Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a strategy that can help manufacturing companies improve

efficiency, quality, and customer and employee satisfaction. Some factors that can enable BPR in
manufacturing include:

 Information technology (IT): Can help organizations collaborate and organize in new ways,
and can help align processes with business goals

 People management: Includes aspects like education, training, motivation, and reward
systems

 Organizational commitment: Includes management commitment and change readiness

 Other factors: Includes business needs analysis, effective change management, and ongoing
improvement

Some tools that can be used in BPR include: organizational charts, workflow analysis, benchmarking,
job descriptions, and business process mapping.

Agile manufacturing is a manufacturing methodology that places an extremely strong

focus on rapid response to the customer – turning speed and agility into a key compettve
advantage. It represents a very interestng approach to developing a compettve
advantage in today’s fast-moving marketplace. An agile company is in a much beter
positon to take advantage of short windows of opportunity and fast changes in customer
demand.

It is not about small-scale improvements, but an entrely different way of doing business
(Kidd, 1996) with a primary emphasis on flexibility and quick response to the changing
markets and customer needs.
Agile Manufacturing involves putng even more emphasis on providing a rapid response to
changing customer demands. In order to maintain a compettve advantage within the
market, manufacturing organizatons must fnd a way to satsfy their customer demands
within a short tme frame.

WHY IS AGILE MANUFACTURING EFFECTIVE?

Agile manufacturing is effectve because it acknowledges the realites of the modern

marketplace and transforms them into a compettve advantage. It directly addresses the
following issues:
• Consumers love instant gratfcaton. They are increasingly getng used to it and they are
ofen willing to pay for it. For example, have you ever ordered a product with overnight
shipping…waitng in eager antcipaton?
• Consumers love choice. They prefer to get a product exactly as they want it…without
compromise.
• Consumers are fckle. Their interests shif and move in unpredictable ways.
• Agile is of partcular value for manufacturers in countries with large, well-developed local
markets and high labor costs (e.g., the United States). It leverages proximity to the market
by delivering products with an unprecedented level of speed and personalizaton, which
simply cannot be matched by offshore compettors. It turns local manufacturing into a
compettve advantage.
KEY AGILE MANUFACTURING ELEMENTS
• There are four key elements for agile manufacturing:
• Modular Product Design: designing products in a modular fashion that enables them to
serve as platorms for fast and easy variaton
• Informaton Technology: automatng the rapid disseminaton of informaton throughout
the company to enable lightning fast response to orders
• Corporate Partners: creatng virtual short-term alliances with other companies that enable
improved tme-to-market for selected product segments
• Knowledge Culture: investng in employee training to achieve a culture that supports rapid
change and ongoing adaptation

Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing was accepted as an innovatve paradigm-that eliminates

waste in any form, anywhere and at any tme, relentlessly strives to maintain
harmony in the flow of materials and informaton, and contnually atempts
to atain perfecton.
• Lean manufacturing is a methodology that focuses on minimizing waste
within manufacturing systems while simultaneously maximizing productvity.
Waste is seen as anything that customers do not believe adds value and are
not willing to pay for. Some of the benefts of lean manufacturing can include
reduced lead tmes, reduced operatng costs and improved product quality.
• Lean manufacturing is a producton process based on an ideology of
maximizing productvity while simultaneously minimizing waste within a
manufacturing operaton. The lean principle sees waste is anything that
doesn’t add value that the customers are willing to pay for.

Five principles of lean manufacturing

• 1. Identfy value from the customer's perspectve. Value is created by the producer, but it is defned
by the customer. Companies need to understand the value the customer places on their products
and
services, which, in turn, can help them determine how much money the customer is willing to pay.
• The company must strive to eliminate waste and cost from its business processes so that the
customer's optmal price can be achieved -- at the highest proft to the company.
• 2. Map the value stream. This principle involves recording and analyzing the flow of informaton or
materials required to produce a specifc product or service with the intent of identfying waste and
methods of improvement. Value stream mapping encompasses the product's entre lifecycle, from
raw
materials through to disposal.
• Companies must examine each stage of the cycle for waste. Anything that does not add value must
be
eliminated. Lean thinking recommends supply chain alignment as part of this effort.
• 3. Create flow. Eliminate functonal barriers and identfy ways to improve lead tme. This aids in
ensuring the processes are smooth from the tme an order is received through to delivery. Flow is
critcal to the eliminaton of waste. Lean manufacturing relies on preventng interruptons in the
producton process and enabling a harmonized and integrated set of processes in which actvites
move in a constant stream.
• 4. Establish a pull system. This means you only start new work when there is demand for it. Lean
manufacturing uses a pull system instead of a push system.
• Push systems are used in manufacturing resource planning (MRP) systems. With a push system,
inventory needs are determined in advance, and the product is manufactured to meet that forecast.
However, forecasts are typically inaccurate, which can result in swings between too much inventory
and not enough, as well as subsequent disrupted schedules and poor customer service.
• In contrast to MRP, lean manufacturing is based on a pull system in which nothing is bought or
made
untl there is demand. Pull relies on flexibility and communicaton.
• 5. Pursue perfecton with contnual process improvement, or Kaizen. Lean manufacturing rests on
the concept of contnually striving for perfecton, which entails targetng the root causes of quality
issues and ferretng out and eliminatng waste across the value stream

Why is Lean Manufacturing Important and How Can it

Help?

