Critical Manufacturing receives the highest number of reviews and willingness to recommend score in Gartner report
96% of Critical Manufacturing (CM) customers responding in the Gartner® online review
portal would recommend them based on 24 overall reviews as of July 2023.
23.10.2023, PORTO, Portugal – Critical Manufacturing, a subsidiary of ASMPT and the leading provider of Industry 4.0 focused Manufacturing Execution System (MES), was recognized as a Customers’ Choice in the 2023 Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer” for Manufacturing Execution Systems report. Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice distinctions recognize vendors and products that are highly rated by their customers. The data collected represents a top-level synthesis of vendor software products most valued by IT Enterprise professionals.
“We have been consistently recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Manufacturing Execution Systems report and now, through their Peer Insights portal, our customers have recognized us as well. We thank the persons who took the time to share their thoughts., and we believe their comments indicate that our vision is very well aligned with their operational needs. We are especially gratified that 96 percent of them say they would recommend us,” said Critical Manufacturing’s CEO Francisco Almada Lobo.
Gartner Peer Insights is a public platform that offers verified, first-hand reviews and ratings of enterprise technology solutions by end-user professionals for end-user professionals.
The “Voice of the Customer” is a document that synthesizes Gartner Peer Insights’ reviews into insights for IT decision makers. Vendors placed in the upper-right quadrant of the “Voice of the Customer” quadrants are recognized with the Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice distinction, denoted with a Customers’ Choice badge. The recognized vendors meet or exceed both the market average Overall Experience and the market average User Interest and Adoption. Critical Manufacturing has met or exceeded both the market average Overall Experience and the market average User Interest and Adoption and has been recognized as Customers’ Choice.
Through Critical Manufacturing customers’ eyes
96 percent of the reviewers said they would be willing to recommend Critical Manufacturing to their peers, which is the highest of all recognized eight companies. Here are a few examples of reviewer’s comments on Critical Manufacturing and its MES solution:
“Modern and innovative product with outstanding features - and a great partner.
The CM system is a very modern and comprehensive one, including outstanding features like abnormality management, skill management of operators, container/carrier management and manufacturing workflow planning and execution, custom UI page editor and data management," VP Automation, Nov 17, 2022.
“It's like a Swiss army knife, select the modules you need and go. Critical Manufacturing is on the forefront of new developments and their MES platform is a backbone and enabler of our Manufacturing 4.0 roadmap,” Manufacturing Engineer/ MES Champion, Sep 29, 2023.
"Change The Way We Make Our Products. We transform the way we plan and track our Production with the Critical MES," IT Manager, Nov 18, 2022.
“One Tool for Shop-Floor Management. Critical Manufacturing MES is helping us to digitalize our operations to work effectively, it will integrate our business operations and functional capabilities which leads the better output in production planning, engineering, quality, management etc.,” Quality Engineer, Jun 9, 2023.
“Critical Manufacturing MES, A Decade of Use. Critical Manufacturing MES is a key component of our manufacturing line of creating high-quality federally regulated medical device hardware. The product suite is flexible enough to be customized for all of our SKUs including rework and refurbishment, but also locked tight enough to pass our internal and external compliance audits with flying colors every time,” IT Manager, Nov 29, 2022.
"Partnering With Critical Manufacturing on our MES Journey Is the Best Decision We Made. The overall process from contract negotiations, kick-off sessions and up through project implementation has been very well managed. The agile method and use of project life cycle management is well orchestrated with multiple environments using development for testing, stage validation, and production versions," MES Lead, Nov 24, 2022.
To access the full report, please visit https://www.criticalmanufacturing.com/campaign/gartner-voc-2023/.
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Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences with the vendors listed on the platform, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
About Critical Manufacturing
Critical Manufacturing is a subsidiary of ASMPT, provides the most modern, flexible and configurable manufacturing execution system (MES) available. Critical Manufacturing MES helps manufacturers stay ahead of stringent product traceability and compliance requirements, reduce risk with inherent closed-loop quality, integrate seamlessly with enterprise systems and factory automation, and provide deep intelligence and visibility of global production operations.
As a result, our customers are Industry 4.0 ready. They can compete effectively and profitably by easily adapting their operations to changes in demand, opportunity, or requirements, anywhere, at any time. For more information, visit www.criticalmanufacturing.com
ReposiTrak, a global food traceability network operator, will partner with Upshop, a provider of store operations technology for food retailers, to create an end-to-end grocery traceability solution that reaches from the supply chain to the retail store, the firms said today.
The partnership creates a data connection between suppliers and the retail store. It works by integrating Salt Lake City-based ReposiTrak’s network of thousands of suppliers and their traceability shipment data with Austin, Texas-based Upshop’s network of more than 450 retailers and their retail stores.
That accomplishment is important because it will allow food sector trading partners to meet the U.S. FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204d (FSMA 204) requirements that they must create and store complete traceability records for certain foods.
And according to ReposiTrak and Upshop, the traceability solution may also unlock potential business benefits. It could do that by creating margin and growth opportunities in stores by connecting supply chain data with store data, thus allowing users to optimize inventory, labor, and customer experience management automation.
"Traceability requires data from the supply chain and – importantly – confirmation at the retail store that the proper and accurate lot code data from each shipment has been captured when the product is received. The missing piece for us has been the supply chain data. ReposiTrak is the leader in capturing and managing supply chain data, starting at the suppliers. Together, we can deliver a single, comprehensive traceability solution," Mark Hawthorne, chief innovation and strategy officer at Upshop, said in a release.
