Emerging Agenda

Manufacturing Insights' Emerging Agenda advisory service examines topics that are rapidly becoming critical priorities for manufacturers such as M2M, sustainability, aging/emerging workforce, and business continuity planning. The targeted research creates a framework for understanding the business and technology implications surrounding these issues and delivers information that assists management in executing effectively.

Approach

This advisory service develops comprehensive data and unique analysis through Manufacturing Insights' proprietary research projects, along with ongoing communications with industry experts, manufacturing executives and practitioners, and product and service vendors. To ensure relevance, our analysts work with subscribers to identify and prioritize specific topics to be covered in research reports. Our analysts are also available to provide individualized advice for manufacturing executives and vendors to help them make better-informed decisions.

Topics Addressed

The Emerging Agenda advisory service covers a broad range of topics, including:

• Applying machine-to-machine (M2M), RFID, and sensor networks - use cases, technology, evaluations, and the progress of standards to improve the performance of both products and processes
• Sustainability - going green to capture the substantial business benefits from environmentally friendly processes and products, and preparing for changing customer expectations and regulations
• Aging and/or emerging workforce challenges - how to capture knowledge from the mature workforce and prepare for new employees through the use of emerging collaboration tools
• Risk management and business continuity planning - measuring and managing risk using IT tools and business practices including portfolio, scenario, and situational analysis

Key Questions Answered

Our research addresses the following issues that are critical to your success:

• What business problems are currently best addressed with RFID and sensor network implementations?
• How can M2M, RFID, and other sensor technologies deliver new sources of revenue?
• Sustainability and going green have moved beyond public relations and compliance - how can IT contribute?
• What should manufacturers work toward as their own green goals? What changes are coming in their value chain - with customers, partners, and suppliers?
• With an aging workforce in established markets and immature management skills in new markets, how should your company improve collaboration and knowledge sharing?
• How is risk best managed throughout an organization - in the supply chain, in the manufacturing and product life cycle, in the customer and supplier relationships?
• What are the business continuity plans that make sense, and what are the best practices for developing them?

Who Should Subscribe

The Emerging Agenda advisory service is ideally suited to support the needs of executives and managers responsible for establishing and implementing strategies in these topic areas. Senior IT managers tasked with supporting these initiatives will also benefit from this service. Technology providers will find this service valuable in gaining insight into the key challenges facing manufacturers and Manufacturing Insights' recommended actions for solving them.

Return on Research Investment

• Strategies for process improvement that ensure better planning and lower risk of implementation
• Recommendations for aligning processes and key performance indicators with the organization's strategic goals
• Cases studies and market data that validate the need and support process improvement initiatives
• Guidance for measuring the business benefits derived from key process improvement programs

Standard Subscription Deliverables

Manufacturing Insights values building client relationships and strives to foster a partnership with each client through continuous analyst interaction; concise delivery of current, timely, and relevant research; as well as custom research when needed. Each advisory service delivers strategic research covering business and technology issues. A summary of the basic service deliverables available to subscribers includes the following:

• Analyst inquiry time specific to the advisory service area
• 24 x 7 research access via manufacturing-insights.com
• Discounted admission to specific Manufacturing Insights or IDC conferences
• Complimentary forum invitations (Webcasts, telebriefings, industry briefings)
• Dedicated client service representatives

Lead Analyst

The Emerging Agenda advisory service is led by Kimberly Knickle, practice director. In this role, Knickle is responsible for research and analysis on pressing issues and assists manufacturing firms in understanding the essential factors and what actions are most likely to produce favorable results. Knickle brings many years of research experience studying emerging technologies and industry hot topics.

Related Offerings

Related offerings to our industry-specific research practices include IT Spending Guides - segmented regional and country-level analysis by solution area; Go-To-Market Services (GMS) - a modular set of deliverables to assist clients in extending their market reach, validating their market strategy, and producing more responsive customer-centric marketing campaigns; Global IT Advisor (GITA) - a flexible, cross-disciplinary research service providing granularity in market information and analysis across a wide range of technology areas; and IT Management Service (ITMS) - a best-practices research service covering IT governance, portfolio management, vendor procurement, and more. In addition, Manufacturing Insights experts are available for individualized consulting engagements to address specific challenges or to customize the results of our syndicated research offerings.