Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

However, in recent years a parallel explosion of digital tools and services has taken place in the manufacturing realm as well, drawing in computer-assisted design and 3D printing equipment to open-source operating systems, the cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Second, a number of important inputs have gotten cheaper.

Entrepreneur 8

Entrepreneur Contract Manufacturing Incubator Venture Capitalist 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 2, 2015

Leaders of many companies — in industries ranging from contract manufacturing, and software services to consulting and health care — tell us the same thing: “We want to move up the value chain.” While we don’t suggest that companies bring such operations in-house, they can bring them closer.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Contract Manufacturing Outsourcing Operations 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 11, 2011

The firm has developed a sensing system that captures light hitting the camera from a variety of angles, not just what strikes a plane set behind a small aperture. Lytro is revolutionizing not just image capturing systems, but also a camera's software and back-end computational functions.

Contract Manufacturing 12

Contract Manufacturing Licensing Retail Innovation 12

Harvard Business Review

JULY 10, 2012

A contract manufacturing company that builds products for IT equipment makers, for example, had a dedicated team of speculative market analysts whose active trend monitoring led to a 15 percent return on investment. Sales reps gained 15 percent more time for selling.

CEO 15

CEO 360-Degree Feedback Contract Manufacturing Supply Chain 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 14, 2016

Last year, networking giant Cisco Systems worked with one of its contract manufacturers in Malaysia to deploy 1,500 energy and temperature sensors on its manufacturing equipment.

Energy 8

Energy Company Supply Chain Operations 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

For example, a Fortune 100 beverage distributor uses TruTouch systems to screen truck drivers before and after shifts, and an oil and gas company tests employees prior to allowing them access to drilling rigs. Testing in these cases was not previously possible due to the cost of an on-site operator.

Finance 10

Finance Due Diligence Contract Manufacturing Supply Chain 10

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 21, 2015

So, like good innovators, we began working on a solution to our colleague’s problem by building an automatic liquor inventory-management system. The system would give owners real-time inventory information, which would help them to identify shrinkage early.

Innovation 8

Innovation Business Model Software Contract Manufacturing 8