March Madness- The Best Tool for Improving Productivity

March 26, 2014

It’s that time of year.  The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is under way.  Everyone is busy making and checking their “brackets”.  Warren Buffett has underwritten a $1 billion prize for the person who has a completely correct bracket.  It is indeed madness. Many business leaders express frustration that employees are spending too much time watching, […]

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Growing Your Business – Educating Your Employees- CPIM

March 26, 2014

Every business owner worth his salt is constantly seeking ways to improve and grow his business.  Every manager is searching for ways to improve the return on investment (ROI) and reduce costs.  That is why we are always searching for new, more efficient machinery; new products for our customers; more reliable vendors; and better operating […]

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What is Production?

February 24, 2014

Many of you have read these e-bulletins. Most of the articles were discussing various issues about “production” matters. But what is production? Most of us think of production as the actions of changing the form, fit and function of raw materials with tools or machines. It is all done on the production floor, right —- […]

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Production Activity Control –Capacity Loading

December 4, 2013

When scheduling a manufacturing plant it is important to give the plant to correct amount of load to match its capacity. Over loading a plant (putting in more work than can be produced in a time period) is counterproductive. It leads to confusion among the production supervisors, frustration for the salesmen and wasted resources. The […]

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Production Activity Control – Dispatching Rules

December 4, 2013

The problem of scheduling the production work centers in a manufacturing plant is one that continues to plague managers. They are under constant pressure to get work orders processed quickly and efficiently. Of particular concern is the frequent need to find a specific work order and rush it though the plant to satisfy a special […]

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Production Activity Control – Shop Floor Control

October 22, 2013

A key aspect of Production & Inventory Control (P&IC) is planning and controlling production operations. The principal objective of Shop Floor Control (SFC) or, as it is often called, Production Activity Control (PAC) is to maximize plant throughput with the fewest resources. For this measurement it is best to show throughput in dollars and resources […]

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Purchasing Managers Index- What it Means

September 16, 2013

At the beginning of every month, economists and business leaders await the publication of the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). This index is considered a key indicator of the health of the economy and a harbinger of its future performance. What is this index, how is it compiled and […]

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Constraints Management and the Sales Function

July 2, 2013

There has been much discussion and significant practical application of the Theory of Constraints (also referred to as Constraints Management) in the past two decades. The methodology has been applied or suggested in just about every business function imaginable — except one, Sales. The Sales function is integral to every business and yet only a […]

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Sales and Operations Planning –Powerful Tool

June 5, 2013

There has been a good deal of discussion on the topic of Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) in APICS circles. In fact, there is a national conference on this topic being held in Chicago later this month. So, what is this discipline, and why is it in forefront of professional discussion? Sales & Operations Planning […]

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Software Cost Control – White Paper

June 5, 2013

Software implementation is often marked by high costs and difficult project management.  To better understand the dynamics of the business challenge I would direct you to a recent white paper on ERP Cost Control. This white paper is available at “www.softselect.com/ERP-cost-control.html”.

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