Manufacturing Industry, Consultants and 1992
| Published date | 01 May 1989 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000001410 |
| Date | 01 May 1989 |
| Pages | 14-18 |
| Author | Roger Eastwood |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY,
CONSULTANTS AND 1992
by Roger Eastwood
Cavendish
Scott,
Biggleswade,
Bedfordshire
The current Government campaign to increase industrial and commercial awareness of the
significance of the 1992 Single European Market is clearly important to the future of many
companies in this country. Considerable emphasis has been placed on marketing and, whilst
it is obviously an important part of the business cycle, 1992 should not be seen as solely
about marketing considerations. The effectiveness of production operations within the factory
should also come under scrutiny in the run-up to 1992 so that manufacturing industry is
functioning in the most efficient manner to meet the challenge. The use of independent
consultancy can greatly assist in this goal and consequently UK manufacturing companies
should be seriously considering their services in the near future.
Technology Awareness for 1992
As industry becomes more and more competitive
worldwide, the selling price of a particular product
is increasingly dictated by the market, rather than
by the producer. Under such circumstances it is
often not possible to raise prices to maintain
profitability; the only way to achieve such a goal
being by a reduction in the costs of manufacture.
The main aim of all manufacturers should be the
efficient production of goods of the right quality
and price with minimal lead times, and to this end
management should be continually reviewing the
efficiency of operations within their companies.
These efficiency reviews should cleary focus on
current procedures but management should also
be continually assessing the potential benefits of
the ever-increasing amount of advanced
manufacturing technology (AMT) available for
manufacturing industry. The benefits to be gained
from technology such as CAD/CAM, robotics and
computerised production control systems will vary
from industry to industry but are usually likely to
manifest themselves as reductions in costs,
reductions in lead times or improvements in
product quality. In order that these gains may be
realised it is important that ample consideration
is given to manufacturing operations, as well as
marketing,
prior to 1992.
Manufacturing technology and methods are one
of the most rapidly changing areas in business.
Computer power is becoming cheaper and more
widely available and systems that, until recently,
were massive capital investments are becoming
increasingly economic propositions, particularly to
smaller companies. In addition, customers have
become accustomed to continual improvements
in product quality and to increases in the number
of features which these products offer. This, in
turn,
has meant that product life cycles are
becoming shorter, putting pressure on
manufacturers to invest in new products soon after
the launch of the last one.
So that manufacturers may take advantage of
these new computing tools it is important that
management set aside time for detailed
assessments. However, it is unlikely that sufficient
relevent expertise is available within a company,
or if it is, hard pressed management will not have
enough time to spend on examining technology
which is becoming increasingly sophisticated. It
is therefore important that manufacturing industry,
particularly smaller firms, considers consultants as
an external source of expertise that may not be
available within their organisation. This article
seeks to outline how consultants may be employed
and offers advice on how to avoid some of the
more common pitfalls associated with their use.
The article also includes a case study to illustrate
the benefits that can be achieved by the judicious
use of independent consultancy.
Consultancy Advice Widely Available
Consultancy advice on manufacturing
tech-
nologies and philosophies is available from an
increasingly large number of sources and certain
consultancies or individuals specialise in advising
particular industries on specific technologies. A
company considering the use of a consultant
should therefore first determine whether they have
IMDS
Number 5
1989
14
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