A system to support the enhancement of strategic flexibility in manufacturing enterprises

Manufacturing companies are finding it necessary to change their corporate strategy with increasing frequency, as a result of more rapid changes either in the demands made by customers or in the company's view of business. However, it is only possible to respond to these pressures for change if the information systems of the organisation are capable of helping the companies meet these new requirements. The aim of the work described here is to develop a decision support system (DSS) that will help companies to enhance their strategic flexibility, that is to increase the ability of their systems to support a broader range of corporate strategies. The development of this system is discussed. Particular attention is paid to describing the structure of the DSS and the manner in which the extensive fieldwork carried out with UK manufacturing businesses has provided information about the appropriate factors and parameters to be included in the system. Possible further development of the DSS is briefly considered. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.