Aligning CIM strategies to different markets

As the assembly line led to developments in management theory beginning with Taylorism—the standardization of product and process—so computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) is encouraging new developments in management and new ways of competing. Managers and academics are developing, along with the advancing technologies of CIM, an increasingly sophisticated perspective of what it means to view manufacturing operations strategically. In this paper we examine how successful CIM strategies are shaped by competitive forces beyond the shop floor. We do this by examining various CIM approaches through the Competitive Spectrum Model, a strategy perspective that emphasizes the different types of competitive markets the firm may face. We find that, in planning for manufacturing automation, the competitive relevance of CIM strategies are increasingly shaped by the different forces at work in markets.