By Bob Croce, Insider Learning Network

Call it a lean, mean way for manufacturers to get increased visibility into production operations, but there’s definitely a trend out there toward wider adoption of SAP’s Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (MII) tool. At least so says Courtney Bjorlin in one of her latest blog posts on SearchSAP.com.

The MII tool, Bjorlin writes is seeing wider adoption because it provides manufacturers more visibility without having to make a large investment or time commitment in an IT project.

“Because there is such clear time-to-value, this is, in some sense, lean software," Roy Wildeman, senior analyst at Forrester Research, told Bjorlin in an interview. "Just as lean manufacturing is about just-in-time, this (MII) delivers everything the customer needs just when they need it. They don't take a lot to put in, deliver just what you need, not more, not less."

SAP MII aggregates and contextualizes data from siloed, shop-floor systems. Users can view all of that data on a single screen, eliminating the need for production managers and line supervisors to toggle between four or five screens to get production information. The data is also pulled together in real time, enabling them to make better decisions about production-related issues.

According to SAP, MII “provides a direct connection between shop-floor systems and business operations. It ensures that all data that affects manufacturing is visible in real time – including information about orders, materials, equipment status, costs, and product quality.”

There was quite a lot of buzz around the MII sessions at our conference last February, and no doubt we’ll bring you more at Manufacturing 2011. Stay tuned. We’ll be announcing details of all the content form all the tracks in the coming months.