Ultriva Newsletter

Positioning Inventory to Improve Productivity and Profitability

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Jan 11, 2016 2:51:09 PM

Global manufacturers, from $200M+, face extraordinary risk without a firm control of effective inventory management. Supply chain professionals working with purchasing and procurement managers wrestle with practical daily aspects of inventory management, from determining optimal inventory levels, to selecting the best storage locations, to ensuring inventory accuracy.

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Topics: inventory

Purchasing and Procurement - November 23, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Nov 24, 2015 10:29:00 AM

Purchasing and Procurement Professional News
 

Volume I, Issue 6
November 23, 2015
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
Research Details How Top Procurement Organizations Re-invent Stakeholder Experience
Purchasing B2B  magazine recently revealed how world-class procurement organizations now deliver services at 17% less cost than typical companies while offering improved effectiveness, largely by becoming more customer-centric, according to new research from The Hackett Group, Inc. A key differentiator is the superior ability of world-class procurement organizations to gain a deep understanding of the needs of their business, react more quickly to changing requirements, and drive higher overall value and greater stakeholder satisfaction.
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Topics: Ultriva Sponsored News, Procurement, Purchasing

C-Suite Leadership News - November 18, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Nov 24, 2015 10:24:00 AM

Manufacturing C-Suite Leadership News
 

Volume I, Issue 6
November 18, 2015
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
 
Building a Global Manufacturing Business
California CEO magazine recently suggested that as more and more American business owners consider expanding into the growing global marketplace, there are many things to consider. With demand for U.S. manufactured goods increasing steadily around the world, particularly in China and Europe, there has also been an increase in the number of American businesses looking to take advantage of the opportunity to satisfy that demand. 
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Topics: Ultriva Sponsored News, C Suite Leadership

Purchasing and Procurement - October 26, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Oct 27, 2015 1:36:00 PM

Purchasing and Procurement Professional News
 

Volume I, Issue 5
October 26, 2015
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
Procurement Excellence in Manufacturing: Maximizing Profit and Driving Increased Quality
Building strong relationships with key suppliers helps to ensure consistent supply and quality of inputs. Ed Cross, executive director of procurement services, Xchanging, reported for IndustryWeek.  A well run, proactive procurement organization working closely with other functional areas in the business and third-party suppliers can help drive significant benefits that materially impact the company's profitability and cash cycle, and thus, the overall return on investment.
 
For many large manufacturing firms procurement is a missed opportunity. Executives are often concerned about linking sourcing success to financial business outcomes, such as operating profit and working capital -- unsure of the proper systems and processes to create this linkage -- and this applies inertia to procurement innovation efforts. Further, financial executives tend to look at categories of spend individually, such as raw materials, machinery, plant/facility services, utilities, and MRO. Executives rarely see the magnitude of overall spending that these categories represent, but when added together, these categories often amount to between several to hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the size of the organization.
 
A procurement team can make a significantly positive impact to the level and quality of inventories that will result in lower investment requirements, more efficient production, better utilization of factory floor space, and better service and product to the customers -- in other words, affecting the entire production and cash cycles. Learn more: bit.ly/1itGNnB  
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Topics: Ultriva Sponsored News, Procurement, Purchasing

C-Suite Leadership News - October 19, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Oct 27, 2015 1:32:00 PM

Manufacturing C-Suite Leadership News
 

Volume I, Issue 5
October 19, 2015
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
 
CIO Magazine Reports Rapid Growth of Cloud-based Enterprise Software for Manufacturing
CIO Magazine recently reported that the cloud is rapidly becoming the new standard for enterprise software. Organizations are moving the most important business processes beyond their own four walls en masse. The simplest way to quantify this is in terms of business software startups: essentially 100% of new enterprise technology companies are delivering solutions in the cloud.
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Topics: Ultriva Sponsored News, C Suite Leadership

Supply Chain Professional News - October 12, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Oct 16, 2015 10:34:00 AM

Supply Chain Professional News
 

Volume I, Issue 5
October 12, 2015 
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
Kanban Proves Effective Lean Manufacturing Supply Chain in KPMG Survey
Dave Becker is vice president of sales and marketing at All Flex Flexible Circuits noted recently, KPMG, an international consultancy that operates as a network of member firms offering audit, tax and advisory services, came out with their 6th annual survey of manufacturing executives focusing on global manufacturing trends. A total of 385 senior executives were polled in a variety of industries including medical device, aerospace, automotive, defense, and industrial. Respondents' geographic locations were equally distributed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
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Topics: supply chain, Ultriva Sponsored News

Purchasing and Procurement - September 28, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Sep 28, 2015 2:10:00 PM

Purchasing and Procurement Professional News
 

Volume I, Issue 4
September 3, 2015
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
Cloud-Based Purchasing Collaborative Ensures Purchasing Not Blamed
 
Collaborative supply chain solutions must help purchasing and procurement professionals accelerate productivity and performance for manufacturing firms around the globe. In a co-creation customers, enhance solutions permit a 'Collaborative RFQ' (Request for Quote) module that incorporates innovative social media concepts, an 'Inventory Optimization Tool' that helps organizations to improve the operational and financial performance of supply chains, and a 'Collaborative Planning' module that combines historical consumption and replenishment data with forward-looking demand data to calculate future inventory positions.
  
