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Why You
Should Consider the R&D Tax Credit |
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Are you counting on
Congress to reduce your company's tax liability?
The economy is showing signs of improvement and, for most companies,
2011 was better than the previous year or two. Now that your
company’s profits are increasing, you have to consider how to manage
and minimize your tax burden. One way to do this which is often
overlooked is the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit.
Read this recent
article by Scott Schmidt of Black Line Group,
"Manufacturing Your Way to Lower Taxes"
The definition of research and development (R&D) is much broader
than people realize. Activities and costs associated with developing
and/or improving a product or process can potentially generate R&D
tax credits. Manufacturers of all kinds often do not know or believe
that they are doing R&D. This includes:
In this Webinar, you
will learn the ins and outs of the R&D Tax Credit, what works and
what doesn't, and determine if your business might benefit.
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FREE WEBINAR
courtesy of
and
View the
recorded presentation (approx. 90 minutes) as frequently
as you wish at this link:
View Presentation |
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Optimize
Indirect Labor
One of the most
overlooked costs of production is indirect labor. Everyone
is aware of what indirect labor is and everyone can show you
a number which they have associated to it, but how many of
those numbers are truly accurate? Most people are astonished
once they are faced with the true costs of their indirect
labor.
Read entire article |
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10 Tips for
Planning a Wireless Network
By Sven Rasmussen, networking specialist at CDW
December 16,
2010
The increased
prominence of wireless devices like laptops, smartphones and
tablets in the workplace means that small business owners
are taking a new look at wireless local area networks (WLAN)
and the positive impact wireless networks can have on the
bottom line.
Today’s
wireless networks are faster, and the technology is more
affordable than ever. Wireless also improves employee
satisfaction by increasing productivity, flexibility and
accessibility. From the sales force and warehouse to
manufacturing and inter-office communication, wireless
computing lets employees work from anywhere at any time to
review data, take notes, send and receive emails and do
research on the spot.
Originally
posted on
Small Business Computing.
READ the ENTIRE ARTICLE
for many great pointers! |
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riteTIME
featured in
Manufacturing & Logistics IT
Magazine
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"Preactor
+ riteTIME = SFDC + APS in real time"
read more
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Manufacturing Production
Shifts into Forward
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August 14, 2009
Largely due to a surge in motor vehicle production, the
Federal Reserve reported today
that manufacturing output increased by 1.1 percent in July,
the first increase in nine months and the fastest upturn in
production since December 2006.
While a 20.1 percent surge in motor vehicle production
accounted for more than 80 percent of the increase in
manufacturing production last month as automakers resumed
production at many plants that were shut down for much of
the second quarter, the Fed report contained other positive
news. The fact that 12 of the major 19 manufacturing sectors
posted production gains in July, up from three in May and
six in June, is an encouraging sign that positive momentum
is building in the manufacturing sector.
Still, production gains in most of manufacturing last month
were modest. Outside of motor vehicles and selected
high-tech industries, manufacturing production edged up just
0.1 percent in July. The Commerce report earlier this week
on weak consumer demand continues to be an ongoing concern
and could constrain the positive momentum that has been
building in the manufacturing sector over the past several
months.
On the flip side, positive news on the international front
with respect to improving economic conditions in Europe
could be a needed shot in arm for American manufacturers.
Since nearly a quarter of U.S. manufactured products are
exported, improving demand abroad could bolster production
in the second half of the year.
Source:
www.shopfloor.org
http://www.shopfloor.org/2009/08/14/manufacturing-production-shifts-into-forward/
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riteSOFT, a division of
RTE, announces the integration of its product, riteTIME
Touchscreen Labor Data Collection, with Preactor®
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Waite Park,
MN, April 29, 2009: riteSOFT, a division of RTE,
announces the integration of its product, riteTIME
Touchscreen Labor Data Collection, with Preactor®. The power
and simplicity of riteTIME drew the attention of Greg Quinn
of Quinn & Associates Inc., the North American Network
Partner for Preactor planning and scheduling software.
“The underlying
philosophy of value and function of riteTIME is a perfect
complement to the principles behind Preactor, principles
that have elevated Preactor to the market leader in
scheduling software,” says Gregory Quinn, president of Quinn
& Associates. “The combination of riteTIME and Preactor make
a powerful pairing for manufacturers looking to improve
production performance and enhance their competitive
position.”
