Selecting technology for investment in flexible manufacturing

Flexible manufacturing (FM) has progressed to the stage where the concepts and the available technology are well established and proven. Investment in FM can be very profitable, but must be aimed at achieving clearly defined objectives. This article describes the scope of FM and shows that the required technical specification is determined by the nature of the potential benefits.The ability to quantify all the potential benefits of FM in financial terms means that investment should not be made without a financial evaluation, but should be treated as any other investment decision. Advice is given to show companies how to identify the companywide benefits of FM and to relate these to the required technology before selecting potential suppliers.