Five Proven Practices to Achieve a Lean Supply Chain

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - May 6, 2009) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), announced the latest report, "Lean Manufacturing: Five Tips for Reducing Waste in the Supply Chain," that looks at how companies are reducing operational costs and meeting customer mandates through leveraging a Lean manufacturing environment. The capabilities differentiating top manufacturers today will not be enough in today's economic conditions. Consumption across the board is shrinking, forcing companies to adapt and run as efficiently as possible. In fact, the report reveals that 79% of all respondents identified operational costs as the top pressure driving companies to consider investing in a Lean manufacturing strategy.

Interestingly, Aberdeen Group uncovered that when companies consider Lean today they are more likely than ever to be considering the handoffs between manufacturing and supply chain. "Improving this handoff translates into synchronizing manufacturing execution with customer demand and improving the collaborative processes for supply chain planning and manufacturing operations, both of which were identified as the top two strategic actions by the respondents," explains Nari Viswanathan, VP/Principle Analyst, Supply Chain Management, Aberdeen Group. "To help in the execution of these strategies, this report is a roadmap for professionals looking to implement Lean principles and extend them into the supply chain," added Mathew Littlefield, Sr. Analyst, Manufacturing Practice Leader.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Infor and Plex Systems. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5851.

For additional access to complimentary Manufacturing Research, please visit http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-manufacturing.

For additional access to complimentary Supply Chain Management Research, please visit http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-supply-chain-management.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

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Contact Information: Media Contact: Nari Viswanathan Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5293 narayanan.viswanathan@aberdeen.com