Eliminate Waste: Waste is a negatve factor for cost, deadlines and resources. It provides no
value to products or services
•Improve Quality: Improved quality allows companies to stay compettve and meet the
changing needs and wants of customers. Designing processes to meet these expectatons and
desires keep you ahead of the competton, keeping quality improvement at the forefront
•Reducing Costs: Overproducton or having more materials than is required creates storage
costs, which can be reduced through beter processes and materials management
•Reducing Time: Wastng tme with inefcient working practces is a waste of money too,
while more efcient practces create shorter lead tmes and allow for goods and services to
be delivered faster

. JIT
Just-in-Time (JIT) is a way of producing products on order, not before anybody has ordered
the product. It also means that the product should be delivered “in tme”. Just-in-Time
originally encapsulated the logistcs aspects of the Toyota Producton System.
• A brief summary of JIT core principles is given below: —these encapsulate key focus areas for
BPR:
• The use of multple small machines (rather than "efcient" expensive machines that have to
be kept busy).
• Group technology (commonly called "Cellular" manufacturing)
It is based on the principle that product focused manufacturing is much simpler, with
reduced material flows, as compared to factories where similar processes are grouped
together, such as heat treatment.
Producton smoothing (leveled schedules) is based on the principle — small is beautful as far
as batch sizes are concerned, and that what is required is made when required without
inflatng batch sizes.
• Labor balancing highlights line imbalance from the cycle tme of one operaton to the next,
and indicates the need to balance the manning for each operaton (and the opportunity to
improve the slowest to achieve balance).
• Set-Up reducton — the key factor in being able to reduce batch sizes. This should be applied
to the botleneck frst and perhaps stop there.
• Standard working (defned by the operator not the industrial engineer) —
is a prescribed sequence of producton steps performed by one operator,
and balanced to the required rate of demand. It becomes the basis of
understanding the job and therefore identfying what can be improved.
• Visual controls —
Characteristc of JIT factories are simple visible controls, held locally where
they are used to monitor key performance indicators, and used as a spur to
improvement. This is a deliberate atempt to give eyeball control rather than
the over-sophistcaton provided by remote computer systems.
• Minimizing Inventory, Minimizing Work in Process and Synchronizing
Producton
A just-in-tme (JIT) or pull system implementaton without any technology to
add discipline to the process will fail badly. This is being used by most
Japanese Auto Manufacturers. Auto OEMs are moving towards JIT in varying
degrees, through BPR of their producton and engineering divisions

Collaborative manufacturing (CM) is an approach in which manufacturers work together with their
business partners to create value for their business.

Also known as e-manufacturing

• The shif from made-to-stock to made-to-order has resulted in new
manufacturing environments that require IT frameworks able to
support this new dynamism.
• Collaboratve manufacturing environments demonstrate considerable
potental in responding to this need. As such, the e-manufacturing
project aims to develop an appropriate framework for a common
platorm to enable distributed planning and control in
manufacturing.
• Collaboratve manufacturing (CM) is an approach in which
manufacturers work together with their business partners to create
value for their business.

Collaborative manufacturing (CM) is a business strategy that involves companies, suppliers, and
stakeholders working together to achieve goals and create value. This approach can include sharing
resources, information, and capabilities to innovate, streamline production, and improve product
quality. CM can also help companies achieve goals that they might not be able to on their own

ome examples of CM include: industrial clusters, supply chain integration, joint projects, and
consortiums.

Some basic types of CM strategies include: Product lifecycle management, Inventory and production
synchronization, Distribution order fulfillment, and Manufacturing enterprise collaboration.

CM can be enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI), which can help drive modern industrial
success. AI can help redefine how humans and machines work together, and can promote a more
connected and performant supply chain.

Product Design vs. Product Development: 7 Key Differences

Product design and product development are often seen as two sides of the same coin as they
contribute to the process of bringing a new product to market. Both roles overlap each other, but
they have their own distinct set of challenges in bringing a new product to market:

1. Product design focuses on creating the aesthetic elements of the product, such as its shape,
size, color and texture, while product development is primarily concerned with ensuring its
functionality and usability.

2. Product design involves creating sketches or prototypes from which to work from, but
product development requires detailed technical drawings and specifications for each
element of the finished item.
 3. The designing process often includes testing the product on users or through surveys;
product development, on the other hand, involves extensive prototyping and rigorous
quality assurance procedures.

