Abstract
As more corporations select outsourcing to enhance competitiveness, dispersed manufacturing emerges where today's managers oversee a network of multiple and distant suppliers for the delivery of raw material, production, and distribution of final products. Dispersed manufacturing forces managers to react quickly to market demands, and come up with flexible production schedules. A just‐in‐time delivery is crucial as customer demands tighten, and firms compete internationally within a global network. Furthermore, becoming leaner is challenging managers to use a smaller, but more multi‐skilled workforce for their operations. A recent report indicates that three big US auto manufacturers are likely to eliminate nearly 50,000 jobs by 2007, or about one‐fifth of their collective workforce. As these trends and complexities emerge, manufacturers' flexibility capability becomes critical.
