Terry Hill

SWOT Analysis: It's Time for a Product Recall

The attempt to improve the corporate strategy development process has fostered a range of approaches which have enjoyed different levels of support and popularity over time. One of the most popular is the SWOT analysis. This article reports on an in-depth review of its use by consuitants who included this as part of their approach to understanding a business from a corporate perspective and as part of the Department of Trade and Industrys Manufacturing Planning and Implementation Scheme. Of the 50 companies reviewed within the scheme, over 20 companies used a SWOT involving 14 consulting companies. All the applications showed similar characteristics-long lists (over 40 factors on average), general (often meaningless) descriptions, a failure to prioritize and no attempt to verify any points. But the most worrying general characteristic was that no-one subsequently used the outputs within the later stages of the strategy process. The continued use of the SWOT analysis, therefore, needs to be questioned.

Linking Systems to Strategy

Presents a framework to determine manufacturing planning and control system requirements that reflect differences in manufacturing strategy and process technology in a business. Manufacturing planning and control systems represent a critical part of the manufacturing infrastructure and support functions, and their design needs to be closely linked to decisions regarding a firm′s manufacturing strategy and choice of processes. Discusses examples of companies which have developed a good fit between their manufacturing planning and control systems and their manufacturing strategy in terms of the framework presented.

Flexibility – A Manufacturing Conundrum

The word “flexible”, when viewed in an industrial context, although accepted by users and suppliers equally, does not bear uniformity of meaning, as different types of flexibility require different manufacturing responses. Change can be capacity‐related, induced by customers or equipment‐related, and a manufacturing strategy may involve price, and/or speed and reliability of delivery. However, although types of flexibility may interrelate and conflict with one another, organisations must ensure that their investments produce the benefits appropriate to their markets.

Customer‐driven manufacturing

The basic tasks of a business are straight‐forward – getting and keeping customers and making profits, both set within the context of the short and long term. Explicit in these is not only a need for marketing and manufacturing to work well in themselves but to work well together. Companies, however, typically fail in this provision. To move to a more competitive response in today′s difficult markets requires more than co‐existence, it requires a shared partnership between the core parts of the firm. Shared understanding of marketing and manufacturing′s approach is the starting point. The other is building on a shared understanding of the market itself. In such a way, a move to being customer‐driven starts to take shape.

Manufacturing operations strategy

International Comparisons Developing a Manufacturing Strategy: Principles and Concepts Order: Winners and Qualifiers Developing a Manufacturing Strategy: Methodology Process Choice Product Profiling Focused Manufacturing: Principles and Concepts Focus: Methodology Make or Buy and Managing the Supply Chain Manufacturing Infrastructure Development Accounting, Finance and Manufacturing Strategy Case Studies

Closing the Gap: A Polemic on Plant-based Research in Operations Management

There has been a growing call from within the operations management (OM) academic community for research of more managerial relevance. This has implied a greater emphasis on empirical research: surveys, cases, and action research. But in fact these types are quite different. However, the great majority of empirical OM work published is based on postal surveys and/or interviewing executives, where research method selection is made for reasons of practical convenience and academic expectation. Given the level of complexity involved in understanding the OM perspective of business issues then the emphasis should be placed on plant‐based research. Conducting research on‐site and investigation through the analysis of relevant data, issues, developments and events ensures relevance and a validity essential to making an impact on business practice. There are obstacles to increasing the amount of plant‐based research which is carried out, such as practical and personal difficulties, a mistaken concern over research rigour, and academic institutional inertia. Each of these needs to be overcome if OM research is to influence business practice more in the future than it has in the past.

Linking strategy formulation in marketing and operations: Empirical research

The scope of this special issue embraces two of the important facets of research within manufacturing strategy-subject matter and methodology. The early recognition by Skinner’ of the significant and critical contribution of manufacturing in strategic corporate debate was followed by a number of years in which the contributions, though high in quality, were low in number. During the last few years, however, the area of manufacturing strategy has attracted increasing attention in both the business and academic communities. This has been stimulated in part by need and also in part by a better understanding of how and what to do. The opportunity, therefore, to add to this gathering pace of activity through a special edition seemed both opportune and timely. This special issue was designed to highlight this growing need and display the scope of some of the current work in the field of manufacturing strategy, while also underscoring the interdisciplinary and empirical characteristics essential to this applied field. It was anticipated that the special issue would provide an invaluable forum for related research. In this way, it would not only contribute to the knowledge base, but also update the boundaries of the field, encourage a higher level of cross-fertilization between the functional areas within a firm and help fill the gap between empirical research and the conceptual developments necessary to reinforce its legitimacy and usefulness. The special issue was expected to contribute to two important areas. First, it would identify applied research methods involving small samples, surveys, in-plant studies, and the use of secondary data both in the firm and industries. Second, it would fill in the gap between theorems and cases; thereby supporting this as a legitimate research area, increasing the cross-fertilization of research between the functional areas, and providing a forum for discussion in manufacturing that already exists in services.

Manufacturing strategy ‐ keeping it relevant by addressing the needs of the market

The key role of operations in the success of a business is never in question. Its relevance and essential role in the continued success of companies in an increasingly competitive world is critically important as many of the order winners and qualifiers in markets are provided by the operations function. The need for the teaching and research agenda to reflect the strategic contribution by operations is an essential change in the mix of the academic portfolio.

Using Product Profiling to Illustrate Manufacturing-Marketing Misalignment

As companies choose among process alternatives, they need a clear understanding of the changing alignment between manufacturing and the needs of their markets. Assessing how well existing processes fit these market requirements and making choices to meet future needs are critical strategic responsibilities for manufacturing. Product profiling can be used to examine the degree of alignment between the needs of a companys markets and the characteristics of its existing manufacturing process and infrastructure investments. We compare product profiling with another tool, the product-process matrix, and examine the applicability of both in a typical mismatch situation. In-depth analysis in one firm indicates that product profiling is a valuable tool to uncover the origins of misalignments that occur over time and to illustrate the phenomenon to executives.

Peterson Carton Services

‘Well, Jim’, concluded Gerry Townsend, ‘I do not understand why the downward trend in our financial performance is still continuing and particularly why last month does not show the improvement we expected.’ Gerry Townsend, managing director of Peterson Carton Services, was discussing the management accounts for February with Jim Redman, the financial director.