Real-Time Control of the Industrial Enterprise

Book excerpt: In today’s world of manufacturing, it’s possible to be efficient but not profitable. How is this possible? While today’s manufacturing process control is real time, enterprise management remains transactional, and accounting systems remain structured for early 1800s piecework. Why are almost all of the productivity gains in manufacturing arising from better automation and control of processes (continuous, batch, hybrid, or discrete) and not from better chemistry, design, management, or financial controls? This book shows you exactly why this has happened and just how to fix it. The author details how automation and control can be applied to the supply chain, the enterprise, and to financial management. Inside, you’ll learn: • How to use the principles of real-time process control to better manage, measure, and control manufacturing businesses, both horizontally and vertically; • How to achieve much greater speed of information transfer for improved control over supply chain and distribution; and • How totally integrated inventory control, automated manufacturing, automated customer service, and smart pricing control ultimately lead to higher profits.