Manufacturing networks and supply chains: an operations strategy perspective

The purpose of this paper is to analyze manufacturing networks and supply chains from an operations strategy perspective. These two areas have traditionally been treated as separate research tracks, but with the ongoing globalization of markets and operations there is a need to integrate these complementary disciplines to study networks of facilities. In this paper we examine the two research areas based on two structural decision categories in an operations strategy, viz. facilities and vertical integration. We present a typology for the analysis of network systems resulting in four basic network configurations. Coordination of activities within the network is contingent upon the configuration, thus resulting in four coordination approaches. The configuration and coordination analyzes can be used as a foundation for further research in the context of integrating manufacturing network and supply chain theory.     

制造战略研究:现状、问题及趋势

制造战略从战略的角度审视企业的制造职能,认为企业的制造竞争力是企业赢得竞争优 势的有力武器. 对制造战略的概念、研究领域进行了总结,分析了制造战略研究和实践中存在 的问题,结合战略管理研究的趋势和企业竞争新的特点,提出了制造战略研究的趋势.     

Corporate strategy at Admiram Manufacturing Company: An Iranian case study

In this article, corporate strategy is delineated for an Iranian firm, Admiram Manufacturing Company. Environmental and corporate resources are conceptualized upon which Admiram's corporate strategy formulation and implementation are based.     

Manufacturing strategy: A study of machine tool companies in the UK

This paper describes findings from an empirical study carried out in a group of small to medium sized companies within the U.K. machine tool industry. Notions of manufacturing strategy are discussed and a contingency model of change within production systems is proposed. Based on the model, a research programme is described, the object of which was to determine why firms adopt particular production systems, under what conditions these are changed, and the criteria and procedures which are used. A focus for change is taken to be the make-or-buy decision. The results showed that the key criteria used by the firms in their evaluations were: capacity, utilization and process capability (technology). From the study, it is concluded that response to change was largely based upon operational considerations and that the firms lacked a framework for reviewing the strategic implications of their decisions. Hence, the need is argued for a methodology whereby firms can establish consistent functional strategies, with the plans and policies to achieve them.     

Manufacturing productivity

The general theory of engineering systems suggests that to produce desired order (to make a machine that works, to reduce the entropy, or even to improve productivity) the agent needs access to sources of (i) information, or useful messages; (ii) energy, or motivation; (iii) resources, including skills. A manufacturing economy, being an engineering system, obeys the same rules, so that an objective examination of 11 of them may be instructive. Since Belgium has no native energy and very few native resources, her post-1968 success in raising her productivity suggests significant improvement in her information systems. The author suggests what this improvement may have been.     

Patterns of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Utilization and Manufacturing Capabilities

The objectives of this research are first to empirically replicate Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) utilization taxonomies identified in foregoing research, second to investigate the relationship between patterns of AMT utilization and manufacturing capabilities attainment, and third to explore differences in context, and performance across AMT groups. Theories of performance frontiers and capability progression provide the basis for our hypotheses. Data were collected from 224 U.S. manufacturing plants in industries considered to have potential utilizations of AMTs. A cluster analysis of the data yields a solution that closely resembles a previous AMT utilization taxonomy, including four groups labeled, respectively, as Traditionalists, Generalists, High Investors, and Designers. Significant manufacturing capability differences across these four groups indicate that plants that utilize a broader scope of AMTs enjoy a greater breadth of manufacturing capabilities. The implied capability attainment pattern is consistent with cumulative capability theory. However, the results suggest that cost capability is not included in the capability mix when broad‐based AMT utilization is the enabler of capability gains. A post hoc exploration of the AMT groups indicates significant differences in performance across the groups. Collectively, the results extend prior research by providing added insights into the possible rationale and impact of AMT utilization patterns.     

Manufacturing bill-of-material planning

The bill-of-material BOM in the machine tool industry takes two different forms in design and manufacturing functions: Engineering BOM E BOM , which is used by the design engineer to represent designed product structure; and manufacturing BOM M BOM , which is used by MRPII system for MRP explosion. The designer constructs the E BOM after the product has been designed. Next, the E BOM is transformed into the M BOM by considering assembly sequence and constraints. Constructing a M BOM simply involves compressing the E BOM into a three-level M BOM. Planning of a M BOM still depends primarily on the experience input of a manufacturing engineer and is performed manually. This trial and error and time consuming approach creates an inconsistent method for planning the M BOM. Therefore, in this study, a three-stage M BOM planning method is developed. Stage one plans the initial M BOM, stage two improves the M BOM and stage three tunes the M BOM. Concepts and algorithms of each stage are highlighted in this study. Moreover, an illustration is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of M BOM planning.     

