Research on Manufacturing Enterprise Agility under the Age of Agility Competition

Abstract: Beginning from the last decade of 20′s century, the globalization market competition is becoming more and more fierce, because of the sustainable advancement of sci-tech and the perpetual development of economy. The progress of technology and the diversification of demand also urge the global market competition with many new features in the 21′s century, such as shortage of product life-cycle, swelling of product varieties, high delivery requirement and high service expectation. Thus, more and more enterprises will be threatened by lots of forces. For examples, market subdivision, make-to-order by random batch, shortage of product life-cycle, melting of tangible product and intangible service, global production network, cooperation & competition by inter-enterprises, distribution infrastructures of adapting mass customization, etc. Enterprise’s competition is entering the Age of Agility Competition, which the time is the main factor, and the enterprise agility will determine its survival and development.As well known, the manufacturing industry is the mainstay industry of national economy. After China’s accession to the WTO, our manufacturing industry is facing huge challenges and opportunities. It has been the common issue that how we quicken reformation, readjust the economic structure, strengthen the technology innovation, upgrade its market competition and profit earning capability in order to adapt to the huge demand of economy and social development. Under this background, there will be a very important theoretical and realistic significance to research the manufacturing enterprise agility and its appraising system. The purpose of study consists in opening out the enterprise reforming and developing orientation, guiding the manufacturing enterprise to upgrade its international competitiveness by theory and practice.The enterprise agility is to be realized through integrating some resources, such as technology, management, and personnel into a harmonious relative system. It runs through the whole process of designing, manufacturing and marketing and affects all of the enterprise deeply. So, the fundamental thinking is that we will choice the discrete, batch-to-produced manufacturing enterprise which produces electro-mach products as studying object. Based on researching and using for the advanced domesticand foreign experiences, we further use the methods of theory combining practice, qualification combining quantification, and system integration to research the internal enterprise agility including product R&D, manufacturing and marketing problems, along with the process of production. Meanwhile, we will also research the external enterprise agility, i.e. supply chain management problem. Finally, we will establish a set of enterprise agility appraising system based on the researching results. According our thinking, this paper has studied some problems as follows: first, the new product development process and its implement framework , the integrated mode of PDM and CAPP systems in R&D process. Second, the integrated PPC mode of MRPⅡ/ERP and JIT systems, the integrated mode of MRPⅡ/ERP and PDM systems in manufacturing process. Third, the integrated mode of CRM and ERP systems in marketing process. Fourth, the mode of ASC and construction & operation of VE in supply chain management. Fifth, the establishment of the enterprise agility appraising system and its demonstration research.The main contents of the paper concludes:1. The paper has analyzed the influence of the whole cost, time and quality in product development, which the R&D process gave to. It has illuminated the NPDP’s concept, types, stages, and required conditions to be success, and put forward one NPDP based on Internet/Intranet and its implement framework. Meanwhile, it also put forward one integrated mode of PDM and CAPP systems, furthermore illuminated its main features.2. The paper has discussed the main problems of restricting enterprise agility in manufacturing process, including tow problems which existing in …
Key words: Manufacturing Enterprise; Agility; New Product Development; System Integration; Enterprise Resource Planning