March 2011
MANUFACTURING &LOGISTICS
IT Gearing up for the upturn
Recent world events have once again forced home the fact that there are few certainties in life. Who could have predicted the major power upheavals taking place in the Middle East, or the devastating after effects of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami? And who can say what the wider world economic impact of the tragedy in Japan will be? While on a comparatively subdued note, economic forecasts are just that – forecasts. They are only yardsticks that regularly need to be re-adjusted. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has forecast that the UK economy will grow by less than previously expected in 2011 but, more positively, believes growth in 2012 will be better than predicted. The forecast for UK GDP growth in 2011 has been downgraded to 1.4 per cent from a December forecast of 1.9 per cent; a revision made due to an unexpected fall in 2010's fourth quarter GDP.
But regardless of how bullish the overall global or local economy is at any one time, or how buoyant certain vertical markets are from one month to the next, the companies that are likely to fair better are those that have their own business IT infrastructure in shipshape order. Indeed, economic volatility is one of the drivers for an increasing number of manufacturers reassessing their business strategies, processes and IT estates to be in a better position to leverage greater advantage both in the present and when a more pronounced economic upturn arrives.
And one of the key pieces of IT ammunition in any manufacturer’s armoury has to be ERP. In this issue of Manufacturing & Logistics ITwe include an exclusive special report on this technology vertical, looking at where it’s at in terms of state-of-the-art development and how it can leverage everything from ensuring better application integration, providing better business intelligence, facilitating more efficient relationships with customers and suppliers, improving business agility and generally being an invaluable business-critical information provider. In order to ensure your organisation is agile and flexible enough to both weather the current undulations of our economy as well as make sure it is fully geared for better days ahead, having this type of IT backbone in place has to be a non-negotiable.
Ed Holden Editor
March 2011
MANUFACTURING &LOGISTICS
IT
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