%0 Book %A National Research Council %T Learning to Change: Opportunities to Improve the Performance of Smaller Manufacturers %@ 978-0-309-04982-5 %D 1993 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2239/learning-to-change-opportunities-to-improve-the-performance-of-smaller %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2239/learning-to-change-opportunities-to-improve-the-performance-of-smaller %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Industry and Labor %P 152 %X Manufacturing firms—large and small—face massive change and adjustment as they move from a stable, fault-tolerant environment of long production runs to a volatile world in which production runs are short; product characteristics are changing constantly; and defect-free, on-time production at decreasing prices is a condition for survival. The necessary changes in the production organization include everything from the layout of the shop floor to the distribution of authority between managers and workers. The magnitude of these changes threatens to overwhelm the managerial capacities of firms, regardless of their size. This study examines the particularly vulnerable situation of small and mid-size manufacturers and considers ways in which to help them undertake the many changes and adjustments necessary. These include assimilating the new tools, disciplines, and philosophy of lean manufacturing; embracing new ways of delegating responsibilities; and developing new kinds of partnerships among customers, suppliers, and employees. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Surviving Supply Chain Integration: Strategies for Small Manufacturers %@ 978-0-309-06878-9 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6369/surviving-supply-chain-integration-strategies-for-small-manufacturers %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6369/surviving-supply-chain-integration-strategies-for-small-manufacturers %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Engineering and Technology %K Industry and Labor %P 162 %X The managed flow of goods and information from raw material to final sale also known as a "supply chain" affects everything—from the U.S. gross domestic product to where you can buy your jeans. The nature of a company's supply chain has a significant effect on its success or failure—as in the success of Dell Computer's make-to-order system and the failure of General Motor's vertical integration during the 1998 United Auto Workers strike. Supply Chain Integration looks at this crucial component of business at a time when product design, manufacture, and delivery are changing radically and globally. This book explores the benefits of continuously improving the relationship between the firm, its suppliers, and its customers to ensure the highest added value. This book identifies the state-of-the-art developments that contribute to the success of vertical tiers of suppliers and relates these developments to the capabilities that small and medium-sized manufacturers must have to be viable participants in this system. Strategies for attaining these capabilities through manufacturing extension centers and other technical assistance providers at the national, state, and local level are suggested. This book identifies action steps for small and medium-sized manufacturers—the "seed corn" of business start-up and development—to improve supply chain management. The book examines supply chain models from consultant firms, universities, manufacturers, and associations. Topics include the roles of suppliers and other supply chain participants, the rise of outsourcing, the importance of information management, the natural tension between buyer and seller, sources of assistance to small and medium-sized firms, and a host of other issues. Supply Chain Integration will be of interest to industry policymakers, economists, researchers, business leaders, and forward-thinking executives. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Information Technology for Manufacturing: A Research Agenda %@ 978-0-309-05179-8 %D 1995 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4815/information-technology-for-manufacturing-a-research-agenda %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4815/information-technology-for-manufacturing-a-research-agenda %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Industry and Labor %K Computers and Information Technology %P 192 %X This book describes a vision of manufacturing in the twenty-first century that maximizes efficiencies and improvements by exploiting the full power of information and provides a research agenda for information technology and manufacturing that is necessary for success in achieving such a vision. Research on information technology to support product and process design, shop-floor operations, and flexible manufacturing is described. Roles for virtual manufacturing and the information infrastructure are also addressed. A final chapter is devoted to nontechnical research issues. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Visionary Manufacturing Challenges for 2020 %@ 978-0-309-06182-7 %D 1998 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6314/visionary-manufacturing-challenges-for-2020 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6314/visionary-manufacturing-challenges-for-2020 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Industry and Labor %K Engineering and Technology %P 172 %X Manufacturing will unquestionably be a very different enterprise in 2020 from what it is today. This book presents an exciting picture of the profitable and productive potential of manufacturing two decades hence. This book takes an international view of future manufacturing that considers the leaps and bounds of technological innovation and the blurring of the lines between the manufacturing and service industries. The authors identify ten strategic technology areas as the most important for research and development and they recommend ways to address crosscutting questions. Representing a variety of industries, the authors identify six "grand challenges" that must be overcome for their vision to be realized, including the human/technology interface, environmental concerns, and miniaturization. A host of issues are discussed that will push and pull at manufacturing over the next 20 years: the changing workforce, the changing consumer, the rise of bio- and nanotechnology, the prospects for waste-free processing, simulation and modeling as design tools, shifts in global competition, and much more. The information and analyses in this book will be vitally important to everyone concerned about the future of manufacturing: policymakers, executives, design and engineering professionals, researchers, faculty, and students.