Collaboration Fundamentals

Collaboration is in the air.

The recent industry magazine site featured the article, Are “Black Swans” Colliding with your Global Supply Chain? which stated:

 “Effective collaboration remains the cornerstone of successful relationships, especially in today’s global and outsourced environment. …It also means engaging suppliers who are willing to share information about the product on-demand, to support efficiencies and effectiveness across the product lifecycle.”

The author’s checklist shows that a supply chain is a supply chain, regardless of the industry, and based on discernible fundamental principles:

• Employ risk-based supply chain management strategies;
• Require partners to document their complete supply network;
• Integrate data islands and point solutions to aggregate data needed to glean business information;
• Implement global, standards-based, and interoperable systems to support visibility outside the corporate four walls;
• Collect, analyze, and act on critical-to-quality indicators and parameters; and
• Implement IT solutions to achieve business results, not simply meet regulatory requirements.

This clear call for increased collaboration capabilities also describes the collaborative infrastructure provided by Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence. In every industry incoming and outgoing supply chains are ever more interdependent. These tightly coupled supply chains and rigorous regulatory oversight demand the ability to immediately respond with correct answers.

It is a good time to examine collaboration fundamentals. On January 31 we will discuss manufacturing collaboration with Michael McClellan who wrote the book on the subject, “Collaborative Manufacturing – Using Real-Time Information to Support the Supply Chain”. Please join us for the web event, “Collaborative Manufacturing – a Conversation with Michael McClellan”.