Manufacturing strategy: a pictorial representation

Abstract

This article describes an updateable picture of manufacturing strategy content, called a “strategy chart”. It is based on established manufacturing and business strategy theory and is designed for use by managers in a wider strategy development process. Three cases are used to examine and improve methods for constructing a strategy chart; to explore the biases inherent in this representation of strategy; and to assess its utility. Preliminary conclusions are that charts present manufacturing strategy content more holistically than normally achieved and can make “strategy” a more understandable and communicable concept for manufacturing managers and workforce. The approach also provides useful insight into the development of a firm’s manufacturing strategy over time, providing the potential for managers to examine their strategy process and to learn from the past.