In a recent column, MMS Online Senior Editor Derek Korn has written a simple, easy to understand list of Web site "do's" for manufacturers. While MMS serves shops and plants that manufacture discrete parts, this piece clearly enunciates what all manufacturers should be motivated toward online, and what they should avoid.

Just read this piece, and share it with your team:

What Makes For A Good Shop Web Site?

Enough said.

A quick run around the manufacturing Web reveals the U.S. "Gubmint" offers some fine online resources. Lay a bookmark or two on these ...

• USA.gov - Formerly "firstGov," this is the portal through which all online things U.S. government-related are accessed. A plethora of resources for businesses looking to up their Web presence, break into government work, or discover what tax dollars have delivered.
• Business.gov - A surprisingly deep, rich repository of useful links and data. Takes some digging, but small and midsized manufacturers would do well to spend a few hours delving into this site.
• Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) - Now, this is what we're talkin' about. You'll find MEL's Research Areas cover the spectrum of manufacturing technologies - from nanotechnology to robotics to materials handling to metrology and measurement. A vast array of technical resources for the modern manufacturing professional.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) isn't new as a phrase or a concept. But it is evolving at a pace that's difficult for companies in the global supply chain to match.

And it has a lot to do with you.

From dog food to lead-painted toys to rumors of cardboard cupcakes, China's been taking it on the chin. So where does the fault lie? Really?

Is it with the buyer? The buyer designed the part, spec'd it out, and took responsibility.

Isn't it the suppliers' responsibility, as well? It absolutely is. If something is wrong in the design then, certainly, the supplier is beholden to say something when they see it.

And what about the gubmint? Does our FDA and import inspection (or lack thereof) bear some responsibility?

You're damned right. They all do.

As our manufacturing world adjusts to its business challenges and pitfalls (and overcomes them), we also try to figure out how to interact proactively with a global, expansive landscape. But how does a corporation or facility change its reputation if it needs to? How does a country repair its status with the global community? How do we, as manufacturers contribute to the world when we've only ever contributed to our neighborhood?

Better yet, how does a company or supplier prevent damage to a relationship before it happens while swimming successfully in the global bouillabaisse?

Partly, it's CSR. As you'll see in the following articles, the global supply chain has been affected by more than just the bottom line. There is karma in manufacturing, and it's likely that you're gonna be told how you'll get it.

http://www.supplychain.cn/en/cev/?292

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_responsibility_paradox

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Corporate_Social_Responsibility

Ever heard of Peter Navarro? The professor of business at the University California-Irvine has been quite vocal in defense of U.S. Manufacturing lately. He's been published in The San Francisco Chronicle and The Detroit Free Press within the past week, so his vocalizations are getting the ears.

While many may see the good professor's views as protectionist, others view them as merely defending U.S. competitiveness.

You be the judge:

• Fix Economy With Manufacturing Jobs - The Detroit Free Press, 01/16/08


• It's The Economy, Comrade - The San Francisco Chronicle, 01/20/08

Take the time to peruse these articles. Do you agree with Mr. Navarro? Can the U.S. regain what's been lost and avoid economic malaise by stimulating its manufacturing sector? Or is it just an inevitable shifting of capabilities and economics, as has happened so many times in the past?

About a year and a half ago, Warren Buffet made huge waves by buying Israel-based Iscar Cutting Tools. Word on the street at the time was that through the Buffet deal, one could reasonably assume that the U.S. was acknowledging the value of manufacturing.

It was just announced this week that German company has bought Minnesota-based Command Tooling Systems.

(See the press release from Command here.)

So what does this mean - a venerable U.S. manufacturer scooped up by a foreign concern?

(Gee, now that's never happened before.)

It all goes to show that people will read into M&As whatever they want. The fact is that sound business motives are usually the drivers of these events - no matter how good wishful thinking feels.

We love underdogs, don't we? And when the underdogs are manufacturers facing (and staring down) great odds, it just makes them all the more appealing.

Back to this in a minute ...

For those of you unfamiliar with the X PRIZE Foundation, it's an organization committed to rewarding technologists and engineers with cash ($10-million U.S.) for solving difficult challenges. An X PRIZE was awarded for space flight back in 2004. There are currently X PRIZE initiatives in place for putting a rover on the moon, genome sequencing and building a "green" car.





The Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) is committed to helping solve what its Web site calls "the most severe global crises of our time: oil dependence and climate change." The AXP $10-million will go to the team that builds a car that gets 100 MPG and wins a race against the other entrants.

Which brings me back to underdogs - or, at least MY favorite underdog of the moment: Illuminati Motor Works.

These 6 guys in the photo make up Illuminati Motor Works. They work out of Kevin Smith's garage in Illinois. They forage for parts from junkyards. They've rolled up their shirtsleeves and entered the fray, against teams that are often better funded, with more resources and more people. The guys from Illuminati are formidable technologists that are using their intelligence, creativity and moxie to compete.

