I was privileged to attend the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Board of Directors meeting in Washington D.C. recently. Attended by some 300 senior executives of American Manufacturing companies, it was like a who’s-who in brand names anyone would recognize. NAM is a very big influencer of public policy on
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A lot of ink is being spilled over Steve Jobs leaving Apple. Okay here is a little more. Some of my younger friends and colleagues are surprised I have purchased an iPad. Apparently, to younger folk, most persons of my advanced years seem technologically challenged. But I learned a valuable
There is a lot of talk hither and yon about a “double-dip” recession. Not at all uncommon when you consider past recessions. Let’s take a look at some data from the June 2011 survey of senior financial executives from the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI to dig into the double dip theories. MAPI
With a US political season approaching, we will hear – once again – a rising tide of voices decrying manufacturers moving jobs overseas. However, National Association of Manufacturers and Manufacturing Institute research proves that most US-based manufacturers that build overseas do so to gain entrance into emerging markets, and that
Modern manufacturing has come a long way in employing rigorous quality initiatives, but when a defective toy, electronic – or even a baby diaper – does slip past the quality initiatives, the current customer sentiment climate can make the situation go from bad to worse very quickly. It isn’t easy
SAS recently commissioned the Wall Street Journal to conduct a survey of top manufacturing executives. In this study, we were interested to know what were the top of mind issues or initiatives that they were considering. Nearly ninety percent of the respondents are employed in a managerial position or higher.
Recently, I had the privilege of visiting one of our small to midsize business (SMB) customers, Oberweis Dairy, a family owned, 90-year-old business located in the Chicago area. Essentially, Oberweis has morphed from a family dairy farm to a significant, regional food manufacturer and retailer. With 39 retail stores, 40,000
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal shows the perils, real or imagined, of product flaws in this emerging age of social media. Proctor & Gamble is a highly admired company especially for its careful stewardship of its many premier brands. Can it be that any American mother, in
In 1897 a reporter was sent to determine if Mark Twain might have died since some rumors had been circulating to that effect. This prompted Twain to make his famous statement that “the report of my death was an exaggeration.” In 1907, the New York Times speculated that he had