When a manufacturing strategy is required
- Product portfolios, volumes or technologies are changing.
- Make-or-buy decisions are being made for components or process steps.
- Sites compete for future products or investment.
- Capacity expansion must be aligned with a long-term footprint.
- Critical know-how or supply risk needs to be protected.
A decision model instead of a single cost comparison
Manufacturing strategy connects the product and corporate strategy with the design of the production network. Each option is assessed against the same objective system: strategic relevance, total landed cost, quality capability, delivery resilience, know-how, investment, scalability and risk. Assumptions and sensitivities remain visible.
Approach
- Define the decision: products, process scope, sites, horizon and constraints.
- Build the fact base: volumes, routings, capacity, cost, investment and supplier capability.
- Develop options: in-house production, external sourcing, technology and site combinations.
- Evaluate: monetary appraisal, utility assessment and scenario sensitivity.
- Translate into a roadmap: capabilities, investment, sourcing steps and decision gates.
Results and deliverables
- Manufacturing footprint and value-creation map
- Make-or-buy assessment by component or process family
- Technology and site scenarios
- Transparent option matrix with sensitivities
- Target picture and implementation roadmap
Technical basis and limitations
The decision is built as a traceable objective system: strategic relevance, cost, quality, delivery performance, know-how, investment, scalability and risk are assessed separately. A make-or-buy calculation alone is insufficient because non-monetary criteria and dependencies between technologies, sites and suppliers can change the preferred option.
Established production-management and decision models provide structure only. Current costs, market conditions and technical capabilities come from the project. Further reading: evaluating manufacturing strategy and make-or-buy.