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Bridgestone Corporation has won a design right infringement claim against rival tyre maker Qingdao Genco Industrial Group Co.

Operating in China’s Shandong Province, Qingdao Genco was found to have included a tyre incorporating Bridgestone’s registered truck and bus tyre pattern in its catalogue. Bridgestone subsequently filed and won the infringement claim in Qingdao City Intermediate People’s Court.

This is the second time Bridgestone have had to deal with such an issue, having successfully sued another Chinese tyre manufacturer, Guanghou Bolex Tyre Ltd for trade mark infringement early this year.

Partner and Patent Attorney at Withers & Rogers, a leading patent and trade mark attorney firm, Paul Foot commented:

“This is a victory for manufacturing innovators, confirming that it is indeed possible to enforce your design registration and other intellectual property rights against Chinese manufacturers in China.

“Bridgestone’s vigilance in terms of spotting the infringement and taking action against it will send a clear message to other producers in China that such copycat engineering will not be tolerated by leading corporates.”

According to the latest WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) statistics, design fillings in China rose by almost 24 percent between 2010 and 2011, and patent applications by nearly 35 percent in the same period.

This indicates the country’s growing interest in and respect for intellectual property, in particular design registrations, with 97 percent of all such applications coming from domestic applicants.

Foot concluded:

“Many leading corporates have successfully enforced their intellectual property rights in China in recent years and the legal system is improving all the time. There is no longer any excuse not to enforce your intellectual property rights in China.”

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In a survey of senior manufacturing executives in May, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the UK above the likes of Germany and Japan, which have historically been seen as manufacturing centres.

The CBI employers’ group also found that SME manufacturers in the UK suffered from a shortfall in output, but this is expected to grow with a demand for quality exports.

Managing Director of 2B Interface, Beatrice Bartlay, commented:

 “Manufacturing in this country will unquestionably play a significant role in improving the economic conditions. The continuously weak pound, the rising cost of international logistics and transport,and the growing demand for quality products – particularly in the high-tech sector – are all coming together to ensure that the industry will be the key factor in getting the shaky British economy back on form.

“There are two key challenges. Firstly, the worrying trend for late payments to suppliers and OEMs that fall outside of agreed terms and conditions is killing smaller and niche players. It’s very sad that a lot of manufacturers with growing demand for products and fantastic trading potential are going bust due to the cash flow problem they create.

“But also, the industry has been struggling for ages with a skills shortage.British manufacturers looking for new employees are worryingly coming up short. Even when there are jobs available, there are no skilled people able to take these positions, because there’s a systematic problem with a scarcity of apprenticeship schemes supported by the government. We need to start training young people to do these jobs now.

 “We transformed British industry from manufacturing to services some decades ago, but I think it needs to be adjusted and it’s time to readdress the balance. We educate too few engineers, fabricators and other highly skilled workers. With the demand for them growing, it’s soon going to be too late and we will either have to rely on imports or bring more people trained in other countries.”

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Software vendors want everybody’s software to share the same look and feel; with everyone using the same protocols for opening up applications so that their own software will easily interface with others and vice-versa.

Customers of Public Cloud software want the same ecosystem as well for all the same reasons. The customer wants to have a choice of multiple apps to satisfy their own specific business requirements. Additionally, they will benefit from knowing that software solutions that they, and others, will want in the future have a very strong likelihood of being developed in this same ecosystem.

As a corollary, the software developer also benefits in that there is a very high chance that future software solutions that could connect to their software will be developed in the Public Cloud that they have chosen. As the community of developers, users and ecosystem grows, developers can spend more time focusing on their core competencies, confident that their customers will value their solution much more if they can plug in other required connecting pieces effortlessly.

Talk Has Been Cheap

The concept of a software vendor community is not new. Indeed, it seems there have always been movements for software vendors to adopt standards and protocols. But, until recently, there’s been little action to put money where the mouth is, especially when it comes to ERP. That is changing.

The Public Cloud Salesforce.com platform is a fresh force insuring the success of software standards. Not only does its force.com platform provide development tools used by a large community of software vendors to ensure their products react as though they belong to the same family, it also serves up common objects, including customer, product, vendor and employee, which all software developers, including ERP providers, should use in their software solutions.

Significantly, there are certain coding standards for development which facilitate the connection of different applications on the same platform. Salesforce.com undertakes periodic software reviews to insure adherence to this standard, providing teeth to the rules dictating that those developing software for their platform are, indeed, developing communal software.

They don’t do this just to be helpful. To grow its brand, Salesforce.com needs these applications to easily integrate. By creating software standards and enforcing them, the company insures that this goal is met. As a result, we all benefit.

