This book grew out of the belief that, although the potential of CIM is widely recognised, there is little understanding and great nervousness concerning the practical matter of its implementation. Are you confident that your company will find the right answers to these questions: • In which areas can CIM most significantly influence the competitive position of your company? • What information is it essential to include within a CIM plan? • How can each phase of your CIM plan be cost justified, and how should it be audited for success? • How should you set priorities for implementing the various phases of a CIM plan? • What is the significance of networking to CIM? Every company investing in CIM faces these questions but too frequently they are left unanswered. Our experience is that the implementation of CIM is primarily a management challenge not a technical one. The greatest challenge is how to make the organisational changes needed to obtain the benefits from CIM. This book is a valuable guide to anyone planning to invest in CIM.

To stay competitive and meet market expectations in a global economy, both domestic and foreign companies must realign their manufacturing processes, make improvements, and increase their manufacturing capabilities. With large numbers of employees working in a network of domestic and foreign facilities, production processes are as varied as the products being produced. Manufacturing managers need a manufacturing plan or strategy that will bring structure to this complex environment. In Manufacturing Strategy: How to Formulate and Implement a Winning Plan, 2nd Edition, John Miltenburg offers a sensible and systematic method to: (1) evaluate domestic and foreign factories and international manufacturing and (2) plan the appropriate manufacturing strategy to be first in the market. Incorporating comments and suggestions from managers who used the first edition of Manufacturing Strategy, John Miltenburg expands and improves on his focus in the areas of: International Manufacturing — where the focus is on a company's international network of factories; Competitive Strategy — where managers must understand the role manufacturing strategy plays in their company's business strategy; and Manufacturing Programs — showing how programs such as quality management, six sigma, agile manufacturing, and supply chain management fit within the manufacturing strategy. Manufacturing Strategy gives managers a common language for dealing with manufacturing problems at both strategic and operational levels. It improves communication between manufacturing managers and those outside manufacturing (who will now have a better understanding of what manufacturing can and cannot do).

Serving as a reference and guide to both practitioners and researchers involved in the planning, control, and management of advanced manufacturing systems, Advanced Manufacturing Systems: Strategic Management and Implementation offers information on a wide range of available methodologies and tools. The contents are organized into four parts: Global Strategic Issues; Evaluation, Selection, and Adoption of the Systems; Implementation Issues; and Control and Support. Theoretical and practical, analytical and empirical, this is a valuable resource for those interested in researching or implementing these systems into their organizations.

There are, today, many good books on the Theory of Constraints, or "TOC". These books, however, generally focus on explaining the details of TOC. But subject matter knowledge alone is not enough, if you want to actually use TOC in business. You must also have a valid roadmap for implementing it. This book provides it. Throughout the book, you have the concrete and actionable voice of a successful TOC consultant leading you to understand how to implement TOC in a manufacturing organization. The book also provides examples of various charts, forms and procedures that you can use as patterns for the materials you will need in your implementations.