Combined Company Profiling

The successful implementation of advanced manufacturing technology can result in substantial improvements in productivity and competitive advantage. The key words are “successful implementation”; the use of computer-aided production management systems and CNC machine tools has been widely documented. Unfortunately many implementations have not performed anything like as well as expected. The question has to be asked: Why? An obvious answer is the fact that manufacturing companies can vary enormously in terms of product, management, manufacturing technology, labour and last but not least financial backing. One of the first steps along the path to discovering what makes a successful user of AMT is the development of a classification system. If one company can be assessed against another then the possibility of defining the characteristics or elements required for the successful implementation of AMT should be greatly enhanced.