APICS Operations Management Now

While you may doubt that 3D printing will directly influence your work life, this revolutionary technology promises short- and long-term changes to fundamental manufacturing ideas, such as lean, scheduling, capacity, setup, and prototyping.

One sure sign of economic recovery is when companies struggle to fill open positions. Even as orders continue to go up, the pool of available, qualified workers stays at the same level.

Offshoring for many people used to mean manufacturing jobs moving to China. However, Chinese labor isn’t cheap anymore, and businesspeople now more than ever must consider the total cost of ownership.

Evonik makes 25 percent of the world's supply of Nylon 12. It also provides the necessary chemical building block to other makers of the resin. But after an explosion last month, a Nylon 12 shortage is threatening car manufacturing in a big way.

Combing through the news this week, I observed a theme. “Sony’s New CEO Vows to ‘Revive’ Company” appeared in theWall Street Journal [subscription needed]. “Best Buy Should Act Urgently to Repair Company,” was a headline on the MSNBC web site. Best Buy and Sony are at a crossroads. These once-venerable businesses are struggling to capture customers.

While Caterpillar once misjudged the scope of the recession, shrinking to ensure long-term survival, the company now "is emerging as the poster child for America's manufacturing renaissance."

Apple CEO Timothy Cook is using his supply chain and operations management expertise to address alarm about how Apple products are made. According to Sunday’s New York Times, Cook toured Foxconn, a Chinese manufacturer of Apple products, and a day later, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) condemned long work hours and low wages at Foxconn factories.

Earlier this month, Amazon paid $775 million for Kiva Systems, a technology firm that pairs mobile robots with automation and fulfillment software. According to a recent Forbes article, the acquisition is a logical step for Amazon.

Despite the job numbers, well-known publications and local newspapers alike are highlighting a manufacturing renaissance in the United States, and they are crediting technology, exports, and lean, among other things.

Costs are rising in the China due to increasing land prices, environmental and safety regulations, taxes, and labor expenses. These days, work in other locations, such as Vietnam, can cost up to 30 percent less.

In 1985, Michael Porter identified the primary activities of a value chain as inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. But some argue that the social era has rendered his model outdated—and that it should.

Business operations manager is in US News and World Report's list of the best jobs of 2012. Are you fully capitalizing on this proven need for operations management professionals?

The practice of supply chain sustainability—incorporating triple bottom line results into supply chain decisions—ultimately relies on supply chain practitioners, their organizations, and their supply chain partners to define and develop specific sustainable activities. Increasingly, well-defined standards, industry best practices, and research combine to advance supply chain sustainability around the world.

Many factors are responsible for the complexity of pharmaceutical supply chains, including the necessary role of government regulatory agencies; the wide distribution of suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients; and the fact that shortages, which often are caused by inadequate demand data, are a threat to public health.

Last month saw the biggest jobs gain in nine months in the United States, surpassing most analysts' forecasts. But productivity was down. Lower productivity means diminishing returns on wages and paying more for relatively less work.

According to the article, Boeing’s commercial airliner division head, Jim Albaugh, attributes the production issues Boeing is experiencing with the Dreamliner to the company contracting too much of the work. Boeing-owned factories are the final stage in a global supply chain that comprises more than 1,200 suppliers. Ensuring these suppliers see Boeing as their priority and getting them to ramp up their own production to meet Boeing’s demand in a still uncertain global economy have not been easy tasks for the aerospace company.

Asia, like the Americas, includes economies at various levels of development. As mature economies, South Korea and Japan are in a decidedly different place than China. Yet, due to their proximity, all three have contributed to making Asia the hub for the electronic industry and its supporting supply chains.

How many of you have felt the impact of a merger or acquisition? Integrating operations takes time. Many decisions need to be made, including those that impact the size and characteristics of the workforce.

Dual sourcing may be at odds with the overall business strategy if a priority is placed on reducing operational costs. It is incumbent on supply chain and operations management professionals to consider business priorities when developing risk mitigation tactics.

The first step for anyone in the industry is to learn all the laws and regulations for your supply chain. The next step is to evaluate how to make supply chain decisions while considering those standards.