Issue link: https://industrialengineer.epubxp.com/i/920036
56 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine By William Anderson William Anderson is an industrial engineer for HanesBrands Inc. and a member of the IISE Young Professionals group. tools & techn logies Manufacturing and distribution are more complex than ever, and this complexity will continue to evolve and spawn more challenges for industry. Customers often communicate change orders before shipment, and manufactur- ers are expected to be flexible and handle the changes. Forecast-driven and supply- driven manufacturing adds rigidity to operations, limiting flexibility and creat- ing an environment where resources are not in alignment – all to the detriment of customer service. By contrast, demand-driven manu- facturing synchronizes customer orders, scheduling work and production across a supply chain and allowing for more har- monious flow of resources throughout the production cycle. Synchrono Inc.'s demand-driven manufacturing platform (SyncView, SyncManufacturing, SyncKanban, SyncOperations and SyncAlert) facilitates demand-driven manufac- turing by allowing enterprises to vi- sualize orders and understand how available resources will handle these orders, properly plan and execute pro- duction, and handle changes to cus- tomer requirements in real time, i.e., as soon as changes are communicated. The suite of products informs stake- holders of problems that may curtail production and hamper customer satis- faction, helping decision-makers under- stand production performance over time through the analysis of historical data. The products can be used as standalone software or together as one system. SyncView is an order visualization and communication system. SyncManufac- turing is used for planning, scheduling and execution. SyncKanban is inventory replenishment software. SyncOperations collects and analyzes data. SyncAlert pro- vides notifications about disruptive ele- ments during production. SyncManufacturing, the production Synchronizing your way to demand-driven manufacturing Synchrono Inc's demand-driven manufacturing platform solutions can operate standalone or as an integrated suite.