A process for managing manufacturing flexibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a procedure to enable organizations to establish a competitive capability to manufacture flexibly.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of manufacturing businesses and two case studies in separate plants of an international manufacturing company led to the design of a process to improve manufacturing flexibility. The proposed process was subsequently tested and refined in workshops and interviews in additional collaborating companies.Findings – Insight gained from the combination of case study and survey research has identified key steps in a process to improve manufacturing flexibility, which have not been emphasised previously. In addition a framework is proposed which matches operational capabilities with desired dimensions of flexibility; mix and/or volume.Research limitations/implications – Further trials of the proposed process in a range of manufacturing operations are required to establish its robustness and generic value.Originality/valu...

[1]  Thomas R. Rohleder,et al.  Combining Operations and Marketing to Manage Capacity and Demand in Services , 2001 .

[2]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[3]  Mohan V. Tatikonda,et al.  Manufacturing process flexibility revisited , 2005 .

[4]  D. Upton.  Process range in manufacturing: an empirical study of flexibility , 1997 .

[5]  R. Hayes.  Restoring our competitive edge , 1984 .

[6]  Layek Abdel-Malek,et al.  Design and implementation of flexible manufacturing solutions in agile enterprises , 2000 .

[7]  Charles H. Fine,et al.  An Empirical Study of Flexibility in Manufacturing , 1995 .

[8]  Rajeev Sawhney,et al.  Interplay between uncertainty and flexibility across the value-chain: Towards a transformation model of manufacturing flexibility , 2006 .

[9]  C. Shapiro.  The theory of business strategy. , 1989, The Rand journal of economics.

[10]  Qingyu Zhang,et al.  Manufacturing flexibility: Defining and analyzing relationships among competence, capability, and customer satisfaction , 2003 .

[11]  D. Gerwin.  Manufacturing flexibility: a strategic perspective , 1993 .

[12]  Fabrizio Salvador,et al.  Mix flexibility and volume flexibility in a build‐to‐order environment , 2007 .

[13]  Christopher A. Voss,et al.  Case research in operations management , 2002 .

[14]  David Upton,et al.  Flexibility as process mobility: The management of plant capabilities for quick response manufacturing , 1995 .

[15]  Adegoke Oke,et al.  A framework for analysing manufacturing flexibility , 2005 .

[16]  D. Upton.  The Management of Manufacturing Flexibility , 1994 .

[17]  Derrick E. D'Souza,et al.  Toward a taxonomy of manufacturing flexibility dimensions , 2000 .

[18]  Ednilson Bernardes,et al.  A theoretical review of flexibility, agility and responsiveness in the operations management literature: Toward a conceptual definition of customer responsiveness , 2009 .

[19]  Carl-Henric Nilsson,et al.  Making Manufacturing Flexibility Operational Part 1 - A Framework , 1995 .

[20]  Suresh P. Sethi,et al.  Flexibility in manufacturing: A survey , 1990 .

[21]  Giovani J.C. da Silveira.  Effects of simplicity and discipline on operational flexibility: An empirical reexamination of the rigid flexibility model , 2006 .

[22]  Ralf Boschek,et al.  Notes and views , 1994 .

[23]  R. Lau.  Critical factors for achieving manufacturing flexibility , 1999 .

[24]  David Upton,et al.  What Really Makes Factories Flexible , 1995 .

[25]  A. Raturi,et al.  Sources of volume flexibility and their impact on performance , 2002 .

[26]  James J. Cordeiro,et al.  The strategic implications of flexibility in manufacturing systems , 2000 .

[27]  Mark A. Vonderembse,et al.  Value chain flexibility: A dichotomy of competence and capability , 2002 .

[28]  Carl-Henric Nilsson,et al.  Making Manufacturing Flexibility Operational Part 2 - Distinctions and an Example , 1995 .

[29]  Stefano Tonchia,et al.  Manufacturing flexibility: A literature review , 1998 .

[30]  S. Wheelwright,et al.  Restoring Our Competitive Edge: Competing Through Manufacturing , 1984 .

[31]  Thomas R. Rohleder,et al.  Demand and capacity management decisions in services: How they impact on one another , 2002 .

[32]  D. Teece,et al.  DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT , 1997 .

[33]  Robert J. Vokurka,et al.  A review of empirical research on manufacturing flexibility , 2000 .