TFTA Session Focuses on Hot Issues Courses on “Heat Treatment”, “Surface Treatment”, “Cloud Applications” Draw Over a Hundred Attendees

TFTA Session Focuses on Hot Issues

Courses on “Heat Treatment”, “Surface Treatment”, “Cloud Applications” Draw Over a Hundred Attendees

  by Tanya Shih, Fastener World Inc.

Annual technical and market trend sessions have been part of the tradition of Taiwan Fastener Trading Association (TFTA) for years. No member would like to miss the chance to attend these courses and interact with industry players. From the session in March to the plant tour in northern Taiwan in May, more and more similar localized training programs will be scheduled to be held this year.

TFTA’s second session for 2014 was held at the conference room of National Tainan Living Art Center on July 24. The whole-day event included an information engineering course titled “Creating Advantages of the Manufacturing Industry via Cloud Applications” presented by senior Microsoft instructor, and two other technical courses titled “Applications of Heat Treatment on Fasteners” and “Introduction to Metallic Surface Treatment” respectively presented by Tony Chen (general manager of Ming Shyr Metals) and John Lwo (general manager of Grand Best).

The major point of Microsoft instructor’s lecture was to build a cross-border business platform that puts “tangible products” onto the on-demand “virtual cloud” and bring the concept of service into the manufacturing industry. ERP has been an indispensable system for the manufacturing industry, and it is commonly seen in large-scale fastener companies. ERP provides material and product information for users to control inventory, calculate cost and profit, and manage client relationship.

“Service Orientation” is not just an internal upgrade of information, but also a complete program that combines product and service, offers online pre-sale consultation (predict clients’ preference and propose product plans), customizes production plan (evaluate costs and correspond to unpredictable changes), and provides after-sale service (satisfaction survey and case study).

“Product information”, “production process”, and “client information” can all utilize the power of cloud computing, storage, and service, but instructor Sung reminds that the convenience of cloud applications should be evaluated first in terms of the company scale, technical ability, and maintenance before it is adopted. Irrational adoption will just end up with an operable but impractical software.

The event attracted nearly 120 attendees. Session convener and chairman of the Training Committee Chi Hung Chen (Gwo Lian Machinery) said that the full attendance of members explained the importance of TFTA sessions. In the future, TFTA will continue to arrange courses suited and applicable to the industry.