Today, managers are closely watching every expenditure. If the proposed automation project doesn’t meet the company’s financial guidelines, there will be no funding.
This issue of Automation World focuses on those changing rules and how technical managers are adapting. Not all purchases are large systems, and the changing methods of component part purchasing are also covered.
As Editor Gary Mintchell points out in “Speaking ‘Finance’ Gets Results,” engineers and other technical managers must learn the language of finance to determine which projects will pass muster and gain approval. He includes some how-to advice to help get that project approved. Read this article beginning on page 24.
In set of interviews by Editorial Director Jane Gerold, engineers on the front lines of automation reveal their procurement strategies in this era of outdated systems and reduced capital funding. Read “Buying Strategies to Squeeze Profits From Every Dollar Spent” beginning on page 30.
Polymer products maker PolyOne Corp. needed to upgrade its enterprise applications and feed them with real-time information. “Feeding the ERP Beast,” by Managing Editor Wes Iversen, begins on page 36 and shows the results of buying versus making.
Rob Spiegel’s report on “What Component Buyers Want” begins on page 40. In this era of changing buying habits, find out how component manufacturers are affected.
