Linking Technological Innovations To Strategic Needs

Technovation, 17(31 (19971 109-117 © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0166-4972/97 $17.00 + 0.00

Pergamon

Linking technological innovationsto strategic needs Terry Hill* and Roy Westbrook London Business School, Sussex Place, Regents Park, London NW1 4SA, UK

Abstract Manufacturing technology developments need to be aligned with business needs. A U K government scheme to facilitate this linkage was carried out by contracted consultants in a series of companies. The initial task was to conduct a market needs review, so that the appropriate manufacturing developments to support those needs could be made. The authors 'shadowed' several of these company initiatives, and four typical cases are described to illustrate the type of work done by consultants in such situations. In each case different types of inadequacy made it difficult to link the market review to technology development needs. These types of inadequacy are discussed, and some possible explanations are suggested. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

L INTHODUC'HON- - THE NEEDTO LINKFUNCTIONAL SllLqTEGIESTO BUSINESSUNITSI'P,ATEGY The development of strategy can be seen as a process undertaken at three levels: (i) Corporate strategy. This addresses such questions as "What sectors should we be in? Which ones offer sustained growth? How do we gain entry to them?". (ii) Business unit strategy. This addresses such questions as "What market segments do we serve or wish to serve? What are the needs of those segments and how are they changing? How can we best compete in each segment?". (iii) Functional strategy. Individual functions such as marketing, research and development and manufacturing also develop strategies. For manufacturing, this addresses such questions as "What actions are needed to support target markets? What investments and developments are necessary to sustain or improve the effec-

*Corresponding author.

S0166-4~/2(96)00092-2

tiveness of our operation in serving different segments? What techniques or technologies are best able to assist in these aims?". For individual manufacturing companies (business units) to perform well, they need to answer these questions precisely, and also to ensure they relate the levels to one another. The research reported in this paper is concemed with the link between levels (ii) and (iii) above. It addresses the issue of how best to establish the technology developments needed to implement a business unit strategy. The article draws on case studies of companies who took part in a recent Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) scheme entitled 'Manufacturing, Planning and Implementation' (MPI). This scheme provides support for companies to use consultants to help agree market needs and then to use this analysis as the context in which to place developments in advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). In each case we show how market needs were assessed and expressed, and how the inadequacy of the market reviews undertaken made the selection of appropriate technology developments difficult to

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ascertain. The cases are then discussed in terms of some general features common to each which show why they have not achieved the strategy aims of the MPI scheme. The opportunity to conduct the research arose out of a UK government scheme to which a later section gives the background.

2, MANUFACTURINGSTRATEGYANDAMT ASPECTSOFTHELITERATURE

SOME

Manufacturing strategy is concerned with the alignment of a firm's productive resources and technology with its strategic goals. Beginning with two seminal articles by Skinner (1969, 1974), the field developed to the point where an article by Voss (1995) could look back over more than thirty years of publications and compare alternative paradigms of manufacturing strategy. The effect of all this scholarly activity on manufacturing practice is less certain: Skinner (1992) himself reflected that "the a d o p t i o n . . , in industry has been quite modest. Very few firms have a manufacturing strategy". This is bome out specifically in the UK by research carried out at Cranfield School of Management which in "50 per cent of the business units studied" found evidence of "poor strategic vision for manufacturing operations" (Sweeney, 1994). Our research, as will be seen, corroborates these views and suggests at least one reason for the deficiency in UK companies' strategic development. Analysis, of course, requires a general technique or framework which can be applied to an individual case, and the manufacturing strategy literature suggests several of these. For the MPI scheme it was important that client companies and their consultant advisers used a tool which enabled them to prioritise investments in manufacturing according to the needs of the company's markets. One tool for such prioritisation is the identification of order winners and qualifiers, at a detailed level of segmentation, often at the customer/product line level (Hill, 1993). In addition to the manufacturing strategy literature, there is a literature on many aspects of AMT. Two recent surveys of this literature (Chen and Small, 1996; Sambasivarao and Deshmukh, 1995) identified 76 and 43 references respectively, largely since the late 1980s. These surveys make clear the multivariate nature of AMT developments, the way they impact many aspects of management and different functional disciplines. They identify several broad streams of scholarly contribution, including: • strategic frameworks for planning AMT developments;

110 TedmovationVd. 17No.3

• prescriptive steps for selecting the appropriate AMT; • technology management issues (including IT issues); • benefits claimed for AMT, and the degree to which they are realised in practice; • organisational aspects of AMT; • financial justification of AMT; • methodologies for successful implementation. The principal findings, at least for the purposes of the present study, concern selection and implementation of AMT: • AMT initiatives often fail, commonly through implementation difficulties (Meredith, 1987a,b; Babbar and Rai, 1990); • these initiatives are among the longest, most complex and expensive developments a firm can undertake (Meredith, 1987b); • even when implemented, AMTs may not deliver all that was expected, especially if the market place changes during a lengthy implementation period (Boer et al., 1990); • strategic considerations are critical to success; if the initial strategic analysis is faulty or omitted, the likelihood of failure is high (Voss, 1986; Badiru, 1990). This present study aims to contribute to this area of knowledge by looking at the crucial early phase of AMT developments, the market analysis, which is the key to formulating strategically oriented manufacturing developments. The nature of the contribution is unusual (if not quite unique) in looking in detail at a particular phase, in being grounded in multiple case studies, and in its focus on the effectiveness of consultants' contributions. The role of the consultant in this field, as the literature surveys (Chen and Small, 1996; Sambasivarao and Deshmukh, 1995) mentioned earlier suggest, has been relatively little studied.

3. THEMANUFACTURING,PLANNINGAND IMPLEMENTATION(MPI) SCHEME Over the last twenty years the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched a series of initiatives designed to stimulate technological innovation in UK industry. The most recent of these initiatives is the Manufacturing, Planning and Implementation (MPI) scheme. The specific aim of the MPI scheme is to relate advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) to market needs, where an AMT is very broadly defined to encompass almost any modern manufacturing initiative. The target firms have to be independent

Linkingtechnologicalinnovationsto strategic needs

companies with less than 500 employees. One hundred and forty small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have taken part in this scheme, which was completed in December 1994. The MPI scheme was primarily concerned with the enhancement of the ability of a firm's manufacturing function to support agreed markets, as clearly indicated by the stated intent of the initial DTI announcement. In this statement it stated the aim of the scheme was to:

gle research theme and the quality of access to all relevant data. The AC role was to analyse the methods used by consultants to fulfil the aims of the scheme. This involved an investigation of the • process and content of market reviews; • degree of linkage between market review and the recommended AMTs; • nature and impact of the AMTs.

"enhance advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) activities within consultancy, industrial, research and training communities in the UK by encouraging SMEs to adapt best practice in their application of AMTs by strategically planning and implementing AMTs for competitive advantage".

Because the reviews were conducted in the same structured way at each site, cross-site comparisons and some generalisations are possible, allowing for the different context of each firm.

Each project had two major parts; the market review, and the selection of appropriate AMTs. The first of these parts was explicitly emphasised in the guidelines issued to advisers:

It is clear from the above that the analysis of the market is fundamental to the MPI scheme and to the successful identification of appropriate technology developments. Without a sufficiently detailed understanding of the difference between the needs of different segments, or even different customers, it will be difficult to establish precisely how a company can win orders from competitors, or even retain its existing customer base. This means an in-depth analysis, providing sufficient detail to differentiate customers' products and past, present and likely future scenarios. The following examples each show, in different ways, how the failure to provide such a market review inhibited a firm's ability to link its market needs with the AMT initiatives they undertook.