Yes, it’s a win-win for all. Software vendors want to become part of this community’s ecosystem because it extends their applications with a minimum investment to a wide audience of prospects. That’s because customers/users are beginning to look first at the Salesforce.com application exchange for solutions that hook to the Saleforce.com CRM and other software applications, the same applications to which their presently-installed software is connected.

Customers want to find such solutions; vendors want such customers to find them.  

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The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is analysing whether there will be sufficient reasonably-priced gas to meet demand over the medium to long-term.

As it stands, Britain is increasingly likely to struggle to cope at times of peak demand.

DECC is carrying out this work to determine whether the UK government should follow the lead of many other countries and intervene in the market to enhance security of supply. It should.

At the moment, gas supply is left pretty much to its own devices, with the result that the UK is one of the most traded gas markets in the world – a factor that contributes to significant price volatility.

Another driver of price instability is the lack of gas storage in the UK. At times this year we have been a whisker away from running out altogether, and prices in March ranged from 75p a therm to £1.50 a therm, compared with 60p to 65p a therm for most of the previous year.

Imagine if the cost of gas to households fluctuated so wildly – there would be uproar. Then imagine that you were running a major business, employing perhaps hundreds or thousands of people, that gas was one of the biggest costs of production and that the safety and well-being of millions of pounds’ worth of equipment depended on a steady supply of gas.

Gas supplies for domestic consumers are protected, but unless industry can demonstrate that a site stands to be harmed to the tune of £50 million, then it faces having to switch machines off at short notice.

That could cause significant damage to continuous high temperature processes such as long kilns used by brick-makers, which need to be shut down in a controlled fashion. The £50 million threshold wouldn’t be reached though, so there is no protection.

Government policies on climate change, meanwhile, will increase gas price volatility. The imminent removal of much UK coal-fired electricity generation capacity will be replaced in the short term by gas-fired stations.

In addition, as government policy supports more intermittent renewable electricity generation, additional gas-fired generation will be needed as back-up. Taken with the continued decline of indigenous gas production, this increases exposure to international gas spot prices.

UK gas storage – as a number of days’ usage – is among the lowest in Europe. Without additional storage and a Public Service Obligation placed on suppliers to store and then use a certain amount of gas, we believe price volatility at times of supply constraint will only increase – and more industrial users will remain nervous about loss of supply.

It’s not just ceramic manufacturers that are affected, and big hitters such as the British Chambers of Commerce and the TUC are backing the demands of the British Ceramic Confederation.

Employee champions such as the TUC and one of the most influential pro-business organisations in the country aren’t always natural bedfellows; the fact that both are calling for intervention is telling.

The private sector needs to have stability to make investment decisions. If one of your main costs can double within weeks, and there is a possibility that vital supplies will be interrupted, how can you be expected to convince boards, shareholders or banks to back major, long-term investment?

And without investment, where are the manufacturing jobs going to come from?

Lowering the £50 million threshold and increasing gas storage capacity, together with a public service obligation, would help pave the way for manufacturing growth and jobs.

Failing to act now could prove disastrous!

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Reflecting the success of the company’s FlexNet Warehouse application, Apriso’s recognition coincides with its ability to effectively address the top challenges facing materials management professionals.

Through the use of FlexNet, material flow is synched with production and other manufacturing operations on a global, enterprise scale; with the enhanced visibility improving inventory accuracy and efficiency. Lead times and idle inventory are also reduced, raising margins and customer satisfaction.

Apriso’s Senior Product Manager, Tadeusz Dyduch commented:

“Apriso’s FlexNet has traditionally been recognised as a Manufacturing Execution System. It’s great to be recognised by Inbound Logistics as a leading warehouse and inventory management solution, pointing to the depth of capabilities FlexNet can deliver.

“As a global solution, FlexNet helps manufacturers to better comply with enterprise-wide traceability and regulatory requirements which includes tracking product quality from components through finished goods.”

Annually, the Inbound Logistics Editors recognise the Top 100 Logistics IT Providers that support and enable logistics excellence. Drawn from a pool of more than 300, based on questionnaires, phone calls, face-to-face interviews and other research, each company reflect leadership by responding to industry’s need for simplicity, ROI and efficient implementation.

The announcement follows on from Apriso’s recent introduction of its Packaging Solution for Global Manufacturers, an effective method of managing complex packaging operations and conversion processes.

Apriso’s Industry Director, Rick Gallisa said at the time:

“As a solution designed specifically for global conversion operations, implementations across multiple sites can go live and add value quickly. Our new Packaging Solution provides an ideal framework to manage production and quality operations while also delivering the capabilities needed to quickly extract manufacturing data, and turn it into valuable information for informed decision support.

“This way clients can instead focus more on improving performance while driving continuous improvement.”

