| New product manufacturability is both a problem and an opportunity for manufacturing firms in an environment where, increasingly, competition is based on rapid production ramps and high manufacturing yields at competitive costs. In this environment, design and engineering techniques are no substitute for a deeper understanding of the management task involved in developing a manufacturable product.;Many functional groups, including manufacturing engineering (ME), interact during the new product development process. This study focused on the ME group, for whom a major objective is the development of manufacturable new products. A framework was constructed around the theme that manufacturability-related performance of new products was associated with the way in which ME staff were deployed during the new product development process. The context within which this development activity took place was defined by the manufacturing strategy of the firm. Twelve new product development projects were investigated in four divisions of one company.;The use and source of components and subassemblies, time pressures, and the approach to coordination of design and ME defined different development contexts. In certain contexts, manufacturability, the incidence of engineering change, and the length of the development interval reflected the deployment of ME resources during the development process. When to become involved in a project, when to withdraw, when and how much emphasis to place on manufacturability, and what staff to assign constituted a deployment strategy for the development of manufacturable new products.;This study contributes to research on new product success and failure, design-manufacturing integration in the new product development process, and manufacturing engineering management. The findings carry many implications for senior manufacturing managers and manufacturing engineering managers. Key among these is the development, maintenance and use of the intellectual assets in manufacturing engineering. |