"the key to any project is the analysis phase which challenges a company's assumptions regarding its business, markets, competitors and why products are chosen by customers the market review phase is vital because it gives context to the relevance of any changes to or reviews of existing capabilities a project must link the company's competitive approach in its market to its capability to provide goods which meet market needs". A unique feature of the scheme was the inclusion of an analytical co-ordination (AC) role, undertaken by a group of operations management academics whose task was to analyse the methods used by consultants working with client companies to meet the aims of the scheme. The AC team has undertaken a structured review of fifty of these projects, for which they were permitted, as a condition of any MPI grant, full access to all personnel involved and all relevant data and documents. The project reviews all involved: • several site visits; • in-depth comparative analysis of documents; • structured discussions with company executives and consulting advisers; • additional analyses of primary data. This task therefore offered a unique research opportunity, because of the number of projects within a sin-

4. THE CASESTUDIES

4.1 Company A This company makes personnel protection products. The consultants advising the company undertook the market analysis required by the MPI scheme, and the resultant document was described as a 'brief business review' and contained general statements on the firm's image, market size, the firm's market share and competitors. In reviewing current production, it is noted that 700 product lines are held in inventory and that order lead time is typically three weeks, with 80% deliveries on time. The organisation of marketing and sales departments is also described. Key factors concerning this review and the methodology used by the consultants include: (i) the consultant specialising in market analysis spent only 2% of the total project time; (ii) the lead consultant also spent time on market

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T. Hill and R. Westbrook

(iii)

(iv)

(v)

(vi)

analysis but, given the completion date of this phase, he could only have spent, at best, a further 9% of the total project time even if he had concentrated solely on this activity during this phase of the project; the consultants based much of their review on a report completed nine months earlier by a different consultancy company; there was no contact made between these two groups of consultants to discuss the findings of the first report; the first report highlighted different segments in the company's markets; the second report reviewed the market as a whole; the second report concluded that the company wins orders from all distributors and end users on the basis of the same criteria and within the same given priority: "product quality, service, then price".

The next step in the approach followed by the consultants was to identify several key areas to address or objectives to follow. The areas covered were: • the firm should aim for 30% total market share; • stronger relationships with fewer suppliers should be developed; • moulded parts currently bought out should be manufactured in-house; • pursue a policy of zero defects; • improve delivery performance; • reduce costs.

• the group members then prioritised the eight categories as shown in Table 1.

4.1.1 Comments • No insights into the market were provided. Hence, market orientation was not part of either the generation of improvement suggestions or their prioritisation within the TQM activity. • Eventual prioritisation of actions to follow was by overall category and not by individual suggestion.

4.2 Company B Company B manufactures shop refurbishment and materials handling equipment. A fairly substantial market review was undertaken by their consultant advisers, involving 25 man-days (14% of total project time) and three reports. The contents included: • size and structure of the UK retailing market; • sales of shop and office fittings in the UK; • analysis of 1 l major competitors, showing financial position and customers served. Fifteen prospective customers were asked for their views on Company B's and eleven competitors' strengths and weaknesses. The results are presented in Table 2 (marks out of 10, average response). 4.2.1 Comments

In support of its overall desire to improve, the company also undertook two major AMTs: (a) the in-house moulding of components, leading to an estimated 40% reduction in cost as well as benefits from shorter lead times, fewer defects and lower inventory; (b) operational improvements based on a TQM initiative.

• The survey covered only the shop refurbishment sector. • The consultants pre-listed the criteria to be reviewed. • The shop refurbishment sector was assumed to be the same. • Results were presented as an overall statement. TABLE 1. Company A: categories and their priorities

In-house moulding was the subject of an extensive feasibility study and had been identified at the outset by the client as an important undertaking. The TQM initiative was introduced by the consultants in the following way: • a number of brainstorming sessions yielded 45 improvement suggestions; • the consultants allocated these suggestions to one of eight categories;

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Priority

Category

1 2 3 4 5 6 7= 7=

personnel issues suppliers production planning production methods layout and machinery understanding customer requirements products stocks

Number of suggestions 8 9 5 8 6 2 7

Toml

45

Linkingtechnologicalinnovationsto sb'ategic needs

TABLE 2.

Customer survey for Company B and a strong and a weak competi-

tor Factor

proposal speed proposal quality standard product non-standard product delivery speed sitework personnel flexibility value for money

Company B

8 7 8 8 7 8 9 8 8

Competitor

Only with these insights was manufacturing able to recognise the key market needs and develop its response in terms of both IT and production process.