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With speakers from globally recognised companies, such as BMW Group, Whirlpool, Philips Healthcare, SKF Group, Novozymes and Eaton Corporation, the event complements the needs of decision-makers involved with Marketing, Product Development, Promotion, Sales, Commercial, Distribution, Finance Branding, Corporate Planning and After-sales.

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Dates:May 22-24 2013 (Wed-Fri)

More information: www.pricingeurope.com

Organised by analytics software specialists PROS, over two days of learning, networking, discussions and more will cover topics such as:

Big Data:

Back to the Future – How to Empower Sales; Top Trends with Big Data; Lessons Learned from Initiating a Global Pricing Project

Pricing:

The Art of Pricing; Price Optimisation & Management; The Path to Profitability

Sales:

Bridging Pricing & Sales for Success; Supercharging the Sales Organisation with Sales Effectiveness & Performance Management

Guest speakers scheduled to appear include:

Fiat Industrial’s Vice President, APAC Region, Raymond L. Osgood  

Microsoft Big Data Center of Expertise’s Senior Consultant, Brian Mitchell

HP Enterprise Group’s Senior Manager, Pricing Process & Capabilities EMEA, Michael Immenschuh

Sulzer Pumps Ltd’s Vice President, Customer Support Services, Andre Brogli

Deloitte Consulting Practices’ Belgian Director, Bjorn Willemsens

Location: Sofitel Europe Hotel, Brussels, Belgium

Dates: May 22-23 2013 (Wed-Thurs)

More information: www.outperformeurope2013.com

The G-form athletic and consumer electronic extreme products utilize Reactive Protection Technology (RPT), a composite blend of PORON XRD that instantly stiffens upon impact and absorbs over 90 percent of impact kinetic energy, returning to its soft flexible form when the impact has dissipated. 

This state-of-the-art impact protection is lightweight, flexible, low profile and machine washable.

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Organised by one of the world’s largest professional services and accountancy firms, PwC’s Through the Looking Glass: What Successful Businesses Find in India report highlights how companies must create the right value proposition, design the appreciate operating model, invest in financial and human capital and understand the local business environment.  

According to the firm, India has the potential to be the world’s fastest-growing large economy over the next four decades, but businesses are finding its economical and cultural diversity, complicated policy-making processes and uneven development difficult to navigate.

PwC’s US Retail and Consumer Sector Advisory Leader, Lisa Feigen Dugal commented:

“India is a great prospect, as a new demographic of consumers is now driving economic growth. Seventy percent of Indians who live in rural areas are now spending at a faster rate than urban Indians, while many Western companies have targeting upper or middle-class income consumers.

“Companies who can determine the needs and preferences of this new group of consumer will find their tailored strategy to be the key to success.”

PwC’s US Industrial Products Sector Advisory Leader, Robert Pethick said:

“India’s labour and research capabilities are proving to be valuable to global business, and as the Indian government is looking to expand their infrastructure, many companies have the opportunities to export goods to help develop those initiatives.

“The patterns we’ve identified are extremely pertinent to industrial products companies, including the increasing importance of creating a supply chain infrastructure they need for long-term growth in India.”

Pattern One: The market is highly segmented– companies must have a deep understanding of the socio-economic trends across the different states in India, while determining what offering might best meet their customers’ needs in those regions.

Pattern Two: Niche segments demand tailored solutions– while companies ideally would like to enter a new market with established products and services, this strategy may not always succeed in India where local preferences and desires must be considered and addressed for sustained success.

Companies should customise their products and services, providing a differentiated offering to command a price premium over an array of substitutes already available on the market.

Pattern Three: Relationships can make or break channel strategy– building long-term partnerships with channels is a critical element of success in the Indian market. Investing in customised partner management programs and building the capabilities of the internal sales-force are very important in a relationship-driven market like India.

Pattern Four: Integration and collaboration are central to strong supply chains– companies operating in the Indian market should build supply chains that respond to evolving demand and supply patterns.

This requires the flexibility that comes from partnering and collaborating more with suppliers, which will help companies effectively and efficiently navigate through infrastructural and regulatory challenges.

Pattern Five: In India, think operating models for India– the operating model (organisational design, IT, sales-force structure, etc.) for entering and expanding business in India must be able to support differentiators such as agility, speed to market and ability to drive low-cost innovations. 

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The Talkman A700 solution improves user productivity while reducing the need, cost and management of multiple peripherals, creating an entirely new mobile worker experience.

Vocollect’s solution facilitates hands-free scanning for process steps such as inducing totes at the beginning of assignments, batch-picking and product traceability, while retaining the ergonomic and performance benefits of a compact, purpose-built mobile device.

