IoT Magic?
By John R. Brandt Here’s something I bet you didn’t know: The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t just a digital revolution, but also a magical place in which the ordinary rules of business and finance don’t apply. Don’t believe me? Just ask a bunch of manufacturing executives.[1] First, they’ll tell you that they and their companies aren’t yet ready for the IoT: Only 11% have an IoT process strategy in place, Only 12% have an IoT product strategy in [...]
Were You Profitable TODAY?
By Alec Pendleton, Big Ideas for Small Companies How much does it cost to operate your business for a day? I have two companies, a manufacturer and a wholesaler. It costs $34,000 each day to operate the manufacturing company, and $3,200 to operate the wholesaler. Why is that important? It serves as an instant indicator of profitability, and gives me the earliest possible warning of developing problems. The numbers are calculated very simply. They are the total annual cost of [...]
The Art of Measurement
by Alec Pendleton What do you measure in your business? Too often, the answer is: The wrong stuff. Many leaders simply look at the numbers their accountants or software give them, without asking: What do I really need to monitor, so that we have opportunities for improved operations — and higher profitability? Paradoxically, when devising measurements to manage by, it’s typically a good first step to decide what NOT to measure. A great example of this can be found in [...]
The Problem with Most Thought Leadership Today is Simple: It’s Godawful Boring
It doesn’t seem to matter who publishes it, whether a big accounting or consulting firm, or a leading IT company. And it doesn’t much matter if it’s a white paper, a blog, an assessment tool, a LinkedIn post, or a tweet. Most thought leadership — which collectively costs billions of dollars to develop and distribute — seems crafted not to engage and not to offend. It’s just another checked box on the annual marketing plan. Here’s a typical example (fill [...]
Internet of Things Executive Summary
The MPI Internet of Things Study was designed to evaluate the readiness of U.S. manufacturers to incorporate smart devices and embedded intelligence within their plants and processes. We’re particularly interested in executives’ plans to improve business performance via the Internet of Things (IoT) — and for developing and selling products with embedded intelligence. The study looks deeply into how manufacturers will leverage IoT capabilities, along with the challenges they face. Download the Internet of Things Executive Summary The MPI Internet [...]
Innovation Evolution
I recently retrieved my turntable from the basement, dusted it off, and tossed on the 1978 vinyl classic Life in the Foodchain by Tonio K. I enjoyed it as much as ever, and could hear why Steve Simels, Stereo Review magazine, once wrote that it was “the greatest album ever recorded.” This got me to wondering what had become of Tonio K. (Steve Krikorian). I found www.toniok.com, and learned that Krikorian had released eight albums through 2001. He has been [...]
Gardening PDCA
The do phase of PDCA (plan/do/check/adjust) usually gets the most attention. Even if people don’t like change, they eventually get on board during the do phase and try to improve their function, process, or work activities. It often happens, though, that after changes are made, many move on to the next problem or opportunity and fail to follow the PDCA cycle to the check and adjust phases. For one activity that I annually seek to improve — vegetable gardening — [...]
Normal People in Wrong Processes
By George Taninecz, VP of Research Every day somebody somewhere irritates someone — me included — and the knee-jerk response is to finger the “bad” individual for an incompetence that led to our aggravation. But, as lean experts have been telling us for years, most bad experiences have nothing to do with bad people. These are simply “good people in bad processes.” I’m no lean consultant or practitioner, but I don’t think that’s quite right, either. Leave the labeling of [...]
Internet of Things Strategy — Smart Devices Need Smart People
Many manufacturers are aggressively incorporating intelligence into their production assets. Our recent MPI Manufacturing Study found that 10% of plant equipment (median) now has technologies embedded that enable machine-to-machine or machine-to-IT system communications (a much higher average figure of 23.7% highlights how extensively a few manufacturers are investing in Internet of Things capabilities). So, is the Internet of Things (IoT) really taking off? Not hardly and not yet, for a couple of reasons. First, digitally lacing together machines is a [...]
International Plans?
Most manufaturers recognize the importance of global awareness for their businesses. Yet less than half are actively participating in international business: Only 46% of U.S. manufacturers operate or partner in one or more production facilities outside the United States, and just 47% have one or more sales and/or distribution facilities outside the United States. Other firms have more aggressive global plans: 9% of manufacturers have production facilities in more than 10 countries, and 12% of manufacturers have sales and/or distribution [...]
Redirection of the World’s Manufactured Goods?
The United States continues to be the world’s great consumer. Imports to the United States of manufactured goods were nearly $1.72 trillion in 2011, and since 2001 have increased by 79%. China is by far the leading exporter of manufactured goods to the United States ($390.6 billion in 2011), nearly double that of second-place Canada ($207.3 billion).[1] More telling is how imports have changed in the past 10 years. China manufacturing exports to the United States rose 292% as that [...]
Manufacturing Performance
A year ago, manufacturing executives expected that their 2012 plant sales would increase by 9% (median) and 10.5% (average), according the 2011 MPI Manufacturing Study.[1] Those projections may yet turn out to be true given recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. Despite a modest drop in value of manufacturing shipments from May to June this year, the value of all manufacturing shipments year-to-date rose 5.8% across all industries vs. 2011 (not seasonally adjusted).[2] Both durable goods and non-durable goods shipments posted [...]
