Managing Automation - September 2008 - (Page 27)

Ten Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers show that, even during tough times, business transformation pays off. BY JEFF MOAD hen economic times get tough, it’s tempting to hunker down, hold off on investing in new projects, and wait for the storm clouds to clear. The 10 winners of this year’s Progressive Manufacturing High Achiever Awards, however, have proven that an economic slowdown of the sort now worrying many manufacturers can be exactly the right time to grab new opportunities and streamline in the interest of cutting costs and improving customer service. Consider telecommunications equipment manufacturer Juniper Networks. Locked in a competitive battle against giants such as Cisco Systems, Juniper declined to sit on its hands when customer satisfaction ratings and service inventory costs veered off course. Instead, the company invested in new software tools and customer service processes that allowed it to cut $3.5 million from spare parts inventories while improving on-time spare parts deliveries by 27%. Then there’s carpet tufting equipment manufacturer Card-Monroe. The small manufacturer had already revamped many of its processes around lean principles in an attempt to cut costs and contend with offshore competition. Soon, however, company officials realized that lean was putting pressure on company employees to communicate and think in news ways. So Card-Monroe invested in leadership training for ever y single one of its employees. The move helped the company cut cycle times in half. These are just two of the 10 High Achievers recognized June 12 at this year’s Progressive Manufacturing Summit event in Las Vegas. The High Achiever winners were selected by a group of 13 distinguished manufacturing experts who ser ved as Progressive Manufacturing Awards program judges. From all of the nominations received this year, the judges named 50 companies as Progressive Manufacturers. The High Achievers were the elite companies from within that select group of 50 that received the highest scores from the judges in each of the eight disciplines that define Progressive Manufacturing: Business Model Master y, Customer Master y, Data & Integration Master y, Education & Training Mastery, Innovation Mastery, Leadership Mastery, Operational Excellence Master y, and Supply Network Master y. The judges also selected one company that demonstrated the highest level of achievement by mastering multiple Progressive Manufacturing disciplines. That company, General Dynamics, was named the Progressive Manufacturer of the Year for 2008. All of the Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers are to be congratulated for demonstrating the will and the skill to invest in transformation, even during times of uncertainty.

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

Managing Automation - September 2008 Contents Take 1 Letters Tech Vendors Defy Economic Slump by Plugging into Developing World Growth New E2open Chief Outlines Plan to Accelerate Growth Is This Marketing as It Used to Be or Something New? The OMAC Group Attempts to Widen Its Influence Automation Federation Names Chief, Plots Growth Notes Cover story: The Innovation Gap Special Report: Meet the Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Leadership Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Special Report: Catching the Wireless Wave Part 1: No Clear Infrastructure Winner Part 2: Wireless Apps Take Wing Part 3: The Human Side of Wireless Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2008

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