Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing Centre for Technology Management David Probert

Centre for Technology Management

UNIVERSITY OFCAMBRIDGE

Institute for Manufacturing

Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing


David Probert




Topics

• Institute for Manufacturing

• Centre for Technology Management

- Aims - Activities - Research portfolio




ManufacturingLeaders’

Programme

ManufacturingEngineering

Tripos

Advanced Course in Design,

Manufacture & Management

Preparing people for 21st

Century Manufacturing

Institute for Manufacturing - Education

Aim:

Increasing the number of able people choosing manufacturing as a career through innovative education programmes




Centre for International

Manufacturing

Centre for Economic and Manufacturing

Policy


Institute for Manufacturing - Research

Aim:

Influencing a shift towards high value-added manufacturing activity through collaborative research with industry

Research and collaboration with industry

Centre for Strategy &

Manufacturing Performance

Centre for Business

Performance

Production Processes

Group

Manufacturing, Automation and Control Group




Publications, workbooks &

practice guides

Facilitation services

Collaborative projects

Institute for Manufacturing - Networking & Dissemination

Aim:

Enhancing the economic and public profile of manufacturing through targeted networking and dissemination

Working with the Institute

Workshops, seminars, lectures &

conferences




Department of Engineering

Manufacturing and Management Division

Where we fit within the University

• Centre for International Manufacturing• Centre for Technology Management• Centre for Business Performance• Centre for Strategy & Manufacturing

Performance

• Centre for Economic & Manufacturing Policy

• Production Processes Group• Manufacturing Automation & Control

Group




The Technology Challenge - Some Characteristics


Technology is both a major driver of change and a key element in renewing growth and maintaining long-term profitability.

Some elements of the challenge posed by technology are :

• increasing pace of technology development• sources of technology are diverse and international• increasing complexity of technology• increasing cost of R&D alliances?• globalisation of product competition • how to structure R&D?• dilemma of shortening product lifecycles vs lengthening skill development timescales• impact of information technology




• International academic community - Emerging ideas - Underpinning disciplines

• Practical application of tools & techniques

• Exchange of best practice

• Leading edge research

• Teaching & training

• Industrial network - Collaboration - Forums

• Industry issues & requests

• Academic issues and questions

Centre forTechnologyManagement

Practice

Research





Centre Events

• Forums

• Workshops

• Training & education

• Annual symposium

- 13-14th July 2000, Cambridge: Technology Planning

- Technology roadmapping workshop




time

Literature

Developing ideas, frameworks, tools, etc .....

IndustrialContext

AcademicContext

Working PapersConferences

Mapping Development Application

ResearchProject

DisseminationActivities

Research approach




Technology Management Research at Cambridge


Management &business processes

Industry & technology

evolution

Innovation &

change




Technology Management Research at Cambridge


Management &business processes

Industry & technology

evolution

Innovation &

change

• TM: a process approach• R&D project selection• Strategic technology management• Auditing decision making quality• Technology Selection• TM across interfaces• Integration of marketing into NPI processes

• Technology foresight • Engineering reuse• Mobile communications

• Technology change• Innovation in advanced

materials technology• Innovation management in high-tech firms• Technology evolution in high-tech firms• Growth & co-evolution in high-tech enterprises

• New product introduction for SMEs

• Product planning• World class software delivery• NPI collaboration• Integrated engineering &

industrial design• Strategic management of

software technology• Strategic management of

holonic manufacturing technology

• Technology transfer in collaborative R&D

• Strategic make or buy• TM & KM for sustainable

production• Industrial make or buy decisions• Strategic management of

organisational competences• KM in international collaborative

business networks

Key:

Present projectsPast projectsFuture projects




Industry

BestPractice

Sector knowledge

Require-ments

Co-ordination Resources

Dissemination

Tools &Techniques

Research

Education

Academia

TechnologyManagement

Network

Collaboration

EPSRC Technology Management Network




Network Structure

Network

Industry Universities

Co-ordination

Technology Management Community

Centre forTechnology Management




?Suppliers Customers

NPI

MvB

Technology Management Domain




Technology Management Generation & Exploitation processes

Sources of Technology

Markets/Customers

Technology Generation

Technology Exploitation

Strategy

Creation

Acquisition

Application

Licensing

£ Know-How




Management of TechnologyKey Questions

• What are our technological assets?

• How to manage them for business benefit?

• What new technologies are relevant to our business?

• How best to acquire and exploit new technologies?

• How to protect technological assets?




Technology Management Process Framework

Selection

External Environment

InternalEnvironment



Protection

Acquisition

Identification

Licencing/External/Cross-businessNew product or process development

Incremental developmentImprove suppliers/customers

Scanning MonitoringTechnical benchmarking

Innovative concept generationSpecific data collection

Forecasting Portfolio balancingPlanning/Project selection

Next product/processUrgent problem solving

Proactive approaches

Reactive approaches

ExploitationExternal purchase or transferCollaborative development

Internal transferInternal development




Technology Management in the BusinessRelated Processes

time

Markets / Customers

StrategicManagement

TechnologyBase

Technology AcquisitionProducts/services

Resources Leakage and Obsolescence

Operational Management Doing the businessStrategic Management Keeping the business on trackTechnology Management Managing the know-how




Characterising Technology #1Categories

Component

Design

Production

Information

are technologies which are embodied within the product

are technologies which facilitate thedesign processes

are technologies which facilitate theproduction processes

are technologies which facilitate themanagement or business processes




Characterising Technology #2The Technology Spectrum

Processes

MaterialsOrganisation

• Materials • Components• Equipment

“Soft” “Hard”

• Skills• Systems• Organisation

• Processes




Characterising Technology #3Competitive Impact

Base

Key

Pacing

• At early research stage• Emerging in other industries• Competitive impact unknown but promising

Emerging

• Potential to change the basis of competition• Not yet embodied in a product or process• Competitive impact likely to be high

• Embodied in products and processes• Offer basis for differentiation• High competitive impact

• Essential to the business• Widespread and shared• Little competitive advantage, if anyArthur D Little Inc




Characterising Technology #4Technology Maturity

Embryonic Growth Mature Ageing

Perf

orm

ance

Time / investment




Characterising Technology #5A multi-faceted resource

are technologies which are embodied within the productComponent

