IQMS Blog for Manufacturing ERP Expertise

European Manufacturing Activity Improved Slightly in February
In a tiny bump, the Markit Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI moved up slightly from 51.0 in January to 51.1 in February. This very modest growth in manufacturing activity in February occurred in new order, output and exports, while the pace of employment growth was unchanged. France (down from 49.1 to 47.0) and Germany (unchanged at 50.9) continued to move in an opposite direction of the rest of Europe and the European economy remains more sluggish than desired. To read more, visit here.

Customer relationships are key to success in business. While everyone knows this fact, that was the theme among the manufacturing shops I visited last week from Seattle to Portland. My technical adviser, Michael Myers, and I took our show on the road to meet with some customers and I also had the pleasure of speaking at a Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) dinner. The entire trip circled around relationships in business.

Constantly striving to learn and improve, IQMS' management team follows a wide variety of blogs written by industry and subject matter experts. Over the past year, we have been struck by a number of articles that we feel need to be shared with our readers. From topics we consider very important to columns that we found inspirational or simply couldn't have said better ourselves, this new blog series is devoted to some of our favorite writers. We hope you enjoy the articles as much as we did.

Permanent R&D Tax Incentive Moves to the House for a Vote
The on-again, off-again nature of the R&D tax credit would finally come to an end if H.R. 880 was made a permanent part of the tax code, retroactive to December 31, 2014, when the credit expired. The bill would increase the easier-to-use alternative simplified credit from 14 percent to 20 percent. In order to make it easier for small businesses to take advantage of the credit, H.R. 880 would also allow eligible companies to use R&D tax credits to offset both their regular tax and any AMT liability. To read more about the bill, visit here.

Now that I have your attention - I had an awesome week at the MD&M West trade show in Anaheim and a wonderful time with my family for Valentine’s Day, but we did not see the 50 Shades of Grey movie. I did see at least 50 different clients and prospects at MD&M and heard about how IQMS has had a positive impact at their business. 

I just returned from the Plastic News Executive Forum in Henderson, Nevada. A recurring theme at this year's event was the idea of creating a great place to work. By treating employees, the community and the environment with same respect we treat our customers, we can deliver better customer service and higher quality products.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Plastics News Executive Forum at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas. The event had a lot of great speakers and information and a very intimate group size. The event covered many facets, but two things really stood out to me in this trip. 

Constantly striving to learn and improve, IQMS' management team follows a wide variety of blogs written by industry and subject matter experts. Over the past year, we have been struck by a number of articles that we feel need to be shared with our readers. From topics we consider very important to columns that we found inspirational or simply couldn't have said better ourselves, this new blog series is devoted to some of our favorite writers. We hope you enjoy the articles as much as we did.

I know many of us watched the Super Bowl this weekend and from the parts that I did catch, it was a great game (depending on who you were rooting for). While I wish I could have sat back and enjoyed the game, my family was busy finishing our move to a new home.