JANUARY 2016MANUFACTURINGTECHINSIGHTS.COM6 With developments sweeping in the form of lean, digi-tal, and agile methods, many grounds have opened up for the new age manufacturers that are moving beyond common trajectories. However, any smart manufacturer would know that gaining cost competitiveness alone, does not suffice in an industry that is prone to repetitive changes instigated by technology. Manufacturers need quality, innovation, productivity, and profit-ability assurance at all layers of their operations. But, it is now the time for self reflection for many CIOs and CTOs who are disgrun-tled by the pessimistic view portrayed by the world economy! While a few choose to experiment and anticipate the impacts of the technology portfolio that are being implemented, others bring in consultants into the picture. To avoid trials and tribulations, the core agenda of CIOs and CTOs who are seeking to invest in smart manufacturing techniques, ERP implementation, supply chain solutions, and industrial robots, is to hold their budget plans and identify a manufacturing consultant. Bringing consultants on board can help gain pragmatic insights on the ongoing storm in the global economic front. Though the volatil-ity of major markets that manufacturing companies are dependent on increases their business costs; innovation, collaboration, and supply chain flexibility can still be attained with the right mix of advisory services and the technology. The consulting services rang-ing from automation, lean excellence, sustainability strategies, to collaboration approaches, and warehouse planning and logistics support, help bridge the gap between an organization's expertise and its goals in the long run. In this light, we present an edition on manufacturing consulting providers who have the ability to support manufacturing decisions and predict risks to identify potential opportunities for both small and large manufacturers. We hope this edition of Manufacturing Tech Insights enlightens you with the methods needed to preempt major drawbacks and steer manufacturing companies toward their goals.Laura DavisEditor-in-ChiefManufacturingTechnology InsightsWrite to useditor@manufacturingtechnologyinsights.comUnleashing the True Potential of ManufacturingEditorialCopyright © 2016 ManufacturingTechnology Insights, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permis-sion from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher as-sumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, pho-tographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof. JANUARY - 2016Mailing AddressValley Media, Inc. 44790 S. Grimmer Blvd Suite 202, Fremont, CA 94538T:510.936.8381, F:510-894.8405 JANUARY - 2016, Vol 02- Issue 01 Published by Valley Media, Inc. To subscribe to ManufacturingTechnology InsightsVisit www.manufacturingtechnologyinsights.com Editor-in-ChiefLaura DavisEditorial StaffSalesVisualizerMichael WilliamsRuben Philipruben@manufacturingtechnologyinsights.com Ava GarciaImmanuel SpearsMichelle WilsonPeter ThomasTECHNOLOGY INSIGHTSTECHNOLOGY INSIGHTSJoshua Parker
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