Modern manufacturing is a global enterprise competing on innovation, creativity and clever thinking.

Today's manufacturing enterprise, whether it produces consumer goods or weapons systems, must often juggle a range of conflicting demands. Smaller lot sizes, increased product flexibility, higher product quality, decreased delivery time, and smaller profit margins are typical of the ambitious goals in many such organizations. Through it all, the enterprise must consistently aim for the five R's-- produce the right product, with the right quality, in the right quantity, at the right price, and at the right time-- and it must do more than satisfy its customers; it must delight them. Correct and timely information is key to meeting these goals, and information technology-- database management systems, enterprise resource planning systems, and simulation and computer-aided design tools-- has become indispensable to most manufacturing enterprises. Although its role in manufacturing has been more to support processes, IT is evolving to become a catalyst for process and product change.

All participants in the manufacturing supply chain are being pressed to work "better, faster, cheaper." For some firms, this means using e-mail to send digital CAD files to partners instead of a package of paper drawings via an overnight carrier. Others are putting entire projects online, using a centralized server to store and provide access to project information, engineering drawings, schedules and other data. Some firms are doing this on client-server systems behind corporate firewalls, while others rely on Web-based ASP providers to host collaboration portals. Every manufacturing firm must make its own decision, applying the available technology to its own business processes to maximize results while minimizing risk.

Following are the IT solution requirements most often mentioned by users to address the business issues: