The struggle for data management in the manufacturing enterprise

Data management is moving to centre stage in Europe´s leading manufacturing enterprises. As manufacturers strive to achieve the agility required to meet ever-increasing customer demands, it becomes more important than ever that all functions, from corporate to shop floor, have enterprise-wide access to data. Both production and corporate systems need to exchange up-to-date, real-time information enabling decision makers at all levels to make realistic, `optimised´ decisions. Only accurate, complete and relevant information allows devolution of responsibility to `lower´ levels, speeding response to changes. The goal must be for all shared data to appear as if in a single `virtual database´, with all staff accessing enterprise-wide data from any computer interface