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March 13th, 2008 : Manufacturing Matters

The Changing Face of Manufacturing “Visibility is essential to collaboration across the supply chain.” Players in the manufacturing industry may be facing their greatest challenge yet. Global competition is only increasing, innovation has become the byword of success and issues around sustainability are being taken much more seriously than in the past. Companies in this sector must meet the demands that all these challenges bring and at the same time increase flexibility and efficiency to fulfill the desires of ever more demanding consumers. Although manufacturers have invested heavily in ERP solutions with the hope of gaining much-needed visibility in production, many still suffer disparate data sources and a lack of cohesion. Indeed, many businesses have failed to integrate web-based channels effectively and connect them to legacy systems, and are striving for adaptive cross-functional processes to unite the silos created by their ERP systems. Visibility is not only important for internal efficiency but also essential to collaboration across the supply chain, now seen as providing real value to the manufacturing business. Atos Origin’s ground-breaking study, in conjunction with IDC and entitled, “Collaborative Excellence in the Consumer Products Value Chain,” found that the key benefits perceived by some main players in this sector when ‘going collaborative’ are now really impacting their business models and strategies. To build collaborative relationships, manufacturers need to focus on internal capability and effectiveness as well aligning service offerings, business rules, organization design, processes and IT with their surrounding supply chain partners. In this issue of Manufacturing Matters, we explore many of these topics and look at the ways Atos Origin is using its experience in the industry and innovative IT solutions to provide the answers to meet our manufacturing clients’ needs around the world. Specifically, we hear from a number of industry experts about the trends impacting those in the manufacturing world, including the need to be lean, how to reduce a company’s carbon footprint and how manufacturers in the high-tech sector are setting the pace. We also look at Atos Origin’s partnership with leading players in this sector, such as ChemChina, Philips and L’Oréal, discover the company’s manufacturing history in Spain and learn some lessons about doing business in one of the world’s fastest growing economies, China. Manufacturing is one of the largest global markets that Atos Origin serves and we are constantly striving to help our clients not only meet new challenges but capitalize on the opportunities they bring. Philippe Germond Chairman of the Management Board and CEO Atos Origin