Applying world class manufacturing to make‐to‐order companies: problems and solutions

The world of manufacturing has recently undergone many major changes leading to guidelines on what is “best practice” or world class manufacturing (WCM) in terms of both methods of operation and of performance. These guidelines are based on the companies that have been most successful, mainly the mass production industry, that has been transformed into the mass customisation sector. This paper argues that such guidelines cannot be entirely appropriate to other industry sectors, in particular to the traditional “make‐to‐order” (MTO) sector. The highly variable customer demand in this sector often means that it is strategically desirable to retain a job shop layout for at least part of the business, rather than converting the business to a series of focused cells. This paper seeks to propose a set of alternative guidelines on how MTO companies that choose to retain a job shop layout should attempt to attain WCM status. To justify the proposals, it presents some case study evidence giving two examples of companies that have remained job shops and explaining how one of them has nonetheless made substantial improvements in performance and practice.