PlantSuccess Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue 4
Dear Subscriber:
PlantSuccess is the
keynoters and other presenters from DuPont, Rohm and Haas, Bayer, Air Products,
Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil and more than 50 other companies providing hundreds of
us with an opportunity to learn about their successful implementation of
engineering IT and automation tools. With little reservation, they discuss
business drivers, work processes, integration requirements and even the impact
on company culture.
There is ample evidence
that the implementation of many of these technologies results in handsome
rewards as the rest of the world can only envy the historical and current rate
of productivity achieved in the US.
The experience with
PlantSuccess is decision makers in the user community who want to listen,
participate, understand, learn and benefit from the experience of others. This
is not limited to conference attendees. We have always made all of our now 100+
presentations readily available and know that presentations from 3 and 4 years
ago are still frequently downloaded.
Several sponsors of
PlantSuccess have participated on a regular basis. Too many other software
companies and technology providers have not taken advantage of the opportunity.
The current report by AMR Research
is apropos and presents the issue thus: “Application software buyers are
moderately unhappy about the way that vendors charge for the use of their
products, but they are furious about the cost to maintain those products and
the policies that the vendors have established for enhancements and upgrades.”
The article discusses a
wide range of tactics by too many vendors that are often not understood by the
sales force or the customer. In typical AMR Research fashion, there are
numerous recommendations for application buyers and application vendors.
Although not stated, one of the recommendations could be to participate in
PlantSuccess.
As our speakers
address so well, industry leaders share many goals and objectives as well
as strategies -- the difference is in the implementation. The issue is not
technology; the issue is the effective use of best practices, MOC, continuous
improvement, Six Sigma and other techniques to solve problems in asset management,
reliability, manufacturing excellence, etc. PlantSuccess provides a fertile
ground for vendor personnel from product development, marketing and sales to
understand these issues and to further their own objectives.
Join us for PlantSuccess
Gulf Coast 2004 – 22 April at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake. The
conference theme remains: Best Practices Driving Plant Performance; keynote is
Tom Jefferson, Director of IT Production & Technology for Bayer Polymers,
LLC.
Visit www.PlantSuccess.com or call
770-565-3282 for more information
Carl Howk, Chairman
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Current Links
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Software
Licensing and Maintenance: The Model Is Broken
If
the problem is as reported by AMR
Research, it will not just “go away.” When user company executives were
asked what actions they intended to take, their answers speak change:
o
Training internal personnel to provide technical support
o
Renegotiate maintenance contracts
o
Switching to a more accommodating software vendor
o
Stop taking upgrades
o
Discontinue paying maintenance
o
Consider a new software delivery model like on-demand
The Reward Of
Supply-Chain Excellence
Managing
the supply chain and striving for excellence is a constant challenge. Optimize Magazine recently
published a comprehensive article by Robert
D'Avanzo, a partner in Accenture's
Supply Chain Management service line.
The
article begins: “While supply chains have become
increasingly important to businesses, many executives remain uncertain about
which strategies, capabilities, and investments create the most corporate
value. That makes it difficult to translate supply-chain theory into best
practices.”
Reports on research identifying four key factors that
distinguish supply-chain leaders from laggards:
1. As leaders, senior executives view their supply chains as
critical drivers of shareholder value and competitive differentiation.
2. Leaders incorporate supply chains into their business
strategies, paying significant attention to designing integrated operating
models.
3. Leaders build innovation into their operating models,
particularly with respect to outsourcing, internal and external integration,
and matching supply and demand.
4. Leaders rigorously execute
against their supply-chain strategies and capabilities. This includes the
ability to adapt supply-chain strategies and capabilities to meet changing
market needs.
And concludes with: “The bottom line—and the common
denominator—is innovation. As supply chains increasingly contribute directly to
the growth of both revenue and profit, companies with highly strategic
supply-chain approaches will pull further ahead. Companies that lack these
critical capabilities will fall behind. The choices—and the consequences—are
yours.” READ MORE,
The PlantSuccess
Newsletter generates a substantial number of visits to our website, we welcome
the interest and the access to previous issues of the Newsletter which are
available there. If you'd like to share this newsletter with a colleague, just
forward a copy. Subscribe or cancel by sending a request to Carl.Howk@PlantSuccess.com
Full
links to Volume IV, Issue 4 Newsletter articles:
1. http://www.amrresearch.com/
3. http://www.amrresearch.com/Content/view.asp?pmillid=17015&docid=11378
4. http://www.optimizemag.com/issue/026/financial.htm
5. http://www.optimizemag.com/