There’s a good piece written by Ann Grackin of ChainLink Research on the Manufacturing Leadership 100 Awards program held recently in Palm Beach Fl, Apr 30-May 3, 2012. This article (link below) highlights the summary of the Summit with specific focus on manufacturing innovation. There were several informative keynotes and sessions from industrial leaders who are leveraging the latest tools and technologies to make better decisions. Ann writes that she was a panelist with Cindy Reese, SVP, Worldwide Operations, Oracle; and Steven Tungate, VP/GM, Supply Chain & Innovation, Toshiba America Business Solutions about Factories and Supply Networks of the Future.
Ann writes “So what are these manufacturers doing? Significant rationalization of the supply base (Toshiba, especially, has this issue since they have a long history of many acquisitions), streamlining production to increase productivity, and looking for lower-cost countries for manufacturing…. No doubt firms have global customer bases, so they need to be present in these markets. However, a low-cost-country manufacturing source does introduce more risk in the supply chain. And that was discussed. Quality, security, and intellectual property protection were the critical global manufacturing issues also discussed.
“Cindy (Reese) told a fascinating story about Oracle’s acquisition of Sun and the supply chain that was subsequently created. Here was one of the key points: Although Oracle sells on a global basis, they now do their own factory-installed software. This keeps potential ‘factory-installed malware’ from getting into the servers at contract manufacturers, and prevents pirated software. In this way, Oracle ensures that they deliver the quality and security people expect”.
Learn more about the Manufacturing Leadership 100 program from Manufacturing Executive at: http://www.mlsummit.com/
Full Article Link: http://www.clresearch.com/research/detail.cfm?guid=52327213-3048-79ED-99D4-E433DA64D4F0
