Prior to the American Manufacturing Summit 2019, we spoke with St. Onge to discuss their Lunch & Learn topic, “How Collaboration Yields Superior Facility Design: Optimizing Planning, Procurement and Implementation Management”. In this Q&A, we discuss the greatest challenges with national, domestic and international manufacturing operations, what manufacturers should stop doing to improve their performance plans, and what today’s manufacturing leaders need to think about in order to plan for tomorrow. This is an excerpt from the Q&A Generis did with St. Onge: “Your Lunch & learn topic at the American Manufacturing Summit will focus on how collaboration yields superior facility design, as well as how manufacturers can optimize planning, procurement and implementation management. What is one key takeaway you want to leave attendees with?
Read More →CMO and Pharmaceutical Company Relationships: What is the Client’s Role?
Over the last 25 years, contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) have played an increasingly important role in the pharmaceutical industry. The need to decrease time to market, improve process efficiency, and reduce costs are all crucial reasons why pharma companies have an increasing use for CMOs – and they’re the same key factors that have propelled the growth of the outsourcing market and will continue to propel its growth over the coming years. A November 2016 study from Industry Standard Research Reports reveals that life sciences companies now outsource two-thirds of their manufacturing activities for CMOs. For small to mid-sized companies – where outsourcing manufacturing isn’t just a convenience, it’s a necessity – that figure is even higher: up to 80% in 2015. These partnerships often last many years and have the potential to either constrict or add considerable value to a company’es growth. Success relies, of course, on choosing the right manufacturer. But once the contract is signed, what are the responsibilities of the client to ensure effective collaboration and maximum productivity? Recognizing how the relationship can break down on the client’s side is a crucial step in reducing risks.
Read More →The Importance of Customer Service in Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing
With tightening regulations and rising costs, the pharmaceutical industry is being presented with a consistent challenge in the marketplace: Do more with less. As a result, pharma companies are reducing their internal capacities in manufacturing and R&D and are, instead, increasing their outsourcing. More than ever, these companies are relying on external service providers to fulfill their manufacturing needs and improve their productivity. In 2016, a study from Industry Standard Research Reports revealed that life sciences companies now outsource two-thirds of their manufacturing activities to CMOs. That figure is even higher for small and mid-sized companies: up to 80% in 2015.
Read More →Data Driven Innovation for Manufacturers
Q&A with ProSensus Prior to the American Manufacturing Summit 2019, we spoke with ProSensus to discuss data-driven innovation and how leveraging technology can give manufacturers a competitive edge in an ever-changing landscape. In this eBook, we discuss how manufacturers can achieve their big data objectives with multivariate analysis, how they can leverage their data to accelerate their product development efforts, and how they can achieve quality control with machine vision. This is an excerpt from the Q&A Generis did with ProSensus:
Read More →3D Printing for Production Manufacturing
It’s time to think differently about manufacturing. Taking an idea from prototype to production is no longer bound by the constraints of traditional manufacturing methods. In the era of Industry 4.0, companies are mitigating risk, cutting costs, and speeding time to market with 3D printing – a process that is predicted to revolutionize the world of production. Since its creation in 1983, 3D printing has evolved from a one-dimensional service used for rapid prototyping to a $7.3 billion industry with a footprint in a wide span of industries. Its evolution now helps power the world of manufacturing, increasing innovation and promoting efficiency and sustainability across the globe. Benefits Speed: One of the main benefits of additive manufacturing is the speed of which parts can be produced compared to traditional manufacturing methods. With Forecast 3D’s 3D Manufacturing Center (powered by 24 HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers), customers can get tens of thousands of parts in days, whereas traditional manufacturing methods like injection molding, often done overseas, typically take a month or more to complete Design Flexibility: 3D printing allows for the creation of extremely intricate designs and complex geometries that would often be complicated or even impossible to produce with traditional manufacturing methods. With additive manufacturing, customers can reiterate their designs and have updated parts quickly. With injection molding, tooling changes are required for every little design tweak, often resulting in several more weeks of waiting. The design flexibility of 3D printing …
Read More →Q&A with The Austin Company
