5 Manufacturing Technology Trends!

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This post concludes our two part series on the “Changing Face of Manufacturing.” In this series, we first wrote about how manufacturers are now looking at total landed costs when deciding where they will place manufacturing facilities along with Manufacturing technology.

Increasingly, those companies, who offshored to China and other countries in the 80s and 90s, are now taking a hard look at reshoring or bringing those facilities back to American shores.

However, as noted in a recent report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the reshoring of facilities, doesn’t necessarily mean new jobs. As we have said in the past, we think that is OK.

Today we will address these 5 sweeping manufacturing technology trends which look to disrupt and change how manufacturing companies execute current processes.

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Make Your Manufacturing Business More Efficient!

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Is your manufacturing business not operating to the levels you’re expecting? Are you looking for ways to increase your returns and profits? The secret lies with one dictionary word; efficiency.

Efficiency will ensure that you’ll achieve high production figures while minimizing costs. As a manufacturing company, how will you ensure you attain efficiency?

This post will discuss tips you can adopt to attain manufacturing business efficiency. Continue reading to learn more. 

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Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing!

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Although additive manufacturing and 3D Printing for both plastic and metal materials has been around for years, the investment, developments, breadth of applications, adoption rate, and beneficial case studies are expanding at an extremely rapid rate.

New processes, materials, devices, design applications, are emerging every day. Now, there are cloud sites that store portfolios of designs, much like Pandora does for music. All of this is creating an amazing amount of opportunity creating more efficient supply chains, new product types, de-centralized manufacturing schemes, and easier approaches to mass-customization.

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Industry 4.0 and How Data is Changing Manufacturing!

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Industry 4.0, sometimes also called the fourth industrial revolution, is a trend of data exchange and automation in changing manufacturing and manufacturing technologies.

This data exchange and automation is meant to make factories and plants smarter. Some of these technologies include cloud computing, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things.

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The Factory Relocation Guide!

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Are you considering or undergoing a factory relocation?

Anyone who has done it knows that it’s no easy task, and anyone who’s thought about it probably knows that it’s daunting to even consider. After all, these are just a few of the factors to take into account when relocating:

  • Finding the right facility
  • Breaking down, moving, and re-installing machinery and equipment
  • Minimizing downtime
  • Penetrating a new market and customer base
  • Personnel changes

Despite those challenges, the benefits of relocating your factory can be numerous and far-reaching. In fact, many of those perceived hurdles offer benefits, when done properly and approached with the right mindset.

In this piece, we’ll expound on the benefits of relocating your factory, as well as ways to make it easier once you start the process.

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Seasoned Leadership in Action™ – An Interview with Tony Giovaniello, President of Shasta EDC

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Tony Giovaniello, President Shasta EDC

At Supply Chain Game Changer we believe in sharing experiences and expertise from people in every industry and from across the globe.  As such we have introduced our “Seasoned Leadership in Action™” Interview series. This interview is with Tony Giovaniello, President of the Shasta EDC (Economic Development Corporation).

I first met Tony at Celestica.  We worked together in the Solutions Development organization, responsible for designing creative, winning proposals for customers, old and new.

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The Expected Growth of Manufacturing Technology Investments!

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Manufacturing technology helps power forward the industry into areas it has never been before. It can also help cover every section of your manufacturing process that you could even think of.

This includes being able to accurately calculate the real manufacturing cost of our products (and meet customer cost reduction requirements), by measuring things like failures in production, repairs, products return from customers, scrap of products and components, and late deliveries of products to customers.

Manufacturing technology can also assist you with key issues that come about in your quality control process.

So are there any perceived downsides to a company investing in manufacturing technology? Should there be any hesitation to more technology investments?

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Why Manufacturing is the Future!

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As the world becomes more advanced, and technology becomes a part of day-to-day life, one thing has always stayed the same: manufacturing. Manufacturing is the past and present. Manufacturing is the future!

While today, there are many changes in this industry, it remains an important part of our society and economy. 

These changes have opened new possibilities for the future, with roles such as that of “manufacturers” or “makers” playing a vital role in society.

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7 Ways to Improve Quality Control in Food Manufacturing!

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When you’re a food and beverage manufacturer, there’s no business more serious than quality control. Consumer safety and quality control go hand-in-hand for the food industry in a way that most other industries don’t have to deal with.

You’re working with the food that people put on their tables and feed to their families. That means that the right way is the one and only way to do it. 

Whether you’re a new business developing your quality control procedures or it’s time for a revamp, it’s crucial to keep up with the latest developments in food and beverage quality control.

By following these seven principles, you can help ensure that your practices are up-to-date, safe, sanitary and profitable. 

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5 Reasons for Manufacturing Production Delays!

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Manufacturing production delays can be devastating for the core business and others that rely on the manufactured products for their own processes. A delay in one manufacturing plant can have ripple effects across a whole supply chain, which is why it is so important to prevent these delays.

Doing so starts with understanding why they happen. Below we explore some of these reasons.

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Digital Marketing for Manufacturing Tips for Success!

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Most manufacturers still rely on traditional methods to promote their business. Word-of-mouth referrals, networking events, and trade shows are still preferred by those in the manufacturing industry for a good reason they still work.   

However, today’s clients are more demanding and better informed. And most prospective buyers are going online to research the most effective manufacturing business to partner with.

That said, manufacturers need to have an established digital presence to thrive in this increasingly competitive world.   

In this article, we’re sharing the basics of digital marketing and some tips to ensure your manufacturing business’s success in marketing to the online world.   

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Made in America vs. Assembled in America – Defining Terms!

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When a product proudly proclaims it is “Made in the USA” on its packaging, a lot of consumers feel confident and happy about the decision of choosing it. Products made in America are helping keep jobs in the country, minimizing their carbon footprint and proclaiming their national pride.

While this label is fairly clear, a second claim, “Assembled in America,” is a bit vaguer.

What exactly is the difference between these two labels?

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How to Optimize Your Factory for Industry 4.0!

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Believe it or not, Industry 4.0 — the latest specialization for modern factories and manufacturing plants — does factor into design and and help optimize your factory layout. That is because digitization, or the current movement to connect and bring all equipment into modern times, absolutely influences design.

In essence, that is the heart of Industry 4.0, a complete synergy between operations, equipment, properties and, of course, the people who spend their time there. If 3.0 was about automation and boosting efficiency, this generation is about injecting the human touch back into the work environment, and that means accommodating such things from a design standpoint.

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What is MRO and Why is it Important?

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In the world of Procurement and Operations one of the phrases that you will frequently come across is “MRO”.

But many people throw around the term without truly understanding what it means, and how important it truly is for the ongoing, and successful, operation of any company. Maintenance, repair, and operation is the process of MRO. From Content Rally, you will see how the industry is depending on this process.

If your production line stops dead because you are out of stock of an MRO item you will immediately develop an understanding and appreciation for this area.

So let’s try and provide some clarification.

What is MRO? And why is it important?

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What Your Small Manufacturing Business Should Do To Increase Profits?

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Increasing your small manufacturing business bottom line is never easy – after all, if it was, you’d be running a much larger business.

You need to locate a loyal and large customer base, have money put aside for excellent marketing, and make sure that employee morale is high, so that they are performing as well as they can.

You are also going to need to make sure that you are collaborating with businesses that align with your ideology, and work to the same standards as you do.

These are not small tasks to master, so to help you, here are some of the ways that your small manufacturing business can increase its profits by a larger margin

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