A Conceptual Framework for Effective Implementation of Integrated Manufacturing Practices

Literature on manufacturing performance improvement has focused on various combinations of joint implementation of JIT, TQM, TPM, SCM and ERP in order to achieve multiple capabilities. Most of the literature is either conceptual or empirical and motivated to show how joint implementation is capable of delivering higher level of performance as compared to individual implementation. But, process-based literature dealing with implementation issues is scarce and investigating the order of implementing best practices remains an important research question. This paper provides generic stepwise implementation framework to attain highest level of manufacturing capability demonstrated by full scale JIT implementation. The synergies among integrated manufacturing practices of JIT, TQM, TPM, SCM and ERP have been used while developing ‘weeble’ shaped implementation framework. The modified ‘TPS House’ is also presented which incorporates the activities necessary to create the foundation for JIT implementation. The case study of automobile component manufacturer illustrates the journey of practice implementation to achieve manufacturing competitiveness.