The Dakota Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Inc., (Dakota MEP) is a nonprofit organization supporting the growth of manufacturing in North and South Dakota.

Dakota MEP is part of the national MEP system designed to help companies throughout the United States become more competitive, productive and profitable. The national network consists of not-for-profit centers in nearly 425 locations providing manufacturers with the tools they need to succeed. MEP has provided assistance to 149,000 firms. See www.mep.nist.gov/.

The MEP brings a strategic business approach called 360vu to help manufacturers step back and really look at their whole company - where they are, where they want to be and how they can get there. The national MEP of 360vu resources - people, tools and training - provide objective expertise and tailor services to address the company's most critical needs. Assistance to manufacturers in the Dakotas is provided through a combination of direct assistance from Dakota MEP staff and members of their resource network.

Business Services:
Executive coaching, transformation planning, enterprise assessment, strategic planning, SWOT analysis, market research, marketing strategies, product distribution and management, customer/market analysis, product costing and profit analysis, sales forecasting and sales, mergers and acquisitions, business financing, strategic partnering, succession planning, and business continuity.

Lean Manufacturing Systems:
Lean assessments, value stream mapping, lean system design, kaizen events, 5S services, clean manufacturing, cellular/flow, setup reduction, standard work, total productive maintenance (TPM), pull systems, poke yoke, waste reduction, material substitution, and hazard reduction.

Quality Systems:
Continuous improvement programs (ISO 9001, ISO 14001); environmental management system assessment, development and training; audits, quality management system assessment, development and training; root cause analysis; six sigma improvement, and statistical process control.

IT & eBusiness Systems:
Analysis and design of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing resource planning (MRP) systems, electronic data interchange, enterprise data sharing, information technology (IT) and eBusiness assessment and remediation, software system selection and implementation, and Website analysis and design.

HR & Organization Development:
Job analysis and human resource planning, recruitment, staffing, appraising employee performance, supervisory and leadership development, pay systems, indirect compensation, motivation strategies for performance improvement, labor relations, safety and health programs, change management, team development, cultural assessment, and values clarification and alignment.

An independent third party determines the benefits and impacts each company receives as a result of MEP provided assistance. Dakota MEP is measured by the success of the companies it serves.

In its latest fiscal year, NIST MEP client companies around the country have reported that, as a result of NIST MEP services, they:

1. Created or retained 50,315 jobs;
2. Increased $1,483 million in sales;
3. Retained sales of $2.638 billion;
4. Realized $686 million in cost savings; and
5. Invested $912 million in modernization, including plant and equipment, information systems, and workforce training and training.