A recently released study finds that best-in-class manufacturing companies optimize performance through structured outsourcing programs, continuous improvement initiatives and shared customer-focused measurements. The research was performed by Aberdeen Group, a value-chain strategies consultancy, and sponsored by Pelion Systems Inc. It found that key priorities across the manufacturing sectors include outsourcing to reduce costs and implementing programs that improve customer responsiveness. It also found that continuous improvement activities and shared customer-focused measures remain concentrated on performance, even as they transition from directing vertically integrated operations to managing relationships across a network of suppliers and outsourced services.

One implication of the report is that best-in-class enterprises tightly manage their business performance as they transition to new ecosystem operating models. These emerging models will leverage existing systems and intelligent workflows into unified information frameworks that orchestrate value-adding processes across global networks.

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