1 Taguchi Methods for Challenges in Manufacturing

There is tremendous competition among manufacturing industries in Japan and developed/developing countries all over the world. Take electric/electronics manufacturing industries in Japan, for example. There are eight big electronics manufacturing companies competing with one another: Hitachi, Panasonic, Sony, NEC, Toshiba, Sanyo, Sharp, and Mitsubishi. Predictions suggest that not all these eight companies will survive the next 10 years. The manufacturing industries from Taiwan, Korea, and China have become more competitive and begun to dominate many global manufacturing areas. Japanese manufacturing industries need to transfer facilities overseas, reduce head count and manufacturing costs, and cut their product prices in order to survive in this highly competitive global market. The major focus of business administrators in manufacturing industries is on financial issues, personnel management, and overseas manufacturing capability/competitiveness rather than on areas such as product development or quality improvement.

Actually, time- and cost-efficient development of new technologies and products may be the most critical issue for competitiveness in any manufacturing industry. A company can survive only through efficient development of new technologies and new products by ensuring product functionality and quality at low cost and with a fast development cycle.