Strong

Weak

4.3 CompanyC

9 7 7 9 8 8 9 8 8

7 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 7

Company C makes powder coatings, mostly for the UK market. Its market review occupied much less consulting effort than company B's, only five mandays or 6% of total project time. The review, based on interviews with two suppliers and six customers, produced the following outcomes: total UK market size; major UK users and suppliers; company C's market share in different product areas; company C's sales by product type; segment attractiveness; customer buying criteria; comparison of company C with three major competitors; industry best practice re: - - service/service quality, - - delivery, - - product quality, - - price, - - other.

• •

As with company A, manufacturing improvements were not discussed in the light of this analysis, but rather were developed simultaneously almost as a separate exercise. Although the process types found in this company include elements of project, batch and jobbing (see Skinner, 1974), the market review did not reflect this and neither did the manufacturing needs analysis. The latter in fact took a standard approach to an enterprise which has orders as different as a £400 000 turnkey shopfitting project including standard and special elements, and an order for over £1.0 million for 20000 units of identical materials handling equipment.

•

The manufacturing initiative focused on revising the factory layout into cells, and installing a new IT system for manufacturing planning and control. Together these improvements permitted the company to improve its delivery speed and reliability during 1993. One major supermarket chain remarked that, had this improvement not occurred, it would have removed all its business from company B.

Again, this data did not influence the technology choices. Rather a separate 'technology review' was conducted before the market review results were available (see Table 3). This technology review is a 12-page report with details of the productivity impact of colour changes and the cost and delivery performance impact of the 15% reject rate. It also contained:

The company's performance during this phase of the MPI deteriorated to the point where it was taken over by a competitor. At this point consultancy support was terminated. Given the new position and its perilous nature, the company was forced into discussions with its major customers. This identified that: the shop refurbishment market had two distinct segments - - new store installation and existing store refurbishment; • time frames for delivery and installation varied from days and weeks for new stores installation to hours (late Sunday afternoon to early Monday morning) for refurbishment projects; • the market split between the two segments was moving increasingly to refurbishment and the reduced time windows involved. •

• • • • •

• a review of the technical capabilities of company C's existing powder coating equipment: • a list of changes in technology with estimates of new equipment costs; • a list of eight recommended technical improvements for the company. TABLE 3. Company C: consultants' hours for weeks 5-10 (source: consulting firm's invoices) Week

1

Marketing review (h)

1

Technology review (h)

--

6 7 8 9 10

5 1 1.5 18 11

----15

Totals

37.5

15

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A similar list was provided for the electroplating part of company C's business. Neither the marketing nor the technology review bore much relation to each other. Indeed, not only did the market review not influence the AMT choices because it was once again too general, but the principle that there should be such a link was not recognised. Company C has, however, taken the project further, with initiatives on the following: (a) Further customer surveys are to be regularly undertaken, as part of a TQM initiative. Ironically, the survey document asks customers to indicate and rank order-winning and order-qualifying criteria: i.e., the company subsequently seeks to obtain the key data it needed before (though it still does not distinguish between product groups). (b) Business process groups (BPGs) have been established to review processes from quotation to invoicing. (c) An IT system has been specified to cover: • sales order entry and invoicing; • nominal ledger and sales ledger; • management accounts and payroll.

4.3.1 Comments

• The market review took one man-week, only 6% of total consulting time. • Only six customers and two suppliers were interviewed. • Markets were treated as homogeneous. • The technology review activity overlapped the market review work, and had no relation to it. • No link was made from the market analysis to AMT developments. Instead, the company has pursued initiatives related to efficiency and management control.

4.4 Company D Company D manufactures air conditioning equipment, ranging from extremely large, complex, highly customised close control systems to small, fairly standardised systems. At the time of the MPI project, company D also introduced a new standard product intended to be sold from stock. Half the company's sales are for export. The MPI project began in 1992, but two earlier market reviews had been carried out in 1990 and

