Abstract
The consideration of whether to adopt rapid prototyping (RP) technology in general or a specific system in particular is not a trivial issue for most organizations. This technology has influences and has implications for a variety of intra-organizational functions and inter-organizational boundaries. The decision issues faced by these organizations include the balancing of needs across the organization and its partners, consideration of tangible and intangible factors, and the consideration of strategic and operational dimensions. In this chapter we introduce some of the categories of attributes and factors that organizations need to consider. The various factors are then evaluated using a multiattribute utility model called the analytical network process. An illustrative example provides insights into the execution of the technique. The technique is useful due to its capability to consider the many relationships and influences among the factors. It is also flexible enough to consider perceptual as well as more objective data and information when analyzing the problem situation.
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Narain, R., Sarkis, J. (2006). Strategic Justification of Rapid Prototyping Systems. In: Kamrani, A., Nasr, E.A. (eds) Rapid Prototyping. Manufacturing Systems Engineering Series, vol 6. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-23291-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-23291-5_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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