Archive 2005

The Manufacturer - December 2005 - Return of the King

IFS Applications delivered immediate payback on its deployment at The Willamette Valley Co., said the company's CIO, Gerald Nakamura, in the December 2005 issue of The Manufacturer magazine. "We started receiving benefits from the beginning, right out of the gate, even before the software was installed," Nakamura said. Lower inventory levels, increased turnover of raw materials, and shorter delivery times all are improvements that the company achieved within six months of the IFS implementation. The Eugene, Oregon-based company is using IFS Applications at 11 sites.

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ZDNet Asia - October 3, 2005 - IFS wants bigger piece of India's ERP pie

IFS has announced the acquisition of all the remaining shares of IFS Solutions India Pvt Ltd., the joint venture set up in 2003 between IFS and its Indian distributor, Escosoft Technologies Pvt Ltd. With this wholly owned subsidiary, IFS is expanding its presence in India and tapping the growing demand for business applications there. In the Oct. 3, 2005, online edition of ZDNet Asia, IFS Asia-Pacific president Mark Rabjohns discusses IFS' growth strategy in the Indian market.

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Manufacturing Business Technology - October 2005 - How Times Have Changed

Using a consignment stock facility supported by IFS Applications, Pontiac Coil, Clarkston, Michigan, has boosted revenues at one of its plants by 15 percent this fiscal year, according to an article in the October 2005 issue of Manufacturing Business Technology. Before implementing the IFS system, Pontiac Coil's UK-based solenoid and coil manufacturing plant was unable to meet customers' demands for such a facility. But IFS provided the company the functionality it needed to administer consignment stock at customers' premises. "It gives us an advantage, and we've won business from competitors as a result," said Kevin Springthorpe, Managing Director for Pontiac Coil.

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AMR Research - September 23, 2005 - A Viking View from IFS World Conference 2005

AMR Research confirms that IFS Applications, built on IFS Service-Oriented Component Architecture, gives customers "the enviable advantages of superior agility and lower TCO."

The Manufacturer - September 2005 - Lean Operator

Flexibility, scalability, and lean business practices are keys to the success of IFS customer Remmele Engineering, St. Paul, Minnesota. Remmele's lean initiatives are the focus of a case study in the September 2005 issue of The Manufacturer. "For us, continuous improvement is more about applying lean principles to the business processes," says Linda Schmitz, purchasing manager for Remmele's Automation division. "It's a focus on removing waste from our business practices, developing robust processes, and driving resource management to on-time delivery."

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Inbound Logistics - August 2005 - ERP and SCM: Making the Marriage Work

"ERP and supply chain management need to work hand-in-hand," says IFS North America president Cindy Jaudon in the August 2005 issue of Inbound Logistics magazine. The article, titled "ERP and SCM: Making the Marriage Work," describes IFS' "extended enterprise" approach to supply chain management,  which enables manufacturers to use role-based web portals to collaborate directly with their customers, suppliers, and partners. The article also includes a case study of IFS customer TRI Poland, which supplies parts to automotive manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, and Isuzu. The IFS system has helped TRI to shorten order-to-delivery time, streamline distribution processes, and better match supply to demand.

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Advanced Manufacturing - July/August, 2005 - Software boosts growth, lithium battery firm implements component-based system

Boucherville, Quebec-based AVESTOR, a world leader in lithium-metal-polymer battery technology, needed business software that would grow as the company changed and expanded. Fully integrated and easy to implement and manage, the component-based solution from IFS has given AVESTOR the depth of functionality and flexibility it needs to quickly respond to increasing demands from its customers. A case study titled "Software boosts growth, lithium battery firm implements component-based system," published in the July/August issue of Advanced Manufacturing magazine, describes how IFS has supported AVESTOR's growth (scroll to view article).

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Start Magazine - June 2005 - Starting from Scratch: Building IT Platform from Ground Up

Although Hunter Paine Enterprises, LLC, is a startup, the company didn’t want startup technology. The Pittsburg, California-based company’s technology is built from the ground up using a hosted enterprise solution from IFS and IBM. This has enabled Hunter Paine to focus less on IT issues and more on manufacturing its first product, a structurally superior wood replacement known as Lexite™. In a June 2005 Start magazine article titled "Starting from Scratch: Building IT Platform from Ground Up," Hunter Paine CIO Colin Proudfoot describes the path he took toward a stress-free IT system. A self-described "techno-cynic," Proudfoot says he initially set out to find a system that would support his business, grow with the business, and be as reliable and trouble-free as the telephone. Working with IBM and IFS, Hunter Paine adopted an on-demand business model that enables the company to purchase software as a service, paying only for what it actually uses. The on-demand solution has enabled Hunter Paine to deploy an affordable solution that the company can ramp up quickly as it grows, without having to maintain an in-house IT staff.

Manufacturing Today - March 2005 - Lessons & Predictions

A growing need for collaboration in the value chain is one of the most important trends in ERP and manufacturing technology, said IFS senior industry advisor Tony Humphries during a roundtable discussion featured in the March 2005 issue of Manufacturing Today magazine. Humphries cited four factors that will dramatically affect manufacturers' needs for collaboration: competition between value chains rather than individual enterprises; the importance of process reconfigurability; the need for consistent, accessible master data; and increasingly rich content in enterprise applications.

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Start Magazine - The Voice - March 28, 2005 - ERP, Alive and Well

IFS customer Schlemmer GmbH, Poing, Germany, was profiled in the March 28, 2005, edition of The Voice, an electronic publication of Start magazine. The article points to Schlemmer as an example of a company that is wisely upgrading its technology, illustrating a larger trend toward increased ERP spending. The manufacturer of cable protection, air and fluid, and mechatronic systems for the automotive industry has implemented IFS in more than 15 of its international facilities. The company is looking to plan and control its global business using a single integrated enterprise system as well to automate specific parts of its supply-chain components.

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Manufacturing Business Technology - February 2005 - New IFS president says focus is key to long-term prosperity

Refocusing its efforts on key manufacturing industries and making greater use of partnerships in meeting its customers' needs are two of IFS' key objectives for 2005, says IFS North America president Cindy Jaudon in Manufacturing Business Technology magazine. Jaudon says IFS intends to be more than a niche player but less than all things to all people. "We provide industry solutions, with the best functionality in those industries," says Jaudon. "Our organization can deliver quick return-on-investment. At the same time, we can coexist easily with SAP or Oracle."

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Start Magazine - The Voice - January 31, 2005 - Shopping for Supply Chains

IFS customers Boyd Coffee Co., Portland, Oregon, and R&R Products, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, both are profiled in the January 31, 2005, edition of The Voice, an electronic publication of Start magazine. The article, titled "Shopping for Supply Chains," emphasizes the importance of shopping around for enterprise software that will best enable you to understand and monitor your company's supply chain. "By automating processes and eliminating redundancies, the IFS system helps us to maximize efficiencies throughout our organization," says Brian Larson, vice president and chief financial officer of R&R Products. "IFS also provides us with a variety of analytical tools to better capture and allocate costs. This enables us to charge the most competitive prices and establish performance incentives for our employees."

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Start Magazine - The Voice - January 10, 2005 - Beefing up the Supply Chain

IFS customer Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Maryland, is mentioned in the January 10, 2005, edition of The Voice, an electronic publication of Start magazine. The article, titled "Beefing Up the Supply Chain," highlights manufacturers that have deployed efficient supply chain management and lean manufacturing solutions. Lockheed Martin selected IFS software for local supply chain management on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program Autonomic Logistic Information System (ALIS).

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