Resources > APICS Magazine > July/August 2004
APICS—The Performance Advantage
July/August 2004
Volume 14, Number 7
Feature Articles
COVER STORY
It’s Good to be King
By Marty Weil
When it comes to midmarket customer relationship management (CRM), there’s Microsoft—and then there’s all the others. That has a lot to do with Microsoft’s built-in advantage: Outlook integration. But Marty Weil reports that, despite some high-power functionality, the most critical part of the equation for small and mid-size manufacturers is viability.
The Spontaneous Supply Chain 
By Eric P. Jack, Ph.D., and John P. Collins
Is build-to-order (BTO) a necessary response to competition, mass customization, and expanding globalization? More and more, the competitive marketplace is making a move toward BTO, and manufacturers are comparing this transition to that of Just-in-Time 30 years ago.
Finding Your Way in an EPC World
By Jennifer Proctor
The radio frequency identification (RFID) programs initiated by Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense are getting a lot of attention, but even those behemoths stop everything to listen when EPCglobal talks. We’ll examine how EPCglobal is developing the standards that manufacturers will use in implementing RFID networks.
A Lean Approach to Lean
By Dave Turbide, CFPIM, CMFGE, CIRM
Scheduling in a lean environment can be a hit-or-miss affair. Join Dave Turbide to learn about an innovative approach to pull scheduling that uses appropriate controls and buffers to reduce production lead time and work in process inventory while improving reliability.
A Key Part of the Tool Chest
By Terence T. Burton, CPIM, CPM
It’s not a magic formula or some kind of silver bullet. But like your tool chest at home, six sigma can be a powerful methodology when it’s used as part of an integrated approach to improvement.
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