"Once the data is flowing the benefits are compounding. Traceability data can be used to improve food safety, reduce invoice discrepancies, and identify ways to reduce waste and improve efficiencies throughout the store,” Hawthorne said.
Under FSMA 204, retailers are required by law to track Key Data Elements (KDEs) to the store-level for every shipment containing high-risk food items from the Food Traceability List (FTL). ReposiTrak and Upshop say that major industry retailers have made public commitments to traceability, announcing programs that require more traceability data for all food product on a faster timeline. The efforts of those retailers have activated the industry, motivating others to institute traceability programs now, ahead of the FDA’s enforcement deadline of January 20, 2026.
Inclusive procurement practices can fuel economic growth and create jobs worldwide through increased partnerships with small and diverse suppliers, according to a study from the Illinois firm Supplier.io.
The firm’s “2024 Supplier Diversity Economic Impact Report” found that $168 billion spent directly with those suppliers generated a total economic impact of $303 billion. That analysis can help supplier diversity managers and chief procurement officers implement programs that grow diversity spend, improve supply chain competitiveness, and increase brand value, the firm said.
The companies featured in Supplier.io’s report collectively supported more than 710,000 direct jobs and contributed $60 billion in direct wages through their investments in small and diverse suppliers. According to the analysis, those purchases created a ripple effect, supporting over 1.4 million jobs and driving $105 billion in total income when factoring in direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts.
“At Supplier.io, we believe that empowering businesses with advanced supplier intelligence not only enhances their operational resilience but also significantly mitigates risks,” Aylin Basom, CEO of Supplier.io, said in a release. “Our platform provides critical insights that drive efficiency and innovation, enabling companies to find and invest in small and diverse suppliers. This approach helps build stronger, more reliable supply chains.”
Logistics industry growth slowed in December due to a seasonal wind-down of inventory and following one of the busiest holiday shopping seasons on record, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released this week.
The monthly LMI was 57.3 in December, down more than a percentage point from November’s reading of 58.4. Despite the slowdown, economic activity across the industry continued to expand, as an LMI reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The LMI researchers said the monthly conditions were largely due to seasonal drawdowns in inventory levels—and the associated costs of holding them—at the retail level. The LMI’s Inventory Levels index registered 50, falling from 56.1 in November. That reduction also affected warehousing capacity, which slowed but remained in expansion mode: The LMI’s warehousing capacity index fell 7 points to a reading of 61.6.
December’s results reflect a continued trend toward more typical industry growth patterns following recent years of volatility—and they point to a successful peak holiday season as well.
“Retailers were clearly correct in their bet to stock [up] on goods ahead of the holiday season,” the LMI researchers wrote in their monthly report. “Holiday sales from November until Christmas Eve were up 3.8% year-over-year according to Mastercard. This was largely driven by a 6.7% increase in e-commerce sales, although in-person spending was up 2.9% as well.”
And those results came during a compressed peak shopping cycle.
“The increase in spending came despite the shorter holiday season due to the late Thanksgiving,” the researchers also wrote, citing National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that U.S. shoppers spent just short of a trillion dollars in November and December, making it the busiest holiday season of all time.
The LMI is a monthly survey of logistics managers from across the country. It tracks industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
As U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face an uncertain business landscape in 2025, a substantial majority (67%) expect positive growth in the new year compared to 2024, according to a survey from DHL.
However, the survey also showed that businesses could face a rocky road to reach that goal, as they navigate a complex environment of regulatory/policy shifts and global market volatility. Both those issues were cited as top challenges by 36% of respondents, followed by staffing/talent retention (11%) and digital threats and cyber attacks (2%).
Against that backdrop, SMEs said that the biggest opportunity for growth in 2025 lies in expanding into new markets (40%), followed by economic improvements (31%) and implementing new technologies (14%).
As the U.S. prepares for a broad shift in political leadership in Washington after a contentious election, the SMEs in DHL’s survey were likely split evenly on their opinion about the impact of regulatory and policy changes. A plurality of 40% were on the fence (uncertain, still evaluating), followed by 24% who believe regulatory changes could negatively impact growth, 20% who see these changes as having a positive impact, and 16% predicting no impact on growth at all.
That uncertainty also triggered a split when respondents were asked how they planned to adjust their strategy in 2025 in response to changes in the policy or regulatory landscape. The largest portion (38%) of SMEs said they remained uncertain or still evaluating, followed by 30% who will make minor adjustments, 19% will maintain their current approach, and 13% who were willing to significantly adjust their approach.
Specifically, the two sides remain at odds over provisions related to the deployment of semi-automated technologies like rail-mounted gantry cranes, according to an analysis by the Kansas-based 3PL Noatum Logistics. The ILA has strongly opposed further automation, arguing it threatens dockworker protections, while the USMX contends that automation enhances productivity and can create long-term opportunities for labor.
In fact, U.S. importers are already taking action to prevent the impact of such a strike, “pulling forward” their container shipments by rushing imports to earlier dates on the calendar, according to analysis by supply chain visibility provider Project44. That strategy can help companies to build enough safety stock to dampen the damage of events like the strike and like the steep tariffs being threatened by the incoming Trump administration.
Likewise, some ocean carriers have already instituted January surcharges in pre-emption of possible labor action, which could support inbound ocean rates if a strike occurs, according to freight market analysts with TD Cowen. In the meantime, the outcome of the new negotiations are seen with “significant uncertainty,” due to the contentious history of the discussion and to the timing of the talks that overlap with a transition between two White House regimes, analysts said.