Definition
Strategy is the long-term direction of an organization in which its resources are matched to the economic climate and the expectations of clients and business owners. Manufacturing strategy is defined as “a sequence of decisions that, over time, enables a business unit to achieve a desired manufacturing structure, infrastructure, and set of specific capabilities” (Hayes and Wheelwright, 1984). Moreover, the pattern of decisions actually made constitutes realized manufacturing strategy, which may differ from the intended manufacturing strategy. The terms’ structure’, ‘infrastructure’, and ‘capabilities’ will be subsequently explained. The primary aim of a manufacturing strategy is to ensure that all long-term manufacturing developments are congruent with the overall business strategy or competitive priorities of the firm.
Background
Skinner (1969)introduced the concept of manufacturing strategy and its implementation in the 1960s. The concept derives from corporate strategy...
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
References
Bennigson, L.A. (1996). “Changing manufacturing strategy”. Production and Operations Management, 5(1) 91–102.
Fine, C.H. and A.C. Hax (1985). “Manufacturing strategy: a methodology and an illustration”. Interfaces, 15(6), 28–46.
Hayes, R.H. and S.C. Wheelwright (1984). Restoring our competitive edge: competing through manufacturing, Wiley, New York.
Hayes, R.H. and G.P. Pisano (1996). “Manufacturing strategy: at the intersection of two paradigm shifts”. Production and Operations Management, (Spring), 25–41.
Hill, T.J. (1985). Manufacturing strategy, Macmillan, London.
Kinni, T.B. (1996). America's Best: Industry Week's guide to world-class manufacturing plants, Wiley, New York.
Leong, G.K. and P.T. Ward (1995). “The six Ps of manufacturing strategy.” International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 15(12) 32–45.
Miller, S.S. (1988). Competitive manufacturing, Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Mills, J., K.W. Platts, A.D. Neely, H. Richards, M. Gregory, and M. Bourne (1996). Creating a winning business formula, Findlay, London.
Mintzberg, H. (1978). “Patterns in strategy formation.” Management Science, 24(9), 934–948.
Schroeder, R.G. and T.N. Lahr (1990). “Development of manufacturing strategy: a proven process.” Proceedings of the Joint Industry University Conference on Manufacturing Strategy, 8–9 Jan., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 3–14.
Skinner, W. (1969). “Manufacturing — the missing link in corporate strategy.” Harvard Business Review, 47(3), 136–145.
Skinner, W. (1974). “The focused factory.” Harvard Business Review, 52(3), 113–119.
Spring, M. and R. Boaden (1997). “One more time: how do you win orders?: a critical reappraisal of the Hill manufacturing strategy framework.” International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 17(8) 757–779.
Womack, J., D. Jones, and D. Roos (1990). The machine that changed the world, Rawson Associates, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this entry
Cite this entry
Swamidass, P.M., Darlow, N.R. (2000). MANUFACTURING STRATEGY . In: Swamidass, P.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Production and Manufacturing Management. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0612-8_557
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0612-8_557
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-8630-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-0612-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive