This issue of APICS—The Performance Advantage marks new milestones for the APICS society and the publication itself.

First, a record number of exhibitors — 192, to be exact — will be on hand at the APICS 1997 International Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Such an abundance of exhibitors not only provides conference attendees with a variety of material regarding the options available to improve their operations, but this vast array of information can also serve as a springboard for launching future ideas that can help advance the fortunes of a company.

Not to be overlooked is what this great number of exhibitors says about APICS members and the professional society that represents them. Scores of manufacturing conferences are held throughout the year, but few rival the APICS International Conference and Exhibition in size and wealth of information provided. For a quick, handy reference listing all the exhibitors at this year's show, go to the Exhibitor Directory page.

It is worth noting here that APICS' annual show has reached its current heights because of the Society's well-earned, industrywide stature based on the solid grounding of proven career and knowledge enhancement available through its CPIM and CIRM certification programs. In addition, APICS SIGs continue to push the Society ever forward and keep it on the cutting edge of marketplace relevance.

The other milestone marked here is this month's issue. At 144 pages, it is the largest issue to date of the magazine. The size of this issue further serves to underscore the importance of the APICS Society and its members. Neither the efforts of the advertisers nor the authors who continually provide the magazine with great editorial material would be as evident if the APICS Society and its members were not seen as important factors in the industry.

Speaking of editorial, we have several thought-provoking articles presented in this issue covering the topics our reader surveys have continually told us you want to see more of, such as supply chain issues, software selection, integrated solutions, management issues, transportation logistics and manufacturing strategies.

In the Supply Chain Issues category, two different approaches are presented: 1) a real world case study example delineating the benefits of supplier managed inventory via Shell Chemical Co. (page 34 of the print edition); and 2) a view of the direct effects of transportation logistics on the successful operation of all areas of the supply chain (page 54 of the print edition).

More real world examples are evident in the Management Issues category through the recent experiences encountered implementing modern frontline team building and bottleneck management at Felker Brothers' nearly century-old manufacturing site (page 58 of the print edition ). The critical issue of speed, necessary to remain competitive in the automotive electronics manufacturing business, is brought to light in the Integrated Solutions category in order to provide useful examples of how to undercover hidden costs in the test system development programs required of many different high-tech operations ("Uncovering Hidden Costs").

As for software selection, the interoperability of a particular software with an existing ERP system is explained by detailing the steps necessary to construct such capable software ("Interoperability: The Proper Pairing of Automated Solutions"). This article also explores the converging marketplace behind the emergence of these interoperable applications. After all, it pays to know the behind-the-scenes structure of your targeted software purchase to ensure that it's capable of all the vendor's performance claims.

I hope you enjoy this issue of the magazine and have an exciting time soaking up all the information presented at the conference and exhibition in D.C.

David Greenfield, editor
[email protected]

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