Abstract. Flexible manufacturing (FM) has progressed to the stage where the concepts and the available technology are well established and proven. Investment in FM can be very profitable, but must be aimed at achieving clearly defined objectives. This article describes the scope of FM and shows that the required technical specification is determined by the nature of the potential benefits.The ability to quantify all the potential benefits of FM in financial terms means that investment should not be made without a financial evaluation, but should be treated as any other investment decision. Advice is given to show companies how to identify the companywide benefits of FM and to relate these to the required technology before selecting potential suppliers.

Although there is a vast body of literature that attempts to define production flexibility, managers are still unable to measure the flexibility they require. However, managers currently are investing in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) and planning their manufacturing strategies despite this. Discusses the flexibility and economic viability of FMSs, and concludes that managers do not need to measure the flexibility of an FMS in order to select the correct technical specification. Describes the factors that enable a company to achieve its strategic objectives and suggests that, although increasing flexibility is often quoted as a strategic objective, managers do not need to define or measure flexibility in manufacturing strategy planning. Flexibility just happens to be a convenient word that helps describe the fact that manufacturing facilities must be able to deal with change and uncertainty.

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