IoT Magic?
By John R. Brandt Here’s something I bet you didn’t know: The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t just a digital revolution, but also a magical place in which the ordinary rules of business and finance don’t apply. Don’t believe me? Just ask a bunch of manufacturing executives.[1] First, they’ll tell you that they and their companies aren’t yet ready for the IoT: Only 11% have an IoT process strategy in place, Only 12% have an IoT product strategy in [...]
Were You Profitable TODAY?
By Alec Pendleton, Big Ideas for Small Companies How much does it cost to operate your business for a day? I have two companies, a manufacturer and a wholesaler. It costs $34,000 each day to operate the manufacturing company, and $3,200 to operate the wholesaler. Why is that important? It serves as an instant indicator of profitability, and gives me the earliest possible warning of developing problems. The numbers are calculated very simply. They are the total annual cost of [...]
The Art of Measurement
by Alec Pendleton What do you measure in your business? Too often, the answer is: The wrong stuff. Many leaders simply look at the numbers their accountants or software give them, without asking: What do I really need to monitor, so that we have opportunities for improved operations — and higher profitability? Paradoxically, when devising measurements to manage by, it’s typically a good first step to decide what NOT to measure. A great example of this can be found in [...]
The Problem with Most Thought Leadership Today is Simple: It’s Godawful Boring
It doesn’t seem to matter who publishes it, whether a big accounting or consulting firm, or a leading IT company. And it doesn’t much matter if it’s a white paper, a blog, an assessment tool, a LinkedIn post, or a tweet. Most thought leadership — which collectively costs billions of dollars to develop and distribute — seems crafted not to engage and not to offend. It’s just another checked box on the annual marketing plan. Here’s a typical example (fill [...]
Internet of Things Executive Summary
The MPI Internet of Things Study was designed to evaluate the readiness of U.S. manufacturers to incorporate smart devices and embedded intelligence within their plants and processes. We’re particularly interested in executives’ plans to improve business performance via the Internet of Things (IoT) — and for developing and selling products with embedded intelligence. The study looks deeply into how manufacturers will leverage IoT capabilities, along with the challenges they face. Download the Internet of Things Executive Summary The MPI Internet [...]
Innovation Evolution
I recently retrieved my turntable from the basement, dusted it off, and tossed on the 1978 vinyl classic Life in the Foodchain by Tonio K. I enjoyed it as much as ever, and could hear why Steve Simels, Stereo Review magazine, once wrote that it was “the greatest album ever recorded.” This got me to wondering what had become of Tonio K. (Steve Krikorian). I found www.toniok.com, and learned that Krikorian had released eight albums through 2001. He has been [...]
Gardening PDCA
The do phase of PDCA (plan/do/check/adjust) usually gets the most attention. Even if people don’t like change, they eventually get on board during the do phase and try to improve their function, process, or work activities. It often happens, though, that after changes are made, many move on to the next problem or opportunity and fail to follow the PDCA cycle to the check and adjust phases. For one activity that I annually seek to improve — vegetable gardening — [...]
Normal People in Wrong Processes
By George Taninecz, VP of Research Every day somebody somewhere irritates someone — me included — and the knee-jerk response is to finger the “bad” individual for an incompetence that led to our aggravation. But, as lean experts have been telling us for years, most bad experiences have nothing to do with bad people. These are simply “good people in bad processes.” I’m no lean consultant or practitioner, but I don’t think that’s quite right, either. Leave the labeling of [...]
Internet of Things Strategy — Smart Devices Need Smart People
Many manufacturers are aggressively incorporating intelligence into their production assets. Our recent MPI Manufacturing Study found that 10% of plant equipment (median) now has technologies embedded that enable machine-to-machine or machine-to-IT system communications (a much higher average figure of 23.7% highlights how extensively a few manufacturers are investing in Internet of Things capabilities). So, is the Internet of Things (IoT) really taking off? Not hardly and not yet, for a couple of reasons. First, digitally lacing together machines is a [...]
International Plans?
Most manufaturers recognize the importance of global awareness for their businesses. Yet less than half are actively participating in international business: Only 46% of U.S. manufacturers operate or partner in one or more production facilities outside the United States, and just 47% have one or more sales and/or distribution facilities outside the United States. Other firms have more aggressive global plans: 9% of manufacturers have production facilities in more than 10 countries, and 12% of manufacturers have sales and/or distribution [...]
Redirection of the World’s Manufactured Goods?
The United States continues to be the world’s great consumer. Imports to the United States of manufactured goods were nearly $1.72 trillion in 2011, and since 2001 have increased by 79%. China is by far the leading exporter of manufactured goods to the United States ($390.6 billion in 2011), nearly double that of second-place Canada ($207.3 billion).[1] More telling is how imports have changed in the past 10 years. China manufacturing exports to the United States rose 292% as that [...]
Manufacturing Performance
A year ago, manufacturing executives expected that their 2012 plant sales would increase by 9% (median) and 10.5% (average), according the 2011 MPI Manufacturing Study.[1] Those projections may yet turn out to be true given recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. Despite a modest drop in value of manufacturing shipments from May to June this year, the value of all manufacturing shipments year-to-date rose 5.8% across all industries vs. 2011 (not seasonally adjusted).[2] Both durable goods and non-durable goods shipments posted [...]