Manufacturing strategies in action: the case of electro-electronic domestic appliances (EDA)

Abstract

The companies’ manufacturing strategies are frequently conceived at business strategic levels and put into practice along their value chains. Based on a company’s position, mission, values and vision, strategic planning defines a trajectory, as well as the requirements for the company’s organizational and management processes.  Often, there is a gap between the highest hierarchical level and the operational levels with respect to the implementation of strategies. Based upon a literature review, this paper proposes a model that integrates the production processes to the strategic management levels. This model is implemented as a Strategic Manufacturing Management System (SMMS), which establishes a coherent set of strategic management processes for the manufacture function.  SMMS is fundamentally structured as a multileveled Balanced Scorecard (BSC) that creates rationalities to plan, implement and control strategies. The decision-making, communication and learning processes are carried out by means of the strategic management system. The management system is monitored and evolves according to a selected set of measurements that gives the final form to the strategic management system. The SMMS was tested in an electro-electronic appliances company and the results from the first year since its implementation are presented. The proposed model is guided by the BSC architecture, but it also uses specific techniques, procedures and tools that were customized for the company at issue. The final result is a guiding framework for the integration, design, implementation and management of a manufacturing strategy.