Managing Automation - December 2007 - (Page 3) 12-07 CONTENTS Managing Automation OPINIONS DEPARTMENTS NEWS in PERSPECTIVE 48 l INTEGRATION Building Office Bridges By Stephanie Neil Vol. 22 No. 11 Technology Strategies For Progressive Manufacturers 6 l Take 1 By David R. Brousell Infrastructure and reliability issues have created obstacles to widespread deployment of wireless networks in manufacturing, but help is on the way. BI: A NEW OPERATIONAL MODEL FEMERGES BY JE F MOAD Whatever the industry sector, manufacturers need up-to-the-minute insights into business performance so they can react quickly when problems arise. 20 l COVER STORY: 18 l Notes By Joshua Greenbaum As SAP launches an on-demand ERP offering into the mid-market, a look at precedents may indicate whether that market is even interested. SPECIAL REPORT: MANAGING OUTSOURCING 30 l IS MORE AUTOMATION THEYANSWER? I L B MART Y WE Outsourcing various business processes and operations to offshore partners may be a good business strategy, but unless these complex relationships are properly managed with the right tech tools, they can go awry. 58 l Next By Rober t Malone To respond effectively to customer demand, global manufacturers need well-informed managers with access to sophisticated supply chain tools. 36 l ENSURING QUALITYEACROSSNOCEANS B Y L A U R N G I B B O S PA U L Maintaining production quality is paramount if you are using contract manufacturers. Avoiding pitfalls comes down to gaining visibility into supply chain processes — and your ability to be proactive rather than reactive. Mailbox l 8 l Executive Q&A l 16 l Product Scan l 52 l Advertiser Index l 56 l Transformation Integration TechWatch Industries 10 l The SaaS Delivery Model Gains Steam as New Entrants Broaden the Field 46 l TRANSFORMATION Reformulating CRM’s Value By Jef f Moad 11 l Consona Chief Will Press On with Acquisitions 42 l TRANSFORMATION Striving for Upstream Compliance By Beth Stackpole Dissatisfied with a sales force automation-centric view of CRM, Dow Corning has invested in building a new collection of portal-based applications that pull data from and promote collaboration across the enterprise. 12 l Schneider Takes Another Step Toward Solutions 13 l The Financial Closing Process Gets Some Help Manufacturers are getting more proactive about compliance, using technology to move the effort to an earlier stage in the design process rather than attacking in an after-the-fact fashion. The integration of Microsoft’s ubiquitous Office suite with back-end enterprise systems means that everyday end users don’t have to be IT experts to gain access to important business data. 14 l Kronos Chief Is Bullish On Acquisitions Cover Photo: Corbis MANAGING AUTOMATION magazine (ISSN 0895-3805) is published monthly by Thomas Publishing Company, LLC. 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001. J.E. Andrade, Chmn. of the Board; C.T. Holst-Knudsen, Pres.; R.J. Anderson, V.P., Planning.; E.V. Dillon, V.P., Mkg.; M. Peipert, V.P., Finance; I.J. Molofsky, V.P., Human Resources. Executive Office: 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001. Tel: 212-695-0500. Managing Automation: 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40010541. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Station A, P.O. Box 12, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 No charge for subscriptions when requested by qualified readers in the U.S.A. and its possessions. Subscriptions to others in the U.S. are $60/year. In Canada, $75/year. All other countries, $125/year. Single copies within the U.S. are $10.00. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. MANAGING AUTOMATION (USPS 001-181). Postmaster: Please send address changes to MANAGING AUTOMATION, P.O. Box 1156, Skokie, IL 60076-9794. ©2007 by Thomas Publishing Co. 3 December 2007
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