Humanizing strategy

In this article, we apply our latest thinking on knowledge to provide insights on how to reconceptualize strategy to cope with a VUCA world, epitomized recently by COVID-19. We demonstrate that business leaders must draw on phronesis, or practical wisdom, for strategy to become more future-oriented, society-focused, dynamic, and human-centric. Using in-depth case studies, we show how companies will survive in the long run if they start with a moral purpose, and end by offering value to customers, contributing to society, living in harmony with nature, and creating a new and better future. We came up with six practices that enable business leaders to create new and better futures, citing evidences from neuroscience. We conclude that humans should be at the center of strategy, driving future-making with the help of digital-led automation. Reconceptualizing strategy based on this “inside-out” approach, the reward to the company is resilience, longevity, and sustainability.     

数据赋能驱动制造业企业实现敏捷制造案例研究

  世界经济的发展呼唤先进制造理念和制造技术,敏捷制造受到学者的广泛关注。制造业企业通过了解实现敏捷制造的过程机理,可以使其灵活地运用各种先进生产技术促成敏捷制造。然而,已有对制造业企业实现敏捷制造过程的研究缺少契合当前情景的视角以及完整、清晰的探究。         鉴于此,引入赋能概念,从数据驱动的视角对青岛酷特智能公司的研发、生产和营销3个阶段进行深入分析,结合扎根理论的3级编码技术,构建制造业企业通过数据赋能实现敏捷制造的过程模型。在已有研究基础上,构建敏捷制造的开放式概念框架,通过调研访谈、实地考察等方式获得分析数据,分析并构建制造业企业实现敏捷制造的过程模型,结合已有研究对该模型进行进一步讨论和完善。研究过程严格遵循理论构建的理论-实践-理论研究逻辑。         研究结果表明,企业的敏捷制造能力可以通过高效对接消费者需求与资源以及提高中间对接环节的效率来打造。从数据驱动视角看,数据化、标准化和联网化是制造业企业实现敏捷制造的核心所在。一方面,数据化和标准化可以提高数据的可接入性和流通性,减少制造加工环节的延缓;另一方面,联网化可以让需求数据直接对接企业的资源和制造过程的设备,进而实现资源的自动整合,打造企业高响应速度、高质量、低成本的供给。         从数据驱动视角构建的敏捷制造过程模型系统详细地解释了制造业企业通过数据赋能实现敏捷制造的过程,完善和拓展了关于敏捷制造的研究,为未来敏捷制造实证研究提供了一定的研究基础和启示。此外,为了给企业实践提供更加详细、明确的指导,给出基于数据赋能驱动制造业企业实现敏捷制造的实践指导步骤。     

海外市场的在线生产策略选择及其竞争策略

在参与全球化竞争的过程中,面对复杂多变的不确定海外市场,公司需要在出口(EXP)、许可证生产(LG)和海外直接投资(FDI)3类进入模式之间选择.运用在线算法研究了海外市场在线进入模式和转换时机选择问题的决策,设计了海外市场进入模式的最优在线策略.结果显示:海外市场的进入与退出成本将对进入模式的选择与转换时机产生迟滞作用,迟滞的幅度受不同模式之间进入与退出成本的差异和不同模式下单位产品成本差异的影响.在经济全球化的趋势下,模型的策略和结论对我国一些国际化经验不足却不得不进入海外市场参与竞争的企业具有一定的借鉴意义.     

Manufacturing Proactiveness and Performance*

Since Skinner's [40] landmark article depicting the manufacturing function as the “missing link” in corporate strategic processes, a portion of the blame for inferior performance in many firms has been attributed to the subordinate strategic position of manufacturing. It has been argued that part of the solution to misalignments between the capabilities possessed by manufacturing and the requirements dictated by customers is for manufacturing to take a more proactive stance. However, little research has been reported which examines manufacturing proactiveness empirically. In this paper, we address this gap by developing an operational definition of manufacturing proactiveness and testing empirically whether a link exists between proactiveness and performance based on data collected from a sample of manufacturers. Based on the manufacturing strategy literature, we identify two major dimensions of manufacturing proactiveness: (1) the degree of manufacturing's involvement in the strategic processes of the business unit; and (2) the degree of commitment to a long-term program of investments in manufacturing structure and infrastructure aimed at building capabilities in anticipation of their need. We develop reliable scales for measuring each of the dimensions of proactiveness and use the data to provide evidence of a clear link between manufacturing proactiveness and business performance. We show that investments in structural programs coupled with either high levels of manufacturing involvement in strategic processes or planned investments in infrastructural programs correlate with higher than average performance.     

我国制造业CM模式及其影响因素的实证研究

本文从循环经济的理论出发,采用主成分分析法计算了2001至2004年我国制造业细分行业的循环制造业指数CMI,并且采用面板数据的方法分析了我国制造业循环经济发展的影响因素.研究表明,科技创新和技术消化吸收能力对循环制造模式具有促进作用,而国有化程度高和外商投资比重大的行业则不利于循环制造模式的推广.     

企业制造部门的战略参与对竞争能力及绩效的影响研究

本文探讨制造企业的管理人员参与企业战略的制定和企业竞争能力及其绩效的关系.通过样本调查和线性结构关系(LISREL)分析结果显示:制造部门管理人员参与企业战略的制定和竞争能力两者之间具有显著的正相关关系,并导致绩效水平的提高.     

