Today, as we transform from an industrial based economy to an information-based economy, our focus in manufacturing is on flexibility.
Flexibility is a very nebulas term.
It can encompass many perspectives. In a manufacturing environment flexibility may be applied to the products being produced, the volumes being manufactured or the utilization of the equipment. The three elements range, mobility and uniformity help us to answer three important questions about flexibility. The impact of IT has created a revolution in the way that business thinks about its processes and relationships. IT offers the capability to redefine market boundaries and structural characteristics of the organization and provide new competitive weapons.