Vocollect’s Vice President of Product Management, Jay Armant commented:

“With the advent of our A700 solution, there is no better time for companies to take a new look at voice for transforming their distribution operations. As the global voice market leader, Vocollect brought forth a vision of the voice-centric warehouse, and today offers the most comprehensive end-to-end, integrated solution to help companies optimised their supply chain performance.”

Designed to be used by both new and existing users of Vocollect Voice, the A700 provides a flexible, configurable architecture approach, allowing it to adapt to new supply chain challenges as the environment evolves.

Dematic Vice President and General Manager of Software and Supply Chain Intelligence, Robert Nilsson added:

“We are excited to see our strategic global partner integrate scanning and voice technologies in a single compact unit. With our growing software capabilities in warehouse controls, we can now execute voice direction with quality control and product tracking functions that often require a scanning device.

“Having these capabilities in a single platform improves efficiency and delivers a better customer experience.”

Senior Director, Hardware Systems, Manhattan Associates, Bill Morris said:

“In the past we have deployed Bluetooth ring scanners to support scanning in voice workflows. All indications are that eliminating the extra piece of equipment, the additional battery required to power the scanner, and the management of pairing the Bluetooth scanners to the Vocollect Talkman A700 solution will be beneficial in both productivity and reduction of maintenance.”

Due to be commercially available early this autumn, the A700 solution supports a range of innovative features to accelerate deployment and improve both system performance and user comfort:

• Vocollect SoundSense– maximising speech recognition quality by blocking unwanted environmental sounds
•  Vocollect TouchConnect– Brings immediate touch-pairing of worker’s Vocollect SRX2 wireless headset to the A700, reducing start-up times
• Vocollect RapidStart– Provides workers with consistent, self-guided education, minimising supervisory coaching time and increasing the speed of work competency
• Personalised Voices– Introduces a new option which enhances the nearly 200 voice options currently offered by Vocollect, providing additional flexibility for their distribution operations environment

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The automotive manufacturing industry is becoming more complex than ever before. More models, including hybrids, are being introduced, and there are now more features and options, with technology used to drive end-market price and model differentiation.

Industry has also seen the introduction of flexible manufacturing, involving single-line assembling of multiple models; with a recent analysis of one leading European manufacturer’s output calculated that it was now offering over 20,000 model variations.

The crucial role of technology and the benefits

These are challenging times, and we believe that customisable 'off the shelf' real-time location solutions (RTLS) technologies, including radio-frequency identification (RFID) in both active and passive modes, and ultra-wide band (UWB) have an important role to play in improving your bottom line and moving your business forward.

Business intelligence in real-time

RTLS location technologies provide total end-to-end visibility of assets - completed vehicles, components or people - in production, supply chain and distribution processes, right across a site, at distances of up to 1,000 metres, or to within an accuracy of 15cm, depending on the technologies used. The systems are quick to install, simple to operate and can be easily integrated into the company’s existing infrastructure, with an average ROI of just 12 months.

Match the technology to your needs

Passive RFID technology is an appropriate solution for some companies or activities, but it only presents visibility for a small segment of time, when the asset actually passes within range of a reader, usually around 10m.

Alternatively, active solutions allow you to see the actual location of assets in real-time, so management can make proactive decisions, using information which accurately reflects the current situation.

Manufacturing environments often contain concentrations of metal, which can create RF blockage and multi-path reflections that reduce range and accuracy. If you’re faced with such a situation, or have an application which requires highly accurate locates at a high refresh rate, you should investigate an UWB solution which captures the initial pulse while disregarding all other signal reflections created by metal piping, trunked cables, or building structures.

Making the right choice

Many providers are tied to just one location technology, so you should check with potential suppliers that they can offer a full range, including UWB, and active and passive RFID. If they offer this combination, they should be able to provide you with fully integrated, end-to-end, real-time asset tracking and supply chain management solutions.

Global automotive OEMs, such as BMW, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and GM are using RTLS technologies to drive up operational efficiencies through improved asset utilisation at their various manufacturing plants and dealerships.

Other RTLS technology benefits include improved quality control, right-first-time manufacturing, lower inventory levels, reduced waste and lower labour and material costs.

About Zebra Technologies

A global leader respected for innovation and reliability, Zebra Technologies Corporation offers technologies that give a virtual voice to an organisation’s assets, people and transactions, enabling organisations to unlock greater business value. The company’s extensive portfolio of marking and printing technologies, including RFID and real-time locating systems, illuminates mission-critical information to help customers take smarter business actions. Zebra’s Location Solutions division enables enterprises to locate, monitor, manage and maximise the utilisation of high-value assets, equipment, transactions and people and thus improves customers’ business performance.

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