Bruce Hagberg,
President of RTE added, “Combining the strengths of riteTIME
and Preactor provides manufacturers with the tools they need
to be more competitive in today’s marketplace. Today, more
than ever, companies need the ability to better manage their
resources while making it easier for the workforce. The
riteSOFT and Preactor integrated solution does just that.”
The products
were integrated in a joint effort between riteSOFT and Quinn
& Associates. Using standard SQL methods and Preactor
scripting, a robust link was developed applicable to all
situations where labor data collection and efficient
scheduling of resources are needed.
riteTIME tracks
employees’ time as they work on resources then reports this
time and quantities to Preactor for it to update the
schedules within Preactor Scheduling Software. Resources can
be anything from employees to machines. The two systems are
tightly integrated and all data transfer operations are
initiated within Preactor. Users select a menu item and it
exports resource data to riteTIME, updates the riteTIME
database with Preactor resource information, exports
riteTIME transactions, pulls them into Preactor and then
updates the Preactor schedules.
Manufacturers
in all verticals can benefit from greater resource
management and more tightly managed business practices. This
combined solution can help any company that wants to better
track their employees and resources while keeping it simple
enough for the employees to use.
The combined
software solution is compatible with many ERP systems and
legacy business software. The powerful combination can
extend systems with basic work order generation to
facilitate improved production activity control.
About
Quinn & Associates Inc.
Quinn & Associates Inc. is the North American Network
Partner for Preactor planning and scheduling software. The
principals of Quinn & Associates have sold and deployed
Preactor software since 1998, and bring decades of
experience with the aerospace and defense industry. Quinn &
Associates manages a network of resellers in the United
States, Canada and Mexico, and offers direct sales,
implementation services and training.
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Warehouse Management Tips for Physical Count Inventory
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Has your
warehouse inventory process become overwhelming? Is the
quarterly or annual physical inventory count a dreaded
nightmare? Our experiences with other warehouses have shown
that revisiting some basic ideas can help.
Combine
Bring like inventory together into a single storage
location. The same part shouldn't be in several storage
areas unless physical size dictates a limitation. In that
case, keep available quantities to a minimum and move
remainder to a location that isn't part of the easily
accessible storage (overstock location).
Clean
Dispose of items which will not or cannot be used, either as
scrap or as bulk parts sales. Use past inventory counts to
identify old goods, or use past sales as an indicator. If a
part hasn't been used, moved or sold within the past 2
years, is it a viable part? If a part needs significant work
to make it usable, is the needed investment in work greater
than the value of the part when made usable?
Clear
Clear up work areas at the end of a shift so that excess
parts are returned to storage areas and work areas are
emptied out for the next start of the work day.
Clarify
Label bins and workspaces so that goods are readily
identifiable, limiting the need for "tribal knowledge" of
where parts are stored. If anyone can find a part, then
interruptions of experienced personnel to locate parts are
eliminated.
Control
Move excess inventory to controlled storage areas to limit
access so that only needed quantities are in the work areas.
How many pieces need to be made available for today's work?
How much stock is kept in "quick access" areas?
Consider
Rearrange parts and workstations so that work moves through
the process in an orderly fashion, taking into consideration
how the process works to reduce excess movement of people
and goods. Each movement of goods is a cost.
Complete
Complete what has been started, so that goods aren't left
"in process". Then, no one has to pick up the process and
"get into the groove" of what needs to be done.
Summary
If your warehouse needs some help, take a look at
riteSCAN, Mobile
Warehouse for SYSPRO!
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Solutions for a
New Economy
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[The] top
pressure driving warehouse improvement at companies deemed
"best-in-class" is the high cost and low availability of
warehouse labor. Best-in-class firms ... are now
concentrating on operational efficiency.
So, how does a company achieve this "best-in-class" status?
Actions:
Capabilities
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Bin-level location management
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Paperless receiving
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Real-time put-away and stock moves
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Order picking with mobile devices
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Incremental cycle-counting
Enablers
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Warehouse management software
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Wireless networking in the warehouse
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Mobile warehouse devices (handheld computers,
barcode scanners)
Source:
Aberdeen Group, April 1, 2008
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