Mike T. Sweeney

Key success factors when implementing strategic manufacturing initiatives

Purpose – This paper reports the study of key success factors (KSFs) in the project management of the implementation of strategic manufacturing initiatives (SMIs). Design/methodology/approach – In order to gather the experience and knowledge of many industries, from different geographic locations, in a broad range of types and sizes of SMIs, a questionnaire-based survey of practitioners worldwide was selected as the most appropriate research method among those available. Findings – The identification of those tasks and activities that must be done well in order to succeed in the implementation of a SMI in practice. Practical implications – Practitioners focusing their attention on the KSFs identified are more likely to succeed. Once these factors have been identified, the value of benchmarking project management methodologies then comes from drawing attention to those tasks that are key to the success of the implementation of SMIs. Originality/value – The paper presents new thinking by bringing project management into the operations strategy implementation literature as an important mediating factor for success. In this context the factors that are required for successful implementation are identified.

Towards a unified theory of strategic manufacturing management

There is a need for a unified theory of the strategic management of manufacturing. Current theory encourages the strategic management of manufacturing by seeking to match the use of production resources with the need to satisfy the order winning criteria of the target markets. Such an approach suggests but one strategic role of manufacturing. The purpose of this article is to use previous research findings on a taxonomy of generic manufacturing strategies, the author′s own research and recently published academic theory to propose a unified theory of strategic manufacturing management. The theory links competitive strategy with four strategic roles of manufacturing. A strategic planning model is proposed to facilitate the preparation of a development plan which will not only enable manufacturing to support the competitive strategy of the firm but also to establish a strategy for manufacturing‐led competitive advantage.

Benchmarking for Strategic Manufacturing Management

Benchmarking to improve strategic manufacturing management seems to be a logical extension to benchmarking to improve operating system performance. This assumption is, however, untested. The research objective for this study was to learn how to benchmark the strategic manufacturing management process. The experiences of a consortium of non‐competing firms struggling with the problems of benchmarking implementation constitute the base data for this research. The study has found that inappropriate choices of key manufacturing performance indicators were made by 50 per cent of the business units studied and this is because of poor strategic vision for manufacturing operations. Also evidence was found to show that 70 per cent of the firms studied needed a better understanding of their own processes before they could benefit from benchmarking other organizations.

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...

Manufacturing strategy and performance

Details the findings of a search for manufacturing “strategic groups” in the engineering industry, that is a set of firms competing within an industry on the basis of similar combinations of business scope and resource commitments. The research methodology used was to adopt stockturns (excluding work in process), as a measure of manufacturing scope. Manufacturing throughput efficiency was selected as a measure of production engineering resource commitment. An initial grouping of companies was accomplished by using these two manufacturing performance variables. Comparisons were then made of the manufacturing practices and performances of the firms in the four strategic groups that were formed. The results show statistically significant differences in the performance of each of the strategic groups formed. They can also serve as benchmarks for the evaluation of manufacturing management performance. The proposed manufacturing strategy and performance matrix provides a practical framework for strategic planning.

A Methodology for the Strategic Management of International Manufacturing and Sourcing

Little previous research has been carried out on the issues to be considered when choosing between manufacturing at home, offshore or sourcing from an offshore third party supplier. As a consequence, few concepts or frameworks have been developed to help determine how the manufacturing and sourcing resources of a business should be configured to create or sustain a competitive advantage. The offshore production or sourcing of manufactured products is usually organized to lower costs. However, such a strategic move can constrain an organizations capability to satisfy other critical market needs. Many manufacturing companies must now adopt strategies that deliver both a time‐based and a price competitive advantage. There is therefore a need to develop strategic management frameworks for determining how the use of both international production and sourcing resources can enable the adoption of both least cost and differentiation competitive strategies. This was the objective of the study detailed in this paper.

How to perform simultaneous process engineering

The use of innovation to achieve a competitive advantage is not new. What is of current interest is how some manufacturing organizations have used the speed of product innovation to gain competitive edge. To implement such a competitive strategy effectively, many firms have applied the technique of simultaneous engineering. The most common subject of previously published research on simultaneous engineering has been its application to product innovation. The article focuses on simultaneous process engineering. It explains how the principles of quality function deployment, which are used for product design, can be applied to manufacturing process design. It details the lessons learned from adopting such an approach for simultaneous process design.

Product innovation in UK manufacturing companies

In many sectors of the manufacturing industry, product innovation is an important way for companies to achieve competitive advantage. Regular introductions of new products can be essential, especially in fast-moving markets. But how often do companies introduce new products? A database of UK manufacturing plants was analysed to determine the innovation rates and typical product development times in specific industry sectors. The results show a wide spread in the development times and innovation rates even within closely defined sectors - implying that some companies are particularly efficient at product innovation whereas others need to improve. In addition, the research identifies a number of key areas of innovation, which require further investigation, both within the UK and on an international basis.

Facility closure management: the case of Vauxhall Motors Luton

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to present the findings of a study of factory closure management. It details the sequence and the results of the key strategic manufacturing management decisions made from the time of the announcement of the plant closure to the cessation of operations. The paper also includes an analysis of the human resource management (HRM) actions taken during this same time period and their consequences upon all those involved in the closure management process. Design/methodology/approach – The case study methodology consisted of two initial site visits to monitor closure management effectiveness (adherence to plan and the types and frequency of closure management communications). During these visits, documentary evidence of the impact of the closure decision upon production performance was also collected (manufacturing output and quality performance data). Following plant closure, interviews were held with senior business, production and HRM managers and production personnel. A total of 12 interviews were carried out. Findings – The case study findings have informed the development of a conceptual model of facility closure management. Information obtained from the interviews suggests that the facility closure management process consists of five key management activities. The unexpected announcement of a factory closure can cause behavioural changes similar to those of bereavement, particularly by those employees who are its survivors. In addition, similar reactions to the closure announcement may be displayed by those who choose to remain employed by the factory owner throughout the phased closure of the plant. Originality/value – Facility closure management is an insufficiently researched strategic operations management activity. This paper details a recommended procedure for its management. A conceptual model has also been developed to illustrate the links between the key facility closure management tasks and the range of employee changes of behaviour that can be induced by their execution.

The strategic management of manufacturing networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold; first, to investigate whether the manufacturing specializations of network plants fulfilling similar strategic plant roles (Ferdows, 1997) are common in type. Second, to examine current strategic manufacturing network management practice and develop a map of this process. Design/methodology/approach – Three multisite manufacturing businesses participated in this case research. The first phase of the study consisted of an initial visit made to the headquarters of each firm to be briefed on its manufacturing network strategy and to collect company manufacturing performance data. Visits were then made to 11 network plants to collect site manufacturing performance data and to research the manufacturing specialization of each site and the degree of autonomy of its management team. The second phase of the research comprised a number of additional visits to the headquarters of one of the three case study firms to investigate the process employed to downsize its exi...