Aberdeen report concludes that enterprise synchronization improves inventories, lead times and cycle times
BRYAN, TEXAS – Feb. 7, 2007 – Factory Physics Inc., a management consulting company that assists companies in improving on-time delivery, reducing inventories and increasing productivity, today announced its sponsorship of a new benchmark report, “Manufacturing Flexibility: Synchronizing the Shop Floor and Supply Chain,” from Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS).
Aberdeen defines manufacturing flexibility as the convergence of supply chain visibility, production process capabilities and dynamic decision-making. According to Aberdeen, market pressures driving manufacturing flexibility initiatives today include the need to reduce inventory costs and shrink lead times in light of increasing demand uncertainty.
“Manufacturers are indicating to us that they are being pressured to reduce the use of demand uncertainty buffers, such as finished goods inventory and lead time, while at the same time experiencing increases in the demand uncertainty they are attempting to buffer against,” said Matt Littlefield, manufacturing research analyst at Aberdeen Group and author of the report.
The report reveals that the single most common challenge inhibiting the implementation of manufacturing flexibility initiatives is “conflicting views on how to optimize production planning” (70 percent of manufacturers surveyed cited this challenge). Optimizing production planning within any given Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Supply Chain Management (SCM) framework is a key offering of Factory Physics Inc.
Factory Physics Inc. provides software built on Factory Physics® principles and provides training in the principles to help supply chain executives apply practical science to the business of manufacturing. In doing so, they cut through complexity, reduce conflict, and establish predictive control and direct accountability to accelerate performance of manufacturing supply chains.
“The Factory Physics® approach is gaining traction in industry as manufacturing professionals are realizing that significant gaps exist between programs such as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and widely marketed IT solutions such as Advanced Planning and Optimization and Manufacturing Execution Systems,” said Mark Spearman, president and CEO of Factory Physics Inc. and co-author of the award-winning book Factory Physics. “Factory Physics Inc. has long advocated a more practical, comprehensive and scientific approach than simply looking at IT or Lean or Six Sigma as ’the’ solution. The Aberdeen Group's report addresses the need for consistent, comprehensive measures and strategies in concert with IT solutions and provides useful insights for today's manufacturing executives.”
“Manufacturers must first understand the relationships between improving demand responsiveness, buffering against demand uncertainty and manufacturing flexibility before any improvements can be realized,” added Littlefield. “Our research shows that manufacturers implementing strategic actions and business capabilities such as those prescribed by Factory Physics principles are 35 percent more likely to be Best in Class manufacturers and are better positioned to utilize supply chain and dynamic decision making technology investments.”
“Applying the Factory Physics framework to design and implementation of management strategy helps manufacturers make the most of their investments in technology solutions for improved supply chain visibility and dynamic decision making,” said Ed Pound, COO, Factory Physics Inc.
For a copy of the report “Manufacturing Flexibility: Synchronizing the Shop Floor and Supply Chain,” send a request to info@factoryphysics.com.
About Factory Physics Inc.
Factory Physics Inc. is a management consulting company that enables companies to improve on-time delivery, reduce inventory, and increase productivity by providing software and training based on the practical, scientific Factory Physics® framework. Factory Physics also is the title of an award-winning book co-authored by Factory Physics Inc. founder Mark Spearman. Factory Physics® principles and applications provide the practical science to cut through complexity, reduce conflict and fill in gaps in manufacturing and supply chain control. Factory Physics Inc. has helped organizations worldwide realize millions of dollars in savings, dramatic reductions in inventory and cycle time and tremendous increases in throughput to show from past engagements. For more information, visit www.factoryphysics.com.
FACTORY PHYSICS is a registered trademark of Factory Physics Inc. All rights reserved.
Factory Physics Inc. Launches LeanPhysicsTM Support Tools; Nov. 28, 2006; TheManufacturer.com, FabTech.com
BRYAN, TEXAS - November 27, 2006 - Factory Physics Inc., a management consulting company that provides a scientific framework, tools and training to optimize performance of manufacturing supply chains, today announced the launch of its proprietary software application LeanPhysicsTM Support Tools.
LeanPhysics Support Tools enable enterprises to apply Factory Physics® principles and optimize design, planning and execution of operations.
Built on the Factory Physics framework and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, LeanPhysics Support Tools complement continuous improvement initiatives such as Lean and Six Sigma and work with existing IT systems to maximize these investments by standardizing a practical, scientific framework in an IT solution that makes managing operations easier.
"LeanPhysics Support Tools fill a need currently not being met by systems integrator solutions," believes Mark Spearman, founder, president and CEO of Factory Physics Inc., and co-author of the award-winning book Factory Physics. "LeanPhysics Support Tools, and specifically the Stock Optimizer, enable enterprises to optimize the settings in their ERP systems."
"Instead of requiring managers to specify multiple constants that they really do not know, LeanPhysics Support Tools provide a graphical display of nearly 100 optimal solutions to select from that illustrate the relationship between orders, inventory and customer service all on one graph," said Spearman. "Once a manager selects a solution that will meet her needs, the parameters are uploaded into the ERP system and the inventory policy is optimized."
The Factory Physics framework is designed to give management four primary levers in trying to determine and execute strategy and tactics to achieve world-class customer satisfaction and profitability: variability, capacity, inventory and time. For a given market environment, management can decide whether to increase variability by offering more variety in its product offering or to invest in efforts to reduce variability by making processes more reliable or by improving the forecast.
The LeanPhysicsTM Support Tools software is also designed to provide management the ability to proactively understand the cost and service tradeoffs inherent in these decisions. At the same time, management can determine an optimal portfolio of buffers (capacity, inventory and time) to employ for fastest, most effective focus and deployment of efforts.
