Experts Tell Us the Best Books on Manufacturing Strategy

While some critics argue that as it’s nearly thirty years old, the book is not outdated and has been rendered almost obsolete by the digital revolution, I would argue that anyone who assumes that position hasn’t actually read this book. Miltenberg’s book was, is, and shall always be the manufacturing strategy bible and the ideas and theories that he espouses and discusses are just as relevant to today’s marketplace as they were three decades ago. You know what they say, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it…

People and organizations attempting to promote and apply Total Quality Management will benefit from this book series (TQM). Aside from various tools and methods utilized by Quality practitioners, one can expect to learn about the key ideas of Policy Management, Daily Work Management, and Continuous Improvement. The manufacturing and process industries are rife with waste variations and can considerably benefit from TQM management. From his experience of executing TQM in several firms, the author has attempted to give simplified illustrations of the key TQM ideas.

Just-in-time production, total quality control, reorganization of factories into product-focused or customer-focused cells, plants-in-a-plant, material flows by the simplicity of visual kanban, supplier partnerships, quick setup of equipment, cross-training and job rotation of the work force, and many other topics are covered in this book. The 101 mini-case studies, dubbed caselets, feature 26 non-US companies from 12 countries, span a wide range of industries, and include well-known companies like Apple, Campbell Soup, Honeywell, and Boeing. The author has traveled the world spreading the message of process improvement and customer-focused excellence since the 1980s. Most of these trips, which were usually in conjunction with delivering a seminar, included quick factory inspections during which he took thorough notes and then put them into brief papers containing his unvarnished opinion or take on what they do well and what they need to improve.

We would recommend the book *The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer by Jeffrey K. Liker*. Toyota is the most revolutionary manufacturer of the modern era and this book perfectly encapsulates the Toyota methodology in a structured and reproducible format.

The author has done excellent job in this book. This book presents a clear, concise methodology for evaluating the manufacturing system. He has highlighted the pros and cons to different production systems and the situations in which a company should choose one or the other. He also let’s you know the various roles that a company could occupy in a larger manufacturing network. He also states the multiple sources of competitive advantage that manufacturing may provide to a company. Overall and excellent read that lets you know various ins and outs of manufacturing strategy sure to help you in the long run. Highly recommended.

This book tackles on how to succeed in modern manufacturing enterprises. It demonstrates the different processes of lean manufacturing. With this, the processes include eliminating waste, and improving quality, inventory, and overall performance of the company. It also addresses the engineering and production aspects of lean, as well as the business challenges that may ar ise. It justifies how lean manufacturing can help achieve maximum gains for the business. The author gives in-depth guidelines for implementation of the Lean method in production of goods. It provides a deep, wise, unique inside supported by years of experience and valuable examples that will help you to better understand principles of Lean Manufacturing.

Many industrial companies base strategic developments on corporate marketing decisions, with manufacturing forced to react to these at the tail end of the process. Terry Hill’s Manufacturing Strategy aims to demonstrate how manufacturing decisions should be integrated into the overall strategic direction of the company. Based on the first edition, the book has been updated with new material and case studies, including manufacturing service elements that reflect the author’s on-going consultancy and research in this field. This book contains approximately 30 real-world manufacturing business cases and presents the author’s extensive knowledge and insights. It also discusses supply chains, logistics, product design and quality, and manufacturing accounting.

We have found that with a 50% reduction in lead time, our teams were able to boost productivity by 50% and lower cost per unit by 20%, hence the 50-50-20TM in the title. Hundreds of books have been written about Lean tools and approaches. Muda is another addition to the list from the standpoint of Lean. As a result, rather than explaining how to utilize Lean techniques, this book showcases their successful deployment across products, processes, and partners as experienced by Accuride Corporation.

Those who do not learn history are bound to repeat it. This history book delves into the past to demonstrate how various breakthroughs in procedures, materials, and power sources gave rise to the present world. It examines inventors who succeeded and failed in their efforts to better their own – and the world – industrial capabilities.

Kanban may be the solution you’ve been seeking for! Many firms often struggle to maintain track of their orders and the processes they use to guarantee they are processed efficiently. This can result in disorganization, waste, and, finally, a loss of earnings, which can adversely harm your company’s reputation.

This book is beneficial for manufacturing and productivity professionals. Learn what lean thinking is, the methods, and how to initiate a lean program. Companies often fail at implementing lean due to poor rollout. The success of learning depends on people and processes. Bryan McWhorter is a productivity expert and safety professional with 8 years of experience. Lean helps to improve the work enviourment. This book is perfect for all the businesses and organizations initiating lean manufacturing programs.

This book is the ideal read for every leader, manager, business owner, or anyone interested in building an enduring business over merely maximizing current revenues. This book provides a business operating system framework necessary for manufacturing business into an effective, profitable business. This book is a comprehensive manufacturing guide to developing a realistic, progressive, and responsive thinking process that enables success and develops the master skills for high-level strategic leadership in obscurity.

The Innovator’s Dilemma shows how low-end products grew over time and displaced high-end products. This book focuses on technology and is particularly useful to all manufacturers who desire to stay above the constantly evolving technological landscape. If you are a successful manufacturing company already, this book shows you how to protect yourself from startups, and if you are a startup, it shows you how to change the status quo and become the leader in no time.

This book focuses primarily on the design area of manufacturing companies. It covers everything from machine interfaces designing production lines, and equipment maintenance. It illustrates how to improve these key parts of your manufacturing strategy through some key principles.

This book covers sintering, laser cutting, and injection blow molding, which are essential for manufacturing techniques. It is a great reference guide for manufacturers to refer to when deciding on the best strategies to produce their equipment.