Managing Automation - April 2008 - (Page 27)

able to be combined, regardless of formats, to build a comprehensive view of business performance that transcends technological and applications boundaries. With so many rich data sources and a broad and complex set of requirements for user and role-based information delivery, performance management becomes a key strategic initiative that will help define competitive success in the 21st century. For many companies, performance management starts with developing a center of expertise, where corporate requirements and expertise can be consolidated and leveraged across the enterprise. For other companies, it requires a strategic look at mission-critical business processes with an eye toward building the technology infrastructure to support a com- prehensive performance management initiative. And, for many, that will mean jettisoning older, point solutions and silos of business intelligence for a newer, more comprehensive performance management platform. Either way, the changing ways in which manufacturers interact with an increasingly complex business environment necessitate a shift from older, data-centric BI tools and applications to more comprehensive performance management solutions. To proceed into the maelstrom of the 21st century’s business climate armed with 20th century tools is to do a disservice to stakeholders across the value chain. For manufacturers looking for a means to overcome these problems, performance management presents a welcome and timely solution. Getting Started with the Technology and Tools of Performance Management he task of delivering performance management capabilities to users in a manufacturing company starts with the realization that there is no silver bullet. While many of the technological underpinnings are often in place, no single technology or tool can deliver the promise of performance management overnight. That’s because the technology behind performance management encompasses a wide range of products, tools, and applications, all of which must coexist and interoperate in pursuit of a manufacturer’s specific goals. Indeed, one of the characteristics of performance management is that technology is clearly subordinate to the business, and it is imperative that business requirements lead technology decisions, rather than the other way around. Those business requirements arise from a definition of the elements of success for the business — your business — based on best practices for performance management in a specific vertical industry. While there are many similarities among manufacturing companies — many suppliers to the electronics and automotive industries, for example, have similar supply chain performance management issues — there are other issues, such as regulatory compliance, that necessitate dramatically different solutions at individual companies. And manufacturers that participate in multiple verticals have overlapping performance management requirements that necessitate different approaches and solutions, depending on the specific requirements of each vertical industry. These often overlapping and frequently complex demands of performance management on the business side necessitate extreme flexibility on the technology side. Indeed, a good performance management environment starts with the ability to enable as much connectivity and interoperability among data sources as possible. If, as stated in the first installment in this series, the operational imperative of performance management is to integrate data from internal and external sources in order to realize a greater level of understanding of business processes and interactions, then this flexibility must start with the creation of a strategy for utilizing the data as effectively as possible. That, in turn, means that one of the core 27 April 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - April 2008

Managing Automation - April 2008 Contents Take 1 Camstar to Introduce Software that Combines Quality, MES, and Intelligence SAP Revamps Maintenance, Raises Fees 29% New TAGSYS Chief Sees Opportunity in Broader Approach Siemens Turns to Security Weaver for Compliance Supply Chain Company Takes Next Step in U.S. Notes Cover Story: The Long Climb Special Report - Undertanding Enterprise Performance Management Caught Between Supply and Demand Taking Off the Blindfold No Room for Error Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - April 2008

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