Blog
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Demand Driven Manufacturing in the Engineer-to-Order Space
Aligning Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement Practices Demand-driven manufacturing (DDM) is an approach to manufacturing where production is based on actual demand rather than forecasts. DDM enables a synchronized, closed loop between customer orders, production scheduling and manufacturing execution – all while simultaneously coordinating the flow of materials and resources across the supply chain. The…
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Modern Metrics
How Technology Has Changed What We Measure 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…
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Made for Manufacturers
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…
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Demand-Driven Technologies Evolved
By John Maher When I first began instituting demand-driven practices in the late 90s, we were into creating pull, eliminating waste, and getting on a path of continuous improvement. Technology at the time was seen as an inhibitor rather than an enabler. Most people active in Constraints Management and Lean Manufacturing were abandoning their technology…
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If it’s Not Real Time Data, It’s Old Data
We have so much real-time data around us in our daily routines. A barista starts to prepare my order the moment that I purchase my daily coffee. I instantly know how close I am to the speed limit thanks to my car’s speedometer. And I see an accurate count down of the number of minutes…
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Five Key Elements that Drive Manufacturing Flow
If you follow the Demand-Driven Matters blog, you know we specialize in Demand-Driven Manufacturing and have identified the two key components of this method as synchronization and flow. At an enterprise level, synchronization is all about fully connecting your organization to aggregate and share information in real-time. Data from machines, tools, applications, enterprise systems –…