A methodology for achieving agility in manufacturing organisations
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 1 April 2000
Abstract
As we approach the twenty‐first century, manufacturing success and survival are becoming more and more difficult to ensure. This fact is rooted in the emergence of a new business era that embraces “change” as one of its major characteristics. The emphasis is now on adaptability to changes in the business environment and on addressing market and customer needs proactively. The emerging paradigm is agile manufacturing. Understanding and responding to changes, and taking advantage of changes through strategic utilisation of managerial and manufacturing methods and tools, are some of the pivotal concepts of agile manufacturing. This paper discusses these concepts and presents a methodology to assist manufacturing companies to achieve agility. Industrial questionnaire surveys and case studies are carried out to support and validate the methodology. Results and conclusions derived from the surveys and case studies in support of the methodology are reported.
Keywords
Citation
Zhang, Z. and Sharifi, H. (2000), "A methodology for achieving agility in manufacturing organisations", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 496-513. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443570010314818
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 2000, MCB UP Limited