Alliance brings E-business Wisconsin manufacturers

Supply chain collaboration key to economic growth

A strategic alliance to help Wisconsin manufacturers apply e-business technologies to benefit supply chain collaboration was announced today by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) and UW–Madison’s Consortium for Global eCommerce (UW CGEC).

Wisconsin’s small and mid-size manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the global market on the basis of price. Their customers, primarily large original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are often forced to seek offshore suppliers who offer lower costs for labor and materials.

One strategy to overcome these disadvantages is for suppliers to deliver additional value to the OEMs, thereby helping the OEMs justify keeping their supply base in Wisconsin. This is where adoption of e-business practices by Wisconsin manufacturers can help.

“The reality of today’s world is that suppliers need to provide more than parts. They need to provide value-added services such as collaborative product design and rapid-order fulfillment that will distinguish them from low-wage competition,” says Michael Klonsinski, WMEP’s executive director. “E-commerce is a technology that can help keep manufacturing supply chains and valuable manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin.”

Raj Veeramani, director of UW CGEC and UW–Madison professor of engineering and business, adds, “When Wisconsin manufacturers engage in business-to-business collaboration to create responsive supply chains, it benefits not only individual companies, but the economic development of Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry cluster as a whole.”

The partnership between UW CGEC and WMEP, says UW–Madison Chancellor John Wiley, is one of many ways the university follows through on its mission to encourage economic development in Wisconsin. “This type of partnership is just one of many ways UW–Madison benefits the state economy,” Wiley says. “Not only are we producing a well-educated workforce, we also develop partnerships that make Wisconsin companies more competitive and better able to hire our graduates once they leave here.”

The alliance has initiated a pilot project with John Deere and Oshkosh Truck to develop cost-effective approaches for collaborative product development between OEMs and suppliers. The goal is to target at least 30 Wisconsin suppliers over the next year. Suppliers will be selected from participants in the Wisconsin Manufacturers Development Consortium (WMDC), which is administered by WMEP and provides affordable training to Wisconsin-based suppliers of seven Wisconsin-based OEMs.

UW CGEC helps industry gain a competitive advantage through e-business. Members include American Family Insurance, Brady Corporation, CUNA Mutual Group, Harley-Davidson, Lands’ End and Rockwell Automation.

WMEP provides technical expertise and business assistance to help small and mid-size manufacturers become more competitive. Lean, ISO and supply chain development are major areas of expertise.