Manufacturing Strategy as a Competitive Weapon

In today′s highly competitive and fast‐changing business environment, the manufacturing function must be more highly integrated into the total company. Successful manufacturers have realised that the manufacturing function can be made to offer benefits which allow them to compete more effectively in the marketplace. These benefits, covering costs, quality and responsiveness, can be derived only by fundamentally questioning existing practices. It is necessary to develop a manufacturing strategy which is totally integrated into overall business strategy and other functional interests must be subordinated to this.