The environment facing automotive-related manufacturers is fierce. Changing regulations, competitor landscape, technology and customer preferences, along with a fluid global economy, create challenging conditions for automakers and their suppliers. The Austin Company understands this landscape. This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with Brandon Davis, Vice President of Operations and General Manager at The Austin Company prior to the American Automotive Summit 2018. “How can automotive manufacturing facilities decrease project capital costs through engineering and re-design concepts? There are a few ways to look at reducing costs today, compared to how traditional automotive plants used to be designed and built. Throughout most of my career in the industry, we would build plants with what I would call ‘oversized’ structural steel. By doing this, we built in maximum flexibility for the plant, so equipment could easily move around and the plant could be easily adapted in the future, as much of the production processes were “hung loads” from the structure. As the industry has evolved, equipment has become lighter, many production processes can now be floor-mounted, and – in general – equipment has become more flexible and able to support different product types. In this setting, we are working hard in the production layout efforts to see what really needs to be supported from the structure and to design structures specifically for what is needed. That reduces the cost of the facility construction and saves the use of …
Read More →The Shared Milk Run
What Is It? Companies are continually challenged to improve their overall operational services by reducing transportation spending, inventory levels and delivery timelines. The Carter Milkrun System was designed to address those specific challenges and support clients’ lean manufacturing efforts. The Carter Shared Milkrun Network is a unique logistics model designed to support lean initiatives by combining freight from an international client base and thousands of suppliers into a single supply chain solution. One of the pillars of Carter’s success is the “Split-Bill” methodology, which allows clients to fairly split the overall cost of shared milkrun routes. How It Works Milkrun clients share the cost of each shared “milkrun route” based upon the percentage of weight they ship. For example, if you ship 50% of the total weight on a milkrun route, you pay only 50% of the transportation costs. Carter Logistic’s analysts perform weekly route optimizations to ensure shipments travel in the most efficient manner. The proficiency and determination of the Carter Logistics team allows clients to experience substantial and continued savings and achieve their lean initiatives. Carter’s huge network also minimizes empty miles, further reducing costs. As suppliers and/or manufacturing plants add weight to the network, the cost per pound decreases for all participating clients. We worked with Carter Logistics to create this e-book on The Carter Shared Milkrun Network.
Read More →Interview with Frans Cronje, Managing Director & Co-founder, DataProphet
This is an excerpt from an interview Generis Group did with Frans Cronje, Managing Director & Co-founder of DataProphet prior to the American Automotive Summit 2018. “How does AI work with an existing production team to eliminate defects, scrap and minimize downtime? Our flagship product, OMNI, is a powerful process parameter optimization solution that significantly reduces waste in manufacturing processes. OMNI recommends optimal parameter values to the production team, enabling them to continuously improve the individual processes for which they are responsible.
Read More →LEADERS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY: INTERVIEW WITH CHERYL THOMPSON
Cheryl Thompson is the Director of Prototype at American Axle & Manufacturing and Founder of CADIA (The Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement), an organization dedicated to doubling the number of women leaders in the automotive industry by 2030. Cheryl has 30 years of experience at Ford Motor Co. and has held positions in skilled trades, operations, engineering, and leadership. She is a Six Sigma trained and certified Black Belt and is the winner of two Diversity and Inclusion Awards from Ford Motor Company. In November, Cheryl will join us at the American Automotive Summit to speak about the components and decision-making tips that are critical to any team’s success as well as the mistakes that leaders should avoid.
Read More →Security-First Mindset Drives Both Performance and Profits
Designing with security in mind is proving to be essential for OEMs in the embedded space. But exactly what that means remains a moving target: What’s secure today is not necessarily secure tomorrow. In volatile industry environments where threats are non-stop, OEMs want to secure their devices and systems, but don’t necessarily understand how to maintain protection for the long term. A smart approach features design strategies and standards, but as importantly, is grounded in a security-driven mindset that embraces security implementations and deals proactively with different risks. This kind of vigilance can prevail in many ways: protecting systems, distinguishing OEMs, and driving new opportunities to create long-term profit centers from security services.
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