垄断双边平台的价格策略和数量策略设计问题

考虑垂直差异化下双边参与者的选择行为,利用无穷维多类别用户均衡分析方法建立了垄断双边平台企业的价格策略和数量策略的 MPEC模型.其中,着重研究价格策略中双边平台市场均衡的多重性问题,利用供应曲线和需求曲线综合分析用户均衡多重解的几何特征及价格可行集合.针对非零用户均衡多重性的问题,本文还讨论了乐观和悲观两种用户均衡预期下的最优价格策略设计方法及平台最优数量策略,并发现了最优乐观价格策略和最优数量策略的对偶性.为更好结合平台实际运营,本文考虑平台具有一定的初始用户规模,研究了双边平台用户均衡定点问题的用户规模轨迹迭代方程的极限解,进而获得给定用户规模的平台最优价格策略,为平台企业提供定价决策参考.     

Tackling strategy management

Managing strategies in a one-man business is second nature to the entrepreneur. Strategic coordination becomes much more problematic as the company grows. In today's large multi-nationals, their size constantly threatens strategic lethargy and inertia. Only those companies which can manage their business strategies effectively in all levels of the enterprise are likely to survive and prosper against the competition. This paper seeks to describe how one manufacturing enterprise, as part of a very large marketing oriented multi-national, sets out to tackle this challenge.     

Reviewing portfolio strategy

In our work on corporate-level strategy we have often claimed that many, if not most, large corporations are over-diversified. This, we claim, accounts for the popularity of MBOs, LBOs, spinoffs, demergers, unbundling and many other ways of reducing diversification. This article explains, in the form of a letter to a fictitious chief executive, why some forms of diversification lead to value destruction while other forms lead to value creation.     

A Theoretical Model of Manufacturing Lead Times and Their Relationship to a Manufacturing Goal Hierarchy*

In recent years, manufacturing firms have realized that a new, higher level of global competition causes them to compete simultaneously on multiple manufacturing goals, such as quality, delivery, cost, and flexibility. In response to this realization, considerable research now focuses on the relationship of manufacturing improvement programs to manufacturing goals. However, to date, this research has not investigated the specific underlying statistical relationships between manufacturing goals and the shop floor. This study investigates manufacturing lead time linkages with manufacturing programs and manufacturing goals. The basic purpose of this study is to understand and explain how programs affect the elements of manufacturing lead time and how manufacturing lead time affects manufacturing goal capabilities. By understanding these linkages, managers can logically trace the effects of specific programs to their eventual effects on manufacturing goal capabilities. This study's most important finding is that statistical variations in the elements of lead time cause a tendency for certain manufacturing goals to be more difficult to control and achieve than others because of canonical relationships of lead time variances. To control these lead time variances, successful firms concentrate their early program targets first on achieving “fitness for use” quality, followed by delivery reliability, short delivery lead time and cost, current product flexibility, and lastly, new product flexibility. This study mathematically illustrates which improvement programs most affect manufacturing goals through their relationship to manufacturing lead time variance reduction. It suggests that firms improve goal performance by initially targeting improvement through setup time reduction programs, defect reduction programs, and preventive maintenance programs, to facilitate quality improvements. By targeting specific programs and their related lead time variances, firms improve their manufacturing facility competitiveness with minimum obstacles.     

Resource Flexibility Issues in Multistage Manufacturing

We test the situational impact of two types of resource flexibility, machine flexibility and labor flexibility, in a material requirements planning (MRP)-driven production system. Machine flexibility has not been treated in prior multistage research, only labor flexibility. Machine flexibility is closely related to a plant's positioning strategy. A process-focused plant opts for considerable machine flexibility by choosing general-purpose equipment. Resource flexibility, if effective, can be an attractive alternative to two other types of buffers, inflated inventories and costly capacity cushions. Our simulation results, using factor settings established earlier by a panel of managers, show that resource flexibility is indeed an effective buffer against uncertainties such as end-item demand variability, capacity bottlenecks, equipment failures, and yield losses. Machine flexibility is especially helpful in environments characterized by high uncertainties, tight capacities, and large lot sizes. Worker flexibility has a similar, but less dramatic, impact. Benefits are most striking with customer service, rather than with inventory or labor productivity. Finally, we show that simultaneous introduction of both machine and labor flexibility yields only marginal improvements over either kind of flexibility alone.     

柔性制造系统中的结构柔性

根据柔性制造系统中生产线的结构特性,本文在考虑机器具有不同生产能力的情形下,提出了生产线结构柔性定义以及测度方法.在此基础上,本文提出了处理柔性能力扩充问题的近似规则.仿真结果表明了本文提出的结构柔性的定义以及近似规则的合理性,并对处理柔性扩充能力问题提供了有效的指导,具有理论意义以及实践价值.