Hiawatha recognized the advantages of consolidating its many systems to better track data for all functions and more easily pull reports and compare costs, productivity and efficiency of various facilities. It could also make the data available to all employees, creating transparency into the entire enterprise and a renewed sense of ownership by everyone. The ideal system would accurately report inventory control, track labor and profit and loss metrics, and automatically capture data that had previously been entered manually.

Rubber climbed, heading for a second weekly advance, after data showed China’s manufacturing expanded for the first time in three months in October, boosting the outlook for demand in the world’s biggest consumer.