Manufacturing Agility

by | Oct 20, 2006 | PKF Texas - The Entrepreneur's Playbook®

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As much as we don’t like to talk about it, sometimes the world experiences a disaster. In the wake of a major world event, people’s needs change, and manufacturers are challenged with shifting production quickly to address customer demands.

By integrating closely with suppliers, manufacturers have a higher level of agility and can efficiently react to changes, instantaneously. The bottom line? Competitive edge is in the hands of manufacturers with a level of agility that enables them to shift with the global marketplace.

Globalization, declining margins, and shorter product life cycles are pressuring manufacturers to transform their traditional supply chains to demand-driven, adaptive supply chain networks. Creating a collaborative environment to work very closely with suppliers and partners is essential to maintain an edge.

Manufacturing companies must be agile in a shifting global marketplace

How can manufacturers achieve this agility? Consider the following:

  • Reduce time to market.
  • Integrate supply chain.
  • Share costs.

Customer demands in manufacturing get resolved fast with supply chain integration tools

For example, consider the following uses of technology in the supply chain:

  • Effective and accurate inventory accounting.
  • Tracking products during manufacturing.
  • Precise parts selection.

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