Kicking Off 2016 Has Been an Economic Cage-Rattler

Doing more-for-less has taken on a new sense of urgency

January 2016 has gotten off to a rough start for the global markets.  Manufacturers already face the pressures of competition, innovation, compliance, liability, distributed supply chains and more.  But, this year’s start has thrown in uncertainty with a dash of volatility.

No doubt this has prompted internal discussions for many businesses about what all this may mean for the coming year and how best to respond.

A tried and true response is “doing more for less.”  The stark reality is that a majority of the product-related data and processes across enterprises are still using manual steps, paper, email, Excel, Lotus Notes, DropBox, FTP and homegrown systems.  Do they work?  Of course, but at the downstream costs of corrective actions that are not contributing to the do-more-for-less mantra.  In fact, the cost of these intercessions exceeds the cost of making changes that drive lasting efficiencies.

We talk to 10s of companies every month.  We hear the confessionals.  Comments along the lines of …

• “Our manual change process needs help.”

• “Our profits are wiped out because installation efforts take longer, drive up the cost of scrap and rework and extend receivables.”

• “We don’t have the visibility we need” (Code words for “things are out of control.”)

That’s what we are tackling in this issue… practical steps to “doing more for less.”

We are also introducing a new section called “What would we do?”  This would be a great place to chime in if you have some thoughts and/or experiences to share.

The “promise of PLM” has never taken on a more relevant tone.  And part of that promise is simply “doing more for less.”