Wenger Manufacturing, based in Sabetha, KS, now uses a synchronized, demand-driven production planning, scheduling and execution platform that connects to their ERP system and the real world results are remarkable. Increased on-time delivery went from 40% to 95% or greater…MORE
The two areas of my working world are embracing technology like never before: Marketing and manufacturing. While digital content and automated technologies gave birth to the modern marketer, a more real-time, digitally connected enterprise is driving modern manufacturing strategies like the Factory of the Future, Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 – all of which are grounded in Demand-Driven Manufacturing methods.
This got me thinking. In both worlds, technology is not only changing our strategies, processes and behaviors, it’s changing what and how we measure.
Eight or so years ago, a dramatic shift began occurring in marketing as a result of a more Internet-enabled and digitally connected market. With greater access to information, today’s buyers are better informed; they do their due diligence before even contacting vendors. In fact, some say that up to 70% of the buying process is complete before the buyer even engages with a salesperson.¹ As such, more marketers have embraced inbound, or pull-based strategies that drive quality engagement (visits, downloads, clicks, views, likes/follows, etc.) based on meaningful, relevant content.
Nurturing, tracking and analyzing that engagement – and discovering behavior patterns – is where technology comes in. Today’s modern marketer may have a toolbox of technologies, including, a marketing automation system (MAS), content management system (CMS), customer relationship management (CRM) system, SEO and media intelligence tools and more. We use these technologies to track levels of contact engagement and conversion ratios to develop more predictable buying cycle patterns and pipeline forecasts. We develop lead scoring systems based on engagement and where people are in the buying cycle. We nurture contacts who are not in an active buying cycle with relevant content so they know where to find us when they’re ready. We garner data that helps us to better understand our prospects, in particular, the challenges and issues they experience in their daily role so we can deliver more personalized and meaningful content.
In the same way that marketing is leaning more on technology for decision-making data – and what to take action on to improve performance – more manufacturers are investing in technology to better serve their clients, elevate their competitive position and increase revenue. As mentioned earlier, modern manufacturing concepts like The Factory of the Future, Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 are based on Demand-Driven Manufacturing methods and enabled by a more digitally connected enterprise. Modern manufacturers have the ability to connect their software systems and machines; pulling, aggregating and analyzing data from these resources in real-time and making it visible to all. Quality analysts are instantly alerted to issues; process engineers are better equipped to drive production flow, and machine operators have a clear view of job priorities and what to work on next.
Given the more customer-centric demand-driven model – coupled with greater access to information – the metrics that manufacturers monitor to make improvements in operations become more focused and actionable. Inventory Turns, On-time Delivery and Fill Rate provide an overall indication of Operations and Supply Chain health, while other metrics such as Schedule Adherence, Supplier Quality and Yield provide more localized insight. This model has also introduced some new operations metrics – Queue Turns (how often the queue turns in front of a resource over a given time period) and Constraint Productivity (indicates whether constraints are operating at their optimal capacity).
For both marketers and manufacturers, technology has converted data into actionable information and provided great insight on how we can continuously improve. A caveat to all this data is that it is not how much you measure, but what you are measuring. Like manufacturing, in marketing there is no end to the number of data points you can monitor. Combat data overload by knowing what you want to achieve and focusing on metrics that align with those goals.
If you’d like to learn more, here are some resources that you may find helpful:
eBook: The Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics & Analytics by Marketo
White Paper: Demand-Driven Manufacturing Metrics that Drive Action
1Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics and Analytics, Marketo, ©2011.
By Sarah Balogh
Made for Manufacturers
A common statement I hear from customers is that they are working with technology and software that doesn’t provide the functionality they need as manufacturers. They are told that certain enterprise software packages “can do everything” they need to plan, schedule, and run their factories. But months after implementation they feel a sense of disenchantment. Why is this?
Software Made for Manufacturing
What these customers have in common is that they bought software that can be used for manufacturing. But what they really need is manufacturing software. True software built for manufacturers provides capabilities and value unique to companies in the business of planning and producing goods to bring to market. Manufacturing software is created with the industry and business of manufacturing in mind. It is built with the intention of providing an organization the tools it needs to gain control of their production floor, deliver quality goods on time, and gain visibility into operations and the supply chain beyond the four walls of the plant.
The good news is even if you didn’t purchase manufacturing software initially, you always have the opportunity to start the journey of enabling the factory of the future, exactly from where you are today. How? By selecting manufacturing software that can integrate and play nicely with your existing systems while providing the specific manufacturing functionality you need.
Connect to Anything and Everything
Manufacturing enterprises today have one thing in common – they are all unique. They have nothing in common with other manufacturers’ architecture and solution portfolios. Each organization tends to be a mixed collection of legacy, new enterprise, and point solutions (with the ability to access data within and across these solutions just as varied for each company). Therefore, one of the elements that good manufacturing software should include is the ability to connect to and take advantage of all of this data, plus any future data sources. This makes it possible for any company, wherever they are in their continuous improvement or demand-driven journey, to start harnessing the power of their own information to drive decisions from real data.
To start driving value for your manufacturing business, I recommend using a factory visualization solution that has the ability to connect to and use this existing data for analysis, visibility and to serve as the much sought after single version of the truth. Suddenly data across the enterprise is liberated to serve your organization as usable and actionable information. When your different technologies are all connected to a visual factory system, you break down the data silos. In combining these data sources, you become empowered with information, gaining new and more comprehensive insight into your environment and business.
At this year’s IndustryWeek Manufacturing & Technology Conference, Orbital ATK shared how they connected their environment to enable the Internet of Things and how they are using visual factory technology as a communications tool and a means to respond to issues in real time. (YouTube video.)
Next time we will talk more about what a good factory visualization tool should be able to do, and why those capabilities are necessary. In the meantime, please leave a comment!
Case study presentation set for May 4 focuses on the value of real-time data access in a digitally connected environment…MORE
As sponsor of the Manufacturing Technology Strategies track, Synchrono will co-present a case study with client, Orbital ATK Aerospace Structures Division (ASD), a leading supplier of critical composite structures for the aerospace and defense industries. During the session, How Orbital ATK is Leveraging the IIoT and Visual Factory Technology to Drive Continuous Performance Improvements, attendees will learn…MORE
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