Design, process and commercial benefits gained from AMT

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationships between advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) categories (stand-alone, intermediated and integrated systems) implementation and design, process and commercial benefits obtained. Design/methodology/approach A survey is designed with benefits gained from AMT implementation as well as its categories, which is applied to the maquiladora industry. A structural equation model with data from 383 responses is used to measure the relationship between AMT categories and benefits gained using nine hypotheses that are tested statistically significant using partial least squares. Also, using conditional probabilities, a sensitivity analysis reports how low and high levels from AMT implementation influence on the obtained benefits. Findings Integrated systems are the most important AMT for maquiladoras and have the strongest impact on design, processes and commercial benefits. Research limitations/implications Data obtained support the model, but results may be different in another industrial sector and countries with different labor culture and technological level. Practical implications Managers in maquiladora industry must focus their attention on integrated manufacturing systems, because high implementation levels guarantee the biggest probability to gain benefits in design, production process and commercial. Originality/value The relationship between AMT and their benefits has not been measured in depth, and this paper contributes to understand that problem. In addition, this paper is the first to report a sensitivity analysis that enables managers to acknowledge the probability of obtaining certain benefits.

Linking supplier JIT to flexibility performance: the moderating impact of advanced manufacturing technology and human resource empowerment

“…That is, they both facilitate a bottom-up approach to work out solutions autonomously and spontaneously. On the one hand, AMT increases production agility and inventory visibility in the production processes and helps manufacturing firms quickly meet ever-changing demand in the supply chain (Díaz-Reza et al , 2019). On the other hand, EMP enables employees to access relevant information, gain autonomy across boundaries and take responsibility for their tasks (Marin-Garcia and Bonavia, 2015).…”

Remote integration of advanced manufacturing technologies into production systems: integration processes, key challenges and mitigation actions

“…Developing and integrating AMT into production systems can create new possibilities that might also cause changes throughout the production chain (Pisano, 1997), affecting both product and production system design and contributing to long-term production system development as well as significant productivity improvements in daily production (Bellgran and Säfsten, 2010; Díaz-Reza et al ., 2020). Developing new AMTs also offers an immense potential to improve product quality while reducing manufacturing time, thereby leading to decreased product prices and increased profits (Díaz-Reza et al ., 2020). However, AMT adoption also causes several challenges.…”

“…Yet many companies still find it challenging to integrate new advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) and devices into production systems (Abd Rahman and Bennett, 2009) due to problems such as the systems' high interdependencies and systematic nature. Specifically, a change in one part of the production system affects other subsystems and processes (Bruch and Bellgran, 2014; Díaz-Reza et al ., 2020). AMT integration is also affected by the degree of newness (Tatikonda and Rosenthal, 2000; Chirumalla, 2018) where the manufacturing company has poor knowledge and could affect technology-related planning, organization and management (Sambasivarao and Deshmukh, 1995; Stornelli et al ., 2021).…”

“…Considering the current pandemic crisis, remote access and integration using AMTs will offer unique opportunities and capabilities for manufacturing industries, especially cyber-physical production systems (e.g. Liu et al ., 2020; Jantunen et al ., 2018; Díaz-Reza et al ., 2020). Several researchers have examined “remoteness” from different perspectives, discussing the benefits, design choices and implementation, such as virtual and remote labs (VRLs) (de la Torre et al ., 2013), virtual production systems (Dobrescu et al ., 2019) and virtual factory (Jain et al ., 2017).…”

Embracing advanced manufacturing technologies for performance improvement: an empirical study

“…AMTs are an amalgamation of manufacturing and information technologies that increase responsiveness and improve production processes' performance (Zhang et al , 2006). Manufacturing processes are impacted by AMTs (Díaz-Reza et al , 2019). AMTs are recognized as an element in building a competitive manufacturing system that can deliver product variety on customer demand.…”