The Ledger

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Tag Archives: manufacturing

Industry Week: ISM: Continued Growth, but No End in Sight for Labor, Commodity Shortages

“The price of aluminum has increased now for 16 months in a row alongside the trend in manufacturing growth. Other commodities up in price for longer than a year include polypropylene (15 months up in price), steel (14 months), and plastic resins (13). Electrical and electronic components were listed as up in price for a tenth month each, and semiconductors marked an eighth more-expensive month.”

Read More at Industry Week >

Industry Week: Metalformers Face Raw Material Price Hikes and Labor Shortages

“Average lead times at metalforming companies are increasing with barely any sign of slowing down. Just over six in ten survey respondents said average lead times are longer than they were three months ago. That number fell three percentage points from August, when it read 64%. More than half of PMA members have reported increased average lead times for every month since February 2021 now.”

Read More at Industry Week >

CFO Journal: How Semiconductor CFOs Can Lead Through Uncertainty

“EBP is a framework that converges and coordinates planning efforts across all functions: commercial (demand), operational (supply/provision), and finance. At its core, it is designed to provide ongoing visibility into operating and commercial decisions to ensure operating plans support financial objectives.

Advanced capabilities in scenario modeling and predictive analytics are key components of EBP, used to accelerate decision-making by optimizing supply and demand and associated financial outcomes.”

Read More at The Wall Street Journal >

The Wall Street Journal: Rising Shipping Costs Are Companies’ Latest Inflation Riddle

Manufacturing and supply chain professionals: How are you taking control of costs in your business during this volatile time?

“Transportation costs—typically a fraction of a finished product’s price—are emerging as another supply-chain hurdle, overwhelming some companies already paying more for raw materials and labor.”

Read More at The Wall Street Journal >

The Manufacturer: How Manufacturers Can Create a Normalised View Across Production Lines

3 data challenges in manufacturing that need to be addressed because they “deliver accessible, trusted data to develop insights across our production lines”:

  1. Breaking down data silos
  2. Contextualizing and understanding data
  3. Creating a dynamic data model

Read More at The Manufacturer >

Industry Week: Too Often, the Right Data Isn’t Getting to the Right Person (Even within Their Own Team)

“Closing the loop means establishing a system where the data is embedded into a continuous feedback process across the formerly siloed teams. Establishing this seamless data continuity fosters a data-driven culture where employees make decisions on a common set of accurate and up-to-date information.”

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IndustryWeek: Mission Accepted: Deploying Digital Transformation

“The responses to the 2020 IndustryWeek Technology Survey painted a clear picture – manufacturers last year truly accepted the importance of undergoing a digital transformation. To be clear, it’s not that manufacturers didn’t understand the need pre-pandemic, but the impetus to intensify the journey was noticeably absent. It’s not anymore”

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SF Magazine: Contract Manufacturing for OEM CFOs

“The CFO’s team should be involved in all outsourcing decisions, including CMO selection and management. Throughout the selection process, the CFO provides leadership and a framework for evaluating decisions and expected results from a cash and operational risk perspective. Perhaps most importantly, finance professionals help evaluate costs, calculate what-if scenarios, and analyze the risks and rewards of different production or logistics options…The CFO identifies relevant costs, drilling down into details such as inbound freight, labor, overhead, capital, and inventory.”

Read More at SF Magazine >

Industry Week: The Complex Choreography of Supply Chain Resilience

“Building a resilient supply chain requires precise forecasting, the ability to rapidly adapt to short-term situations, supply chain flexibility, and being able to detect problems at an early stage. These capabilities must be captured in processes that rely on decision-making based on data available any time, any place.”

Read More at Industry Week >