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1991. The MPI consultants claimed they would take advantage of this to build on the earlier studies. In their project proposal they undertook to "extract from the exising . . . analysis the order winning criteria", and in a supporting letter promised to "review this work and build on it". The new effort took nine days and led to a sixteen-page report, with the following areas of analysis: • size of UK market (volume and value) •by product group (indicates growing or declining), - - by equipment specifier; • buying criteria, ranked within the two main product groups; • company D's sales and market share by product group; • customer perceptions of company D; • requirements for success of the new standard product range - - company D's own views plus six questions for them. The substantive part of all this from an MPI scheme standpoint, the buying criteria and customer perceptions, are reproduced from one of the earlier studies. The consultant accepted the limitations of the earlier study, which confined analysis to the UK, and did not segment in any more detail than product groups. In attempting to make a link from buying criteria to AMT intiatives, two pages of a subsequent report did make one change to the earlier (pre-MPI) list: it elevated price to the key criterion and thus proposed that change efforts should focus on "cost reduction", then "shorter, more reliable deliveries". There was no analysis of price sensitivity by customer or product. In fact this company has gone on, in 1994, to make radical and impressive changes in manufacturing, with demonstrable gains in inventory management and productivity, through a cellular/Kanban approach. However, the link to the MPI scheme is tenuous at best, since none of the changes came out of the consultants' reviews and no outside help has been used in implementation. The virtue of the scheme for this company has been in providing a catalyst for change and an opportunity to introduce new management into key roles. 4.4.1 Comments

• The market review took nine days only (8% of total project time). • Analysis was confined to the UK market although half of the sales are for export. • No segmentation beyond product groups.

Linking technological innovationsto strategic needs

• Earlier analysis by another consulting firm was accepted but not checked or developed. • Price was elevated as the key order-winner, with little analytical justification. • No link to AMT developments.

5. DISCUSSION These four case studies demonstrate the difficulty companies of this type are experiencing in obtaining an understanding of markets which permits AMT decisions to be demonstrably strategic. They also exhibit, to differing degrees, several features of many of the MPI projects, which partially explains this difficulty. These features can be grouped as follows: (1) the understanding of strategic thought; (2) the aim and content of a market review; (3) the nature of a strategic link from market to AMT. We discuss each of these in turn.

5.1 The understandingof strategic thought We suggested at the outset that strategy could be considered at three levels: the corporation, the business unit, and individual functions. In each of the cases we have described, and in many others not used here, these levels are consistently mixed up. The information on market size and growth or decline of sectors is very relevant to corporate strategy, but too broad to enlighten the business unit already largely committed to its markets. Yet most reports begin with this data, and not only by way of preamble - - time and money are devoted to it, as our analysis of consultants' time sheets consistently shows. There is also a lack of strategic frameworks to guide or illuminate the investigations. In these cases 'strengths and weaknesses' (one half of SWOT analysis) and competitor analysis are the only frameworks used; but even the latter is restricted, in three of the four cases, to a listing of the main competitors and the market share they enjoy. Only in company C does the analysis get beyond this level and look at industry best practice and the strengths and weaknesses of major competitors.

5.2 The aim and content of a market review The aim of a market review in the MPI scheme is to provide insight into what is required to compete in a company's target markets. For an SME in a very

competitive environment this implies a very thorough investigation, which makes use of many sources of information. But in the cases cited above the most common source of information was existing customers. Potential or former customers, whose view may be more valuable in understanding why orders are lost, are not surveyed. Even with existing customers, the whole story will often only emerge when checked with internal sources, for a company and its customers usually have a joint history which needs to be understood when interpreting customer responses. Too often existing customers have been the sole source of information and, as we have seen in two cases, earlier studies are taken at face value. To provide the kind of insight required, a market review needs to provide the kind of detail which is meaningful at the manufacturing process level. The tendency to restrict analysis to broad market segments or product groups is more characteristic of a marketing review than a market needs investigation. The product groupings which are used in the sales and marketing functions may not be those which the manufacturing function finds significant. All the market reviews are too broad in their segmentation to permit precise technology-related questions to be asked, let alone answered. Similarly, there is a tendency to regard all orders, large or small, standard or special, one-off or repeat, for immediate delivery or with plenty of notice, as 'sales'. Yet the manufacturing function will regard these as very different in terms of the demand placed upon it. The trends at this level of detail are likely to be important in making future technology choices. This is internal data, which is relatively easy to obtain and analyse; however, without an appropriate framework that requires such investigation, such evidence will be overlooked, as happened in all four cases above.

