Manufacturers are adopting new strategies called "new wave manufacturing" to improve speed, quality, service, flexibility and global focus. This involves coordinating objectives across manufacturing functions to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Issues addressed include capacity, technology, quality and production planning. A key part is determining whether to continue traditional manufacturing or set up in lower cost areas globally. Initially, many offshored manufacturing but now take a more cautious approach considering practical difficulties. Companies also tightly manage inventories but still need suppliers that can respond quickly to demand changes without buffer stocks. Suppliers can offer value by enabling customization and quick product improvements.

1. Notes by Sujeet S. Tambe.
New Strategies and Trends Used in Manufacturing
(Operation Management)
New manufacturing strategies:
Companies are adopting new strategies for manufacturing, collectively
labeled “new wave manufacturing.” Whole arrays of new initiatives are coming on
line, taking competitiveness to new levels.
Speed, quality, service, flexibility, and global focus are identified as the
essential elements for successful manufacturing for the next decade. Manufacturers
are measured by their ability to respond quickly to sudden, often unpredictable
changes in customer needs and wants.
In this new era, manufacturing strategy is a set of coordinated objectives
applied to manufacturing functions and aimed at securing sustainable advantage
over competitors. Issues generally addressed include manufacturing capacity,
production facilities, technology advances, vertical integration, quality, production
planning/materials control, organization, and personnel. Of course, the strategic
approach must combine with a pragmatic approach to continuous improvement at
an operational level to ensure competitiveness in global markets.
A key part of a manufacturing strategy is the definition of whether products
will continue to be produced at the traditional manufacturing sites, or if the cost
advantages make it beneficial to set up manufacturing in geographic areas with a
lower cost base. The Boston Consulting Group, among others, has advocated that
not considering this strategy is tantamount to giving up on a major cost benefit.

2. Notes by Sujeet S. Tambe.
The initial rush to offshore manufacturing has given way to a more cautious
approach. Many companies are taking into account the practical and logistical
difficulties and the full financial implications of setting up and operating facilities
in remote countries. Greater care will ensure product quality issues are addressed
properly in the outsourcing or off-shoring exercise, along with recognition of the
requirement for active management and control.
The trend over the last several years has been for companies to manage their
inventories very tightly to keep costs down. If there is any unpredictability in
demand, it is difficult to rely on suppliers that will take months to respond to their
needs. In dealing with this uncertainty, they cannot expect a supplier to keep buffer
stocks to meet their changing demands, with inventory liability if the market
dictates that products must change. The ability to provide fast delivery presents an
opportunity to offer significant value beyond the actual price of the products
supplied.
So, offer customization, modifications, and quick product improvements in
response to market demands. Search for customers that have this need. They will
be more loyal to demonstrated ability for fast turn-around on modifications and
improvements. For the supplier, this means developing the ability to modify
production quickly. All employees should recognize this represents the company’s
strengths, and every customer change-request should be welcomed as a
compliment to the company’s ability to accommodate them.

3. Notes by Sujeet S. Tambe.
10 New Trends In Manufacturing Technologies:
Demand for information and automation systems in manufacturing is soaring.
Systems in demand include programmable controls, robotic systems, supervisory
controls, data acquisition and information management systems. These systems
deliver high-quality, reliable and repeatable solutions to our customers, improving
their processes. In our work designing and implementing these systems, we have
observed ten important emerging trends:
1. Following the economic downturn, automation spending has sharply
increased as manufacturers continue to look for ways to increase
productivity, improve quality and reduce costs by automating human tasks
that involve hard physical or monotonous work. According to the American
Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and the Association For
Manufacturing Technology, U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled
$388.27 million in May 2011, a 108-percent increase over 2010.
2. The use of automation, including industrial robots, is increasing across a
range of industries. A couple of decades ago, 90 percent of robots were used
in car manufacturing. Today the auto industry represents only 50 percent,
with the other half spread among other factories, laboratories, warehouses,
energy plants, hospitals and other industries.
3. As robots replace workers in the more mundane, repetitive areas, the need
for workers with more advanced training is increasing. Manufacturers are
asking more from their shift supervisor-level workers, thus needing to train
and pay them more.
4. Additionally, technical operations and high-tech maintenance personnel are
in greater demand, as automation enables more proactive monitoring and

4. Notes by Sujeet S. Tambe.
information management with preventative and predictive maintenance
strategies.
5. Automation equipment and process vendors have recognized this trend and
are now providing field service teams to meet manufacturers’ maintenance
demands.
6. Manufacturers can now monitor production remotely and be alerted to
systems that need attention.
7. In highly regulated industries such as the food industry, where food safety is
paramount, a shift is occurring, with many manufacturers placing a greater
focus on quality, repeatability and safety in automation, in addition to
productivity and cost reduction.
8. Robots can now handle higher speeds, increasing the volume of material that
one line can handle.
9. Manufacturers can now do more with less space as robots and automation
are reducing the space needed for production lines. More vertical space is
also being used. This reduction in footprint leads to lower energy costs per
square foot.
10.Combining technologies such as robots with vision systems — enabling
them to recognize things like barcodes, color and size — means that
manufacturers can use assets on one line for improved tracking or to handle
multiple products, increasing the speed and efficiency of production and
delivery systems.