Agile Manufacturing

Essay by lsun012University, Master'sB, October 2007

download word file, 13 pages 4.3

Introduction:Agile manufacturing (AM) is a new competition mode in the manufacture world, which is a brand new competitive system based on the information integration, communication technology and production manufacture. In the system, the main target is that all the resources needed in production, human resource, capital and equipment, are managed by computer and IT, in order to optimize resources and build up an agile competition by dynamic alliance organizations.

This assignment introduces the concept and content of AM, discusses the development of AM briefly, and according to those researches has been done about AM, the report reviews environmental factors which influence AM strategies, designs, implementations and maintenances, especially in Information Technology (IT) rapid developing effect. By reviewing two successful cases from China and US, the differences and similarities in the AM practices and process in both two countries are solved.

Concept and Content of Agile Manufacturing:Different groups have different ideas of what agile manufacturing is, the concept of agile manufacturing came about in 1991, agile manufacturing is defined as: "the ability to thrive and prosper in a competitive environment of continuous and unanticipated change and to respond quickly to rapidly changing markets driven by customer - based valuing of products."

(R Nagel, 1991)Agility is an integrated set of business strategies for competitiveness in a turbulent business environment, based on four cardinal principles: Enrich the customer; Master change and uncertainty; Leverage resources; and Co-operate to compete. (Goldman, 1995)Mass Customization is the key principle of agile manufacturing. Nowadays, number of new production is entering in the market, such as One-Hour Photo, instant optometry, they are all based on what the customer needs, AM helps those enterprises to produce products efficiently, with lower cost and completely to satisfy consumer needs and wants. For example, a customer ordered one DELL desktop with fully...