufacturing, with a goal to optimize the manufacturing process entirely. Dr. Irene Petrick believes that smart manufacturing triggers are likely to emerge from needs-based business drivers such as operational efficiency and flexibility, ROI, and enhanced customer relationships, and social accelerators such as a growing middle class with an appetite for customized products and a declining manufacturing workforce. Solutions that support the convergence of operating technologies and information technologies will accelerate this manufacturing transformation. It is important to note that there are four shifts that drive smart manufacturing adoption: Modular Manufacturing Digital Threads Networked Ecosystems Human and A.I. Choreography Today’s manufacturers have the opportunity to increase the transparency in their operations using IoT technologies that will acquire and transfer data from the asset through the fog to the cloud, resulting in efficiency ROI, and closer customer relationships, Dr. Petrick notes. …
Read More →Q&A eBook with Advanced Material Solutions: The Importance of Non-destructive Testing in Manufacturing
Competitive forces are driving unheard-of levels of innovation in product design, materials and lean manufacturing processes. A rigorous and proactive approach to risk containment is essential to protect your brand and bottom line. Today’s non-destructive testing field is comprised of several commonly utilized techniques and several others that aren’t as commonly employed. Each technique has its advantages and limitations. No single method is superior, however, AMS’ expertise lies in the team’s ability to identify and deploy the ideal inspection method for each project at the best overall value. Find out more about non-destructive testing, future-proofing best practices, and financial justification in the Q&A eBook with Advanced Material Solutions below! Join us at the American Manufacturing Summit March 28-29, 2017 in Chicago, IL to hear the President of Advanced Material Solutions, Peter Miller, speak on “Future-Proofing Manufacturing Through Non-destructive Testing.”
Read More →Get in Position to Make the Right Calls in 2017
One of the responsibilities of operational leaders is to select and reinforce the company’s key performance measures. Establishing and tracking these KPIs is akin to being in the right position. These measures must mirror leadership’s view of what success looks like. This article by TBM explains how to set your KPIs while ensuring that your metrics provide a clear understanding of the current health for your business, are aligned with both past and emerging customer expectations, and reflect the mantra “good is never good enough.” According to TBM, unless you establish the right KPIs, you are unable to make the best calls for your business in 2017. Read the full article below:
Read More →Building a Fit-To-Win Organisation
Despite having spent years and countless millions on optimising their operations, 61% of companies (according to the Economist’s Intelligence Unit) find themselves frustrated with the same problem. They have difficulty executing short and mid-term strategy and fail to reach their strategic objectives because of gaps in their organisation. This whitepaper by EFESO Consulting focuses on how to build a fit-to-win organisation focusing on the parallels between corporate fitness and human fitness. Learn “6 Holistic Steps to a Fit-To-Win Organisation” and start the journey to greater stamina, strength, and agility. To view the full whitepaper, click here.
Read More →The TBM Management System
The TBM Management System is a disciplined, systematic approach that helps organizations achieve their strategic objectives through enterprise-wide alignment and cross-functional problem-solving. The system leverages monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly monitoring to increase employee engagement and provide real-time feedback and corrective actions. As markets grow more competitive and business pressures increase, executives are facing a significant new challenge: how to improve performance, sustain their progress and successfully realize their strategic goals, often with little or no additional resources to support their efforts. Find out more about how the TBM Management System has been implemented in several organizations to date, creating improved visibility of strategic objectives and empowering employees to think and act on their own in order to achieve them. Read more in the full white paper below:
Read More →WCOM (World Class Operations Management): Why You Need More Than Lean
This book deals with World Class Operations Management (WCOM), detailing its principles, methods and organization, and the results that this approach can bring about. Utilizing real-world case studies illustrated by companies that have adopted this model (interviews with Saint-Gobain, L’Oréal, Tetra Pak, Bemis, and Bel Executives), it describes common patterns drawn from decades of hands-on experience, so as to present a theoretical approach together with the concrete application of its principles. WCOM, adopted by several multinational companies, is one of the more innovative management practises, as it integrates the best Continuous Improvement approaches (Lean, Total Productive Management, World Class Manufacturing) as well as the most innovative approaches in human dynamics like Change Leadership, Performance Behavior, Shingo Model, to name a few. Every book’s chapter has been authored by an expert in these different fields, thus revealing the synergy among the different practices, which is one of the distinguishing and successful aspects of WCOM. Maximising reader insights into the successful implementation of such an approach, and explaining not only its potentialities, but also its implementation dynamics, the critical points and the ways it can be integrated into different situations, this book is also about how to create a culture of excellence that is sustainable over a long period of time and delivers consistent (or ever-improving) results. Check out the Efeso Consulting book below:
Read More →Q&A with Intermex Industrial Parks: Sourcing Challenges and Solutions for Manufacturers in North America
In this Q&A eBook, find out how to thrive in an industry where production costs are soaring and the competition is cutthroat. Also, learn how to become a lean organization, thrive in a fast-paced world, enhance quality, and apply strategic sourcing operations. If North American manufacturers want to outsource, leaders have to change their mindset to adapt to a worldwide view and use geographic diversity to their advantage. When a company is doing well and the idea of change comes up, it may be difficult to allow that in a culture of complacency. -Intermex Find out more about sourcing challenges and solutions for manufacturers in North America from Intermex in the Q&A eBook below!
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