Industry News - Economic Activity Grows

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in March for the 34th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 53rd consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.

The report was issued by Norbert J. Ore, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "The manufacturing sector, led by continued strength in new orders and production, continued to grow in March. The first quarter is now complete, and the ISM data indicates that it was a good quarter for U.S. manufacturing. Prices are still a major concern, particularly in the energy and metals markets. In general, manufacturing continues to experience a significant level of growth."

The Value of Awarding Online

There are many advantages to awarding RFQs to suppliers online via MFG.com. Even if you award a job offline, we encourage you to update the online RFQ to reflect the award. Some of the advantages to awarding online are:

• The award and associated collaboration are documented and can be referenced in the future.
• Your rating as a buyer increases as you award RFQs. Suppliers pay the most attention to buyers with higher ratings.
• You are able to use the rating system to rate the transaction once the job is delivered. This is a nice reward to a supplier for a job well done.
• You can analyze your spend and quickly see how it is distributed among suppliers.
• Your savings from using MFG.com will be documented.
  

Going 3D: Survival Guide for 2D CAD Users

Lower costs and shorter product development cycles are two reasons why moving from 2D CAD to 3D product design software is becoming an urgent priority for more and more organizations. Another reason is that the use of 3D product design data is beginning to overtake the use of 2D CAD data, so 3D compatibility is increasingly more important to your customers and suppliers, too.

While the 2D-to-3D transition may seem like a formidable challenge for many organizations, product designers who move ahead with the transition are often surprised to learn that it's actually much easier than they'd imagined, and the payoff is much greater, as well.

To help you make the move from 2D to 3D more easily, while also protecting your investment in 2D data, SolidWorks Corporation is pleased to sponsor a new e-book entitled, Going 3D: Survival Guide for 2D CAD Users. Download the full report by clicking the "more" button.

Having your own shop and working for yourself may be the stuff of dreams for many. But when you take the step for real, the dream often fades in the face of hard reality. Where and how do you open your business? How do you make your presence and capabilities known? How do you win and grow a customer base? Here's one example of how a one-man shop got going and how it continues to build upon the dream.

Andritz Group is a global market leader in advanced production systems for the pulp and paper, steel, and other specialized industries. Andritz has a staff of approximately 5,900 employees worldwide. It develops and manufactures its high-tech systems at 30 production sites in Austria, Germany, Finland, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and China.