They are Everyman(ufacturer).

Illuminati is on the list to compete, accepted into the first round and ready to roll. There's a long road ahead, and they need support.

Take a minute and visit their site. Drop them a line. Donate a few bucks.

Give these underdogs a fighting chance. We need more - much more - of this kind of competitiveness and drive.

Do you hear that sound? It's the faint but growing sound of red ocean getting bloodier for manufacturers of high-volume, low-tolerance runs.

Over At Manufacturing Business Technology, you'll find an excellent article titled, "Tigers of Pacific Rim poised to profit from China growth." Its premise is that these "tigers" - basically, the 11 member nations of ASEAN - have been inadvertently helped by China's enormous manufacturing growth and its economic maturation.

"While these nations haven't nearly the manufacturing base or export volume as China, they glimmer as attractive alternatives for global manufacturers. And as China's economy matures in terms of constrained production capacity, higher wages, and consumer demand, the so-called Asian tigers are in good shape to reap the benefits."

For example, figures are cited that show steady growth in manufacturing output from the period of 1993 - 2003 for Asian countries (China, ASEAN nations, Taiwan, South Korea, and India).

The author labels Vietnam "the hottest tiger" due to its recent membership in the World Trade Organization, an expected $3-billion (US) injection of capital investment during 2007 toward manufacturing computers and electronics alone, and big-name investments like Intel's ongoing, $1-billion investment plan for a plant near Ho Chi Minh City.

Infrastructure, logistics, business acumen, and its relative immaturity prevent Vietnam - and most other ASEAN countries - from being a slam-dunk as low cost alternatives at the moment.

But it's getting better (or worse, depending on your perspective).
A visit to the official ASEAN Web site confirms these trends.

• Selected Basic ASEAN Indicators (PDF) - This chart shows impressive growth of direct foreign investment into all but two ASEAN nations from 2005 to 2006 (Indonesia and Myanmar show net losses for that period).


• ASEAN Foreign Direct Investments Net Inflow From Selected Partner Countries/Regions (PDF) - But for a lag in foreign investment in 2005, investments grew steadily between 2004 and 2006, with substantial investment indicated for the period 2002 - 2006.


• Selected Key ASEAN Macroeconomic Indicators - Impressive gross domestic product growth coupled with relatively low inflation (in most cases) and growth of exports are key indicators that foreign investment is paying off.

And certainly, steady foreign investment is also beginning to influence ASEAN's emergence as a competitive, realistic alternative for buying concerns where price is the primary factor.

China's direct influence on its neighbors (as an investor and maturing economic behemoth with rising costs) and its indirect impact (as an inspiration) are luring foreign investment to ASEAN countries that's going to create another low-cost, manufacturing juggernaut in the coming years. Call it the "Coalition of the Milling."

This emergence will be gradual, but certain. Just like the last one, and the next.

Have you visited SolidWorks Labs' Web site? If not, you should.

The site is the online component of SolidWorks' R&D division, and it offers access to utilities, widgets and other developments from the CAD powerhouse that haven't been released - at least, not yet.

You'll find some extraordinarily cool manufacturing mojo there, for example:

• 3D ContentCentral - Search for 3D parts & assemblies and more; and, you can mingle with what SolidWorks describes as a community of "over 340,000 CAD users." Also available are search widgets for your browser, so you can search the collections directly. This is a free service, and you don't have to be a SolidWorks user to use it.
• Drawings Now - Share drawings with anyone by uploading DWG, DXF, and SolidWorks files to the Drawings Now site, and send a link via e-mail to anyone you want to view them.
• Widgets - There are a couple of widgets available for download - on to "slideshow" SW designs, another to track changes to files on your network. Both run on the Yahoo Widget Engine. (Of course, these are applicable only to current SW users.)
• DWGnavigator - An AutoCAD file manager that looks and acts like Windows Explorer, while maintaining relationships to designs and assemblies. Search for, copy, rename, and manage drawings in a simple, familiar environment.
• Second Life - Now this is just plain slick - SW has created "SolidWorks Second Life Island," a community in the exploding virtual world dedicated to SW CAD cats. If you aren't familiar with Second Life, check out the SL Web site, Wiki, or just Google it. Your in for a surprise.

Whether you're a current SW user or not, this site is worth a bookmark, just to see what they come up with next.

Are you familiar with The Three Gorges Dam Project (TGDP)? If you're a manufacturer of any stripe and located in a mature manufacturing market, you should be. Because this project is a harbinger of the developing, never-ending onslaught of global competition that manufacturers will be dealing with for the foreseeable future.

For those lacking the energy to research the TGDP at the moment, here's a brief summary:

China began the Three Gorges Dam Project in 1992. It is the largest project of its kind since the building of the Great Wall. Some argue that it's the largest public works project in the history of the world. It will, in essence, bring the ocean to inland China. Its purpose is three-fold: to control flooding on the Yangtze River; to satisfy China's growing appetite for energy in a more "green" fashion, and; to bring economic prosperity to inland China.

Several folks are raising concerns (to put it mildly) over the project's environmental and social impact - erosion, the displacement of over 1-million people, and water pollution are among the biggest concerns. But it's that last point from my summary - bringing economic prosperity to inland China - I'd like to riff on a bit.

They're bringing the ocean nearly 1,500 miles inland. The ocean. By making low-income areas of the inland accessible to ocean-going vessels, the Chinese government will fast-track economic stimuli to rural China. Think of the electrification of rural America, on steroids.

They're creating, for all practical purposes, a new economy and a new country. See this quote from the Washington Post piece linked to below:

"The dam's supporters call it a triumph of human determination and ingenuity, crucial for controlling lethal floods and generating clean, much-needed energy for China's populous Yangtze River valley, where a third of China's 1.2 billion people live. Whereas trackers on the river banks once strained on ropes to help boats up the river, the dam will enable ocean-going ships to travel 1,500 miles inland to the city of Chongqing."

All along the way villages will become hubs, allowing businesses to emerge and thrive from the international trade and access the TGDP brings. New businesses.

Manufacturing businesses.

What's my point? It's that when you think you have a chance to catch your breath or seize opportunity from eliminated value added taxes or capitalize on rising export tariffs or relish in scooters with lead paint - someone goes and creates a new low-cost country.

And it's just going to keep coming. New sources of low cost manufacturing suppliers will be emerging at faster rates in the future.

For more insight into how many countries are poised to emerge as manufacturing playuhs, check out this section of the SAP Global Report on Culture, Business & Social Media. It's a study conducted on behalf of SAP to determine the fertility of countries and regions to accept social-based Web services, and it provides a compelling case for the number of countries likely to develop into your competitors. Soon.

Today, as the price to do business in China rises and buyers reassess their indigenous sourcing options, seize upon the opportunities to get some of that work back.

But understand that these opportunities are only temporary.

MFGx Note: - Read about The Three Gorges Project online here:

• Wikipedia - An excellent primer on the overall project.
• The Washington Post - An excellent overview of the project, albeit from 1997.
• Window Of China - This press item updates the economic impact of the project on the region.
• Time Magazine - A review of the environmental impact of the project.
• Encyclopedia Of Earth - A measured description of the potential impact of the Three Gorges Dam Project.

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"Procial Networks" is a phrase that plays off "social networks" - think Facebook or MySpace, only designed and maintained to support "professionals" instead of the broad masses, singles or college kids.

I'd hoped to be the first off the line to coin the phrase "procial," but I gots to give props to YS Librarian for being the first to use it - at least that I could find. Fair is fair, right?

Hey, at least I got the silver.

How Procial Networks play out for manufacturers is much more complex than a catchy phrase suggests. With apologies to Facebook, manufacturers don't react well to being "poked." While many elements of social networks could absolutely benefit manufacturers (more on that in a minute), they need more sophisticated tools, platforms and communicative structures to interact in support of their primary function in life - to design and make things.

The big boys already have substantial skin in the Procial Network game, and they've seen tangible, lucrative results - Eli Lilly, IBM, and Proctor & Gamble are among the most noteworthy (see links below for more). These models (and others) offer excellent examples of community building and "crowd sourcing" online, and they point the way for others. But the Procial Networks they've developed are primarily focused on their specific businesses strategies (as Intranets, Extranets, or channels targeted to finite engineering or expert demographics).

I'm certainly not faulting these cats for making dough for themselves and their shareholders, but it seems to me that these examples ignore a fundamental strength that more open Procial Networks could bring to the party: networking.

We're all learning, living and functioning in a global urn of burnin', supply- and value-chain funk these days. Shouldn't the point of Procial Networks - at least some of them - be to support the engagement of designers, engineers and manufacturers across national, corporate and technical borders and oceans? Shouldn't Procial Networks empower them to create collaborative clusters with the best they can find, regardless of where or what they are? Aren't these the qualities that have launched MySpace and Facebook into the stratosphere?

What seems to be missing here so far is something many manufacturers rarely encounter or value: the element of discovery. There is immeasurable value finding something or someone tangible and useful and inspirational, but unexpected. To date, most of these Procial Network models for manufacturers only allow for one-way discovery: to serve the enterprise. Procial Networks that are open, that allow for free-flowing information and confluence between manufacturers to collaborate and network, is a solution to many as yet undiscovered problems.

Imagine the creativity open manufacturing Procial Networks would unleash.

MFGx Note: If you're interested to learn more about some of the examples cited above and more, check out these books:

• Wikinomics
• We Are Smarter Than Me