Manufacturing and Distribution Survey Reveals Surprise Findings about Technology Coverage

RSM McGladrey’s annual Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution Survey reports that companies are using technology in three critical areas. Those 3 areas consist of:

1. Operational and process improvement needs
2. Reporting and data analysis needs
3. Effective systems to communicate with customers and vendors

In its fourth release, this survey asked more than 920 industry executives to provide their perspectives on the current state of their companies and industry and the strategies they are employing to sustain — and in some instances, grow — profitability in the coming year. It’s no surprise that technology is a critical component for Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution companies, but the survey reveals that comprehensive coverage is an issue for most companies.

Often multiple systems, architectures and platforms are in place throughout an organization creating islands of customer, product, performance and profitability data. Companies which grew by acquisition may have multiple Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and each system reflects the processes and data used by the acquired business. Combining data from multiple systems to attain a consolidated view is difficult and time consuming. Companies with comprehensive acquisition integration strategies spend time up front to replace or integrate these systems. 

I will be addressing how Microsoft Dynamics GP handles each of these three areas for manufacturers and distributors in a series of blog posts to follow.

Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution National (MWD) Survey – 2009 Technology Report is a supplement report on IT expansion strategies, planned spending on maintenance and expansion and why MWD IT systems remain vulnerable, even with recovery plans in place.

By: Michele Juliana, RSM McGladrey Accounting Software Solutions for Wholesale Distribution A New Jersey Microsoft Dynamics GP partner

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