4. When it comes to the end user experience, design helps convey brand messaging while
developing facilitates optimum performance capabilities.

5. In terms of cost-effectiveness, product design can help reduce unnecessary costs by

streamlining the manufacturing processes, while proper development makes products more
cost-effective due to better use of resources such as time and materials.

6. From a scalability point of view, product design helps make products easily scalable for
upgradation or customization purposes, while development helps ensure that production is
increased without compromising on quality standards.

7. Both processes require different kinds of skill sets: designers need creative thinking abilities
while developers need technical knowledge and analytical skills.

In a nutshell, product development is a much broader process than product design as it dives deeper
into the nuts and bolts of how a product functions, starting from ideation to manufacturing and
marketing.

10 Stages of Product Design

The product design process involves a wide range of tasks before the product is ready to be launched
on the market for consumers to purchase:

1. Brainstorming

2. Defining the product

3. Executing the user research

4. Sketching

5. Prototyping

6. Specifications compilation

7. Getting the factory samples ready

8. Testing the samples

9. Starting the development/production process

10. Assuring quality

7 Stages of Product Development

The product development process differs from one industry to the next, but it essentially comes
down to:

1. Idea generation

2. Market research

3. Planning
 4. Prototyping

5. Sourcing

6. Estimating costs

7. Marketing

Business process reengineering (BPR) and information technology (IT) can be natural partners that
work together to improve business processes. BPR involves analyzing and restructuring current
processes to identify gaps and streamline them. IT can help with BPR by automating and integrating
steps in the process, and by providing other capabilities:

 Strategic vision: IT can help develop a strategic vision and improve the business process
before it's designed.

 Tracking information: IT can track information and help understand a company's strengths
and weaknesses, market structure, and opportunities.

 Breaking down barriers: IT can help break down geographic and organizational barriers.

 Shared databases: IT can enable shared databases that allow employees to access, enter, and
retrieve information when needed.

 Image processing: IT can enable image processing technology that allows multiple people to
work simultaneously on digital images of documents or drawings.

 Electronic data exchange: IT can enable electronic data exchange and electronic
transactions.

 Role of IT in BPR
  Information technology helps to provide consistent on-demand support
to the organization as a whole to quickly respond to unpredictable
challenges in the market. IT has its role even before starting the
redesign as an enabler, designing phase as a facilitator, and finally
implementing BPR in the organization. Thus the prime role of IT in
process reengineering can be clubbed to main three phases.
 Initiation
 Role of IT starts prior to the process design. As BPR is all about bring in
a radical change to the overall business entity, it is important to have a
thorough understanding of customer expectations, market trend,
sector indices and competitive directions. Information technology is
employed to accurate information on these parameters.

Redesigning

 Information Technology exercises its role as a facilitator in this second phase of process
redesign. Technical and social design is taken care of here. The gathered data is analyzed and
options redefined, logically re-link process and technology applied after aligning the control
points. The social aspect, human resources are taken care of, that includes clearly defining
tasks, and skills required resource requirements and cautious scrutiny of finalizing
incentives.

Implementation

This is the important phase where the reengineering efforts are in highest magnitude. All
planning, operations and technology are driven towards the organizational objectives at this
stage. Newly revamped approach and process are put to test here, results are monitored and
rigorous training is initiated to employees. Breaking departmental barriers with a re-check on
business goals upholding the vision is taken forward. Information Technology has a pivotal
role to play in rolling out this stage.

Information technology (IT) can be critical to business processes because it can help improve
accuracy, save time, and reduce errors. IT can also help streamline operations and increase
productivity. For example, IT can automate repetitive tasks, like data entry, which frees up
employees to focus on more strategic tasks. IT can also help improve the accuracy of
exchanging information about company goals and strategies.

Some examples of IT business processes include: IT service request management, IT

operations, and Software development

IT infrastructure is the hardware and software that support a company's IT capabilities. Some
factors related to IT infrastructure include:
 Hardware

Physical components like computers, servers, storage devices, and network equipment that
provide computing resources to users

Software

Applications and programs that work with hardware to control it through interfaces and
instructions

Cloud services

A necessary component of IT infrastructure that can be impacted by IT personnel with cloud

expertise

Facilities

The physical locations that house IT components, like data centers, and provide the proper
environment for hardware to operate, such as climate control and power supply system

Computer network

The core of IT infrastructure that connects assets, employees, and customers, and requires
both hardware and software to function
 Scalability

The ability to upgrade and update IT resources, which can help avoid surprise costs and
ensure an organization is ready for expansion

The way the business process work

information, procedures, data flows,
manuals, personnel actions, training,
customer relations employee policies etc.

Analysis Analysis

Technology capabilities that Information Technology

could change the way the supporting the work
business process works process

Do not Influence