Most manufacturers are currently or have been involved in some form of lean process. Your company may be well down the path or just starting out, or your customers or suppliers may be going lean. The Lean Enterprise Institute characterizes lean as “creating more value for customers with fewer resources.”

QUESTION: The adhesives we use are now available from more than one supplier. How can we feel comfortable when changing to a new supplier?

Companies that are starting up, moving or expanding may be able to tap into state and local economic development incentives to save significant money and improve profitability. With 12.1 million people unemployed nationally, states, in particular, are bidding against one another to attract and retain business.

Whether you are into social networking or not, its popularity cannot be denied. In October 2012, Facebook hit one billion active users. Twitter has more than 200 million active users who send a billion tweets a week. Clearly, more and more companies are turning to social networking sites to advertise their products and services, deliver messages, and improve customer service.

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