Collaborative Decision Environments Unleash Innovation in Manufacturing

[John Paul Williams (johnpaul-williams)]

In our mobile, tech-saturated world, leading companies operate 24/7/365. They respond to swift market changes and gather business intelligence from all corners of the globe. Manufacturers competing at the top of their industries thrive by creating dynamic and always-on idea factories in which all key contributors, from internal teams to external partners, can collaborate.

Collaborative Decision Environments (CDEs) provide the infrastructure for this ubiquitous connectivity, which sets manufacturers up for maximum innovation. CDEs tie together video, audio and content sharing technologies in ways that fuel all business processes, from product development and marketing to procurement, factory operations and distribution.

The CDEs we build at Polycom offer a complete suite of collaborative tools. With features like virtual meeting rooms and live chats—which people both inside and outside the organization can access from any device at anytime—as well as built in data analysis, meeting recording and document annotation capabilities, they give employees, suppliers and other key partners everything they need to collaborate on business-critical initiatives.

Just ask Christopher Schnier group purchaser, IT and telecommunications, at Valliant Group, which is a market leader in heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Christopher relies on Valliant’s Polycom CDE to meet regularly with his geographically dispersed team, as well as suppliers and partners. With the CDE technology, he can craft complex solutions with teams “in London in the morning, Paris in the afternoon,” and still be “home for dinner,” he says.

What could Polycom CDE technology do to spark innovation at your organization? Here’s a sampling:

• Supply chain integration—Polycom CDEs help transform distant global supply chains into networks of real-time relationships by making communication easy. Increased connectivity helps lower costs by reducing uncertainties in demand and simplifying logistics.
• Recruitment and retention—With CDE technology, organizations can build a stronger workforce by eliminating relocation requirements and accommodating a variety of work styles. They can also create training programs that accelerate learning and foster deeper engagement with material by incorporating expert lectures and video demonstrations.
• Project management—Polycom enables manufacturers to maximize creative input into design reviews through real-time interactions with global development teams. Developers can shorten time-to-market by remotely assessing and annotating product samples, viewing multiple CAD/CAM drawings or blueprints, reviewing designs and testing product quality.
• Service management—Customers benefit too. Manufacturers can use Polycom CDE set-ups to diagnose and resolve customer problems on the spot. They can access remote experts at any time and reduce customer downtime and cost. Agents can also interact face-to-face virtually with customers through websites or kiosks in stores and public areas.

Innovation depends on defying distance to bring the best minds to the table—wherever those minds may be—and keeping knowledge flowing between production teams, partners, suppliers and customers. Polycom has the CDE technology to make these connections happen, all the time, from any device.

What do you think? Could your organization innovate faster and better with a CDE deployment?

Resources:

• Explore the infographic: Collaborative Decision Environments
• Download the related brief: Unleashing a Culture of Innovation with Collaborative Decision Environme...