5.3 The nature of a strategic link from market to AMT This feature follows from the preceding two. Without an understanding of strategic thinking, and with a market review that is consequently too aggregate, it will be impossible to demonstrate that meeting the needs of target markets requires certain precise AMT investments to be made. But there is some evidence that the n a t u r e of such a link is little understood. Thus, although 'order-winning' (or 'buying') criteria appear in two of the four cases, in neither are they followed through into technology specifications. In the case of company C, where they are to be used in follow-up customer surveys, the criteria listed are chosen by the company and assumed to be the same

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T. Hill and R. Westbrook

for all product groups. In the case of company D also, although the 'buying criteria' are part of the market review, that review is in terms too broad to permit those criteria to be translated into anything more specific than a general, plant-wide, effort for cost reduction. This may in itself be beneficial, as company D has found, hut one cannot be confident that the investment was the most strategically relevant for the most profitable target markets. In the absence of specific, strategically oriented innovations, there is a tendency to fall back on general developments likely to have impact in various areas (such as TQM), or efficiency and control enhancement which will lead to immediately measurable improvements likely to justify a consultant's fees. Good as that may be, it may also be an opportunity missed. Without an in-depth, strategicallyoriented market analysis linked closely to AMT developments, the company cannot know.

6. CONCLUSIONm THE CONTINUINGNEEDFOR EDUCA110N It is n o t our intention in this paper to criticise adversely the skills of the consultants involved, or the work they undertook. It is entirely possible that they undertook exactly the tasks required of them by the client, that the client was satisfied with their efforts, and that the initiatives taken improved company performance in several areas. Our apparently critical position is simply caused by the requirement of the analytical co-ordinator team to view all the activity from the viewpoint of the designated aims of the MPI scheme. It is clear that in this sample of companies (which is fairly representative) the market analysis did not permit convincing links to be made through business and functional strategies. The question remains why this should be so. There are several possible explanations: (1) The consultant may lack the skills to undertake such work, or believe that the market reviews undertaken do indeed meet the conditions of the MPI scheme. (2) The client may lack a full understanding of the scheme and believe that the analyses offered meet the scheme's requirement. (3) The client may believe he already has a full understanding of market needs, and requires only a confirmation of that understanding from the consultant. (4) The client has already formed a view of the AMT developments his company needs, and uses the

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MPI scheme to implement the view. He persuades the consultant of this view which the consultant feels hired to implement. (5) The client and consultant have already entered into a relationship, and continue with it under the MPI scheme conditions. (6) An existing report is assumed to meet the conditions of the scheme (see company D above). (7) Neither client nor consultant agree with the fundamental premise of the scheme, i.e. that AMTs must be strategically oriented, which requires a detailed market analysis.

Each of these possible explanations has some anecdotal support from the cases analysed thus far. Which of them dominates, and why, would require a separate study. For the purposes of this paper, though, it seems fair to conclude that:

• the MPI scheme, despite its clear strategic orientation, has in a significant number of cases not been implemented in that spirit; • the need for thorough market analysis, and clear links with advanced manufacturing technology developments, is still not well recognised by UK SMEs or by manufacturing consultants; • the reasons for this lie, at least in part, in the strategic skills of clients and consultants and in the nature of the relationship between them.

Thus, in the field of manufacturing strategy and related technology developments, there is still a considerable task of education to be done. Skinner (1992) notes the increase in manufacturing strategy courses, research and publications in recent times, but warns that "progress in the first twenty years was only about 20 per cent of the progress in the last five years". He also points to gaps in the theory development of manufacturing strategy which have made it far less adopted than other developments in manufacturing such as JIT, TQM, FMS, CAD/CAM. The idea that a company would only pursue one of these popular 'solutions', based on market needs and a strategic view of manufacturing capability, has therefore seemed incontrovertible only to the academics. For in the MPI scheme we have found each of these AMT developments, and hardly ever have they been justified by a demonstrable strategic need based on market analysis. This suggests more work for the educators in two senses: we need to persuade the practitioners more effectively, and we need to develop the theory so that it becomes more persuasive.