The inability of current supply chain management systems to support true collaboration and execution between manufacturers and their supply chain partners results in supplier whiplashing, poor delivery performance, and lost revenue. Purchasing does not need to be blamed.
  
Narayan Laksham, Ultriva founder and CEO said, "Providing greater transparency and collaboration between manufacturers and supply chain partners, customers have experienced an average 35% increase in inventory velocity along with across-the-board improvements in employee productivity and supply chain decision making. We work closely with customers to deliver even greater value through ultra-responsive, demand-driven supply chains." 
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Topics: Ultriva Sponsored News, Procurement, Purchasing

C-Suite Leadership News - September 21, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Sep 22, 2015 12:59:00 PM

Manufacturing C-Suite Leadership News
 

Volume I, Issue 4
September 21, 2015
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
  Leadership in The Manufacturing Revolution

Mike DiLeo shared in Manufacturing.net that it is an exciting time to be in manufacturing, but that means change in the industry - and lots of it. The existing and emerging technologies that are creating a new Industrial Revolution in the manufacturing sector are also creating new demands for leadership in change management skills, metrics, and more.
 
As tech innovation is driving business decision-makers to be more effective in a rapidly changing and competitive environment, they are seeking more professional certifications to support the ability to excel. While the need for professional certifications like Six Sigma is true in a wide range of industries - health care and retail among them - it's in the traditional "home" of Six Sigma, the manufacturing space, that investment in leadership skills and analytic Six Sigma framework are likely to pay off.
 
Consider some of the developments identified by Industry Week as the top five manufacturing trends to shape the 2015 market. At the top of the list is the so-called "SMAC Stack," the next-generation IT approach designed to streamline social, mobile, analytics, and cloud into a single architecture that delivers what Ed Anderson, a research VP at Gartner, has called a digital critical mass. SMAC Stack changes the manufacturing game, but these customer-focused trends force what Michael Kotelec at Verizon views as "cultural change within a historically conservative if it ain't broke don't fix it' industry." 
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Topics: Ultriva Sponsored News, C Suite Leadership

Supply Chain Professional News - September 14, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Sep 17, 2015 12:44:00 PM

Supply Chain Professional News
 

Volume I, Issue 4
September 14, 2015 
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein

World Logistics Center Largest Logistics Hub in the United States

The World Logistics Center project was approved in Southern California by the Moreno Valley City Council this past month. The complex will be a 40.6 million square foot logistics hub, making it the largest in the nation, creating over 20,000 new jobs. It will be built in two phases with completion dates of 2022 and 2030.

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Topics: supply chain, Ultriva Sponsored News

Purchasing and Procurement - September 3, 2015

Posted by Cindy McGowan on Sep 3, 2015 12:00:00 PM

Purchasing and Procurement Professional News
 

Volume I, Issue 3
September 3, 2015
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.
Albert Einstein
Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Like the Southeast
 
The recent uptick in manufacturing activity in the Southeast, as indicated by the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report released earlier this month by Kennesaw State University's Econometric Center in the Michael J. Coles College of Business, is a direct reflection of the region's recent influx of manufacturers. Additionally, Porsche and Mercedes' announcements that they are moving their U.S. headquarters to Atlanta, while Toyota is moving into Texas, is hugely significant to the region. There is a strategic value that manufacturers find in evaluating the Southeast as prime location, and the trend is poised to continue.
 
Manufacturers must assess challenges associated with locating in the Southeast, including workforce development, forcing states to look for ways to better educate people and elevate the sophistication of vocational training. Additionally, manufacturers need to identify their priorities and stick to the list. Incentives cannot make a bad project site good. Moving to the Southeast can be extremely positive for manufacturers when it comes to keeping their employees happy and their bottom line strong. Many qualities make the Southeast shine as an economic development hot spot, including right-to-work states, lower or no income taxes, affordable cost of living, and an overall attractive place to raise families, thanks to the climate and lifestyle. There is a lot of undeveloped land available, as well as good interstate and railroad systems. The Atlanta airport is still a draw and if a company needs to be near a port, Mobile, Savannah, and cities throughout Florida are great options. Purchasing managers in the Southeast and throughout the world are seeking a Supply Chain Portal. Learn more:  bit.ly/1PrFCQM.  
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Topics: Ultriva Sponsored News, Procurement, Purchasing

Very simply, Forecasting doesn’t work. Ultriva helps manufacturers move away from forecasts to a demand-driven manufacturing and Supply Chain environment.   

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