KEYWORDS: Manufacturing, Data integration, Analytical research, Factor analysis, Design for manufacturability, Information technology, Internet, Data modeling, Performance modeling, Turbulence
Turbulent change caused by factors such as changing customer and technological requirements threatens manufacturers through lower product life cycles, profits and bleak survival prospects. Therefore, several companies are stressing flexibility and agility in order to respond, real time, to the unique needs of customers and markets. However, the resource competencies required are often difficult to mobilise and retain by single companies. It is therefore imperative for companies to co-operate and leverage complementary competencies. To this end, legally separate and spatially distributed companies are becoming integrated through Internet-based technologies. The paper reviews emerging patterns in supply chain integration. It also explores the relationship between the emerging patterns and attainment of competitive objectives. The results reported in the paper are based on data from a survey by questionnaire. The survey involved 600 companies in the UK, as part of a larger study of agile manufacturing. The study was driven by a conceptual model, which relates supply chain practices to competitive objectives. The analysis involves the use of factor analysis to reduce research variables to a few principal components. Subsequently, multiple regression was conducted to study the relationship amongst the reduced variables. The results validate the proposed conceptual model and lend credence to current thinking that supply chain integration is a vital tool for competitive advantage.
KEYWORDS: Manufacturing, Information technology, Computing systems, Systems modeling, Control systems, Data modeling, Performance modeling, Software development, Computer aided design, Lead
The business enterprise has never been in greater need of Agility and the current trend will continue unabated well into the future. It is now recognized that information system is both the foundation and a necessary condition for increased responsiveness. A successful implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can help a company to move towards delivering on its competitive objectives as it enables suppliers to reach out to customers beyond the borders of traditional market defined by geography. The cost of implementation, even when it is successful, could be significant. Bearing in mind the potential strategic benefits, it is important that the implementation project is managed effectively. To this end a project cost model against which to benchmark ongoing project expenditure versus activities completed has been proposed in this paper.
KEYWORDS: Internet, Information technology, Internet technology, Data processing, System integration, Human-machine interfaces, Computing systems, Intelligence systems, Telecommunications, Network security
The change in IT/IS strategy is about the Internet becoming a major part of the corporate environment and driving decisions more and more. Companies of all sizes and industries can fully engage employees, customers and partners to capitalize upon the new Internet economy. They can optimize supply chains, managing strategic relationships, reducing time to market, sharing vital information, and increasing productivity and shareholder value. Remaining competitive in today's rapidly changing global marketplace requires fast action. The problem is now how much, how soon, and what kind of Internet based components are essential for companies to be successful, and how the adoption of E-Integration can become a critical component of company's survival in an increasingly competitive environment. How information, knowledge and innovation processes can drive business success are fundamental notions for the information- based economy, which have been extensively researched and confirmed throughout the IT revolution. The new capabilities to use the Internet to supply large amounts of relevant information from multiple internal and external sources give the possibility to move from isolate Information Systems toward an integrated environment in every business organization. The article addresses how E-Integration must link together data from multiple sources, providing a seamless system, fully interoperable with pre-existing IT environment, totally scalable and upgradeable.
The definition of the agile paradigm has proved elusive and is often viewed as a panacea, in contention with more traditional approaches to operations strategy development and Larkin its own methodology and tools. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is also poorly understood, as it is commonly solely associated with production planning and control systems and bottleneck management. This paper will demonstrate the synergy between these two approaches together with the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), and establish how the systematic elimination of trade-offs can support the agile paradigm. Whereas agility is often seen as a trade-off free destination, both TOC and TRIZ may be considered to be route finders, as they comprise methodologies that focus on the identification and elimination of the trade-offs that constrain the purposeful improvement of a system, be it organizational or mechanical. This paper will also show how the TOC thinking process may be combined with the TRIZ knowledge based approach and used in breaking contradictions within agile logistics.
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