Managing agility for profitability

Since the introduction of an industrial-based economy, all sectors of industry have strived to improve productivity. The Industrial Revolution was, as the title suggests, a true revolution, replacing the craftsmen with sophisticated tools and machinery. Companies in all market sectors have been intent on improving their performances year on year in the same way as athletes manage to establish new world records at every major sporting event. The mission for "lean and mean" continues and since the 1950s has followed the Japanese model embracing such methodologies as TQM, Kaizen, JIT, value stream mapping, six sigma - to name but a few. The "lean machine" in any factory may not necessarily satisfy the customer's desires for value for money, quality of products and services, responsiveness of the suppliers and support from the cradle to the grave. So, what is being demanded of world-class companies in the 21/sup st/ century is the ability to be agile, responding rapidly to changing customer needs and market forces. This paper focuses on a contract manufacturing company, as an example of an organisation, which is making the transition from lean to agile.