Linking technological innovationsto strategic needs

REFERENCES Babbar, S. and Rai, A. (1990) Computer integrated flexible manufacturing: an implementation framework. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 10, 42-50. Badiru, A.B. (1990) Strategic p l a n n i n g for automated manufacturing: some factors and dimensions. In: Parsaei, H., Ward, T. and Karwoski, W. (Eds.),

Justification Methods for Integrated Manufacturing Systems. Elsevier, New York, pp. 17-39. Boer, H., Hill, M. and Krabbendam, K. (1990) FMS implementation management: promise and performance. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 10, 5-20. Chen, 1.J. and Small, M.H. (1996) P l a n n i n g for advanced manufacturing technology. Inter-

national Journal of Operations and Production Management 16, 4 - 2 4 . Hill, T.J. (1993) Manufacturing Strategy, the Strategic Management of the Manufacturing Function, 2nd edn. Macmillan, London. Meredith, J.R. (1987a) I m p l e m e n t i n g the automated factory. Journal of Manufacturing Systems 6, 113. Meredith, J.R. (1987b) M a n a g i n g factory automation projects. Journal of Manufacturing Systems 6, 75-91. Sambasivarao, K.V. and Deshmukh, S.G. (1995) Selection and implementation of advanced m a n u facturing technologies. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 15, 43-62. Skinner, W. (1969) Manufacturing - - the missing link in corporate strategy. Harvard Business Review, 136-145. Skinner, W. (1974) The focused factory. Harvard Business Review, 113-121. Skinner, W. (1992) Missing the links in manufacturing strategy. In Voss, C.A. (Ed.), Manufacturing Strategy, Process and Content. C h a p m a n and Hall, London, pp. 13-25. Sweeney, M.T. (1994) B e n c h m a r k i n g for strategic manufacturing management. International Jour-

nal of Operations and Production Management 14, 4 - 1 5 .

Voss, C.A. (1986) I m p l e m e n t i n g manufacturing technology: a manufacturing strategy approach. Inter-

national Journal of Operations and Production Management 6, 17-25. Voss, C.A. (1995) Alternative paradigms for manufacturing strategy. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 15, 5-16. Terence J. Hill is a Professor at the London

Business School. After receivingbachelor's and master's degrees from the Universityof Manchester, Terry Hill spent the first ten years of his career in the industrial sector. Initially a purchasing executive, he then moved into production managementwhere his responsibilities included managing manufacturingplants. Switchingcareers, he joined the faculty of Kingston University and later headed the production/operations management area at the Universityof War,~_ wick. He moved to the Universityof Bath to take up a chair in his field beforejoining the facultyat LondonBusinessSchool. He received his doctorate from the Universityof Warwick. Throughout his time in education, he has developed a successful consultingpractice, workingprincipallyin North America and Europe. He has contributed numerous articles on related issues and written several books including Small Business: Operations Management, Macmillan (1987); Production~Operations Management (second edition), Prentice Hall (1991); The Essence of Operations Management, Prentice Hall (1993); Manufacturing Strategy: the Strategic Managementof the ManufacturingFunction(secondedition),Macmillan (1993); and Manufacturing Strategy: Text and Cases (second edition), Irwin (1994). Roy Westbrook is Associate Professor of Operations Managementat LondonBusiness School and Chairman of the Sloan Masters Programme. He worked as a civil servant before turninghis attentionto manufacturing management. His doctoral research was on the design of informationsystems for production managementand he is currentlyacting as an analyticalcoordinatorfor the DTI's scheme promoting advanced manufacturing J = ' - ~ ~ technology projects. He has visitedJapan six times to study just-in-time and total quality both in major corporations and in some of their suppliers. His most recent visit was to investigatecompanies who are contributingto the leading edge techniques of mass customisation. His most recent research was an in-company study of total quality and continuous improvement in leading fast-movingconsumer goods companies. A follow-up project is looking at best practice in the supplychain management of such organisations. Roy has taught on executiveprogrammes for such companiesas BT and Mars, and is director of Midland Bank's 'FoundationManagement Programme' at LondonBusinessSchool. His most recent publications include New Strategic Tools for Supply Chain Management.

Orderbook Modelsfor Priority Management, Mass Customisation: Japan's New Frontier,and the award-winningPriori~Management: New Theory.for OperationsManagement.

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