Creating resilient and sustainable manufacturing businesses – a conceptual fitness model

Abstract

Over recent years, UK manufacturing industry has experienced turbulence in its business performance. Lower cost products, and responsive and flexible processes, are now essential in order for a company to capture new markets and to become economically resilient. Business resiliency is a term used frequently to describe a company’s ability to adapt and cope with disturbance. This has led to the generation of many frameworks and models aimed at guiding companies towards improved business performance. However, these frameworks are primarily strategic in nature and do not necessarily focus on creating resilience at an operational level in manufacturing companies. The authors employ a mixed research approach initially undertaking a literature review and then a screening survey in to 25 manufacturing companies in order to identify the key business resiliency techniques employed. Following this, a focus group goes on to detail a new manufacturing resiliency model called the fit operational model. The model’s effectiveness is then assessed and adjusted as a result of being implemented in a subject company.

Keywords:

• resilience
• fit manufacture
• operational model

Notes

1. Profile 2 companies are identified as companies who operate within highly competitive markets but who have significant growth aspirations. However, profile 2 companies generally lack the knowledge, capability and capacity to grow significantly by themselves. Their technological capacity is high but often they lack the ability to fully utilise the technology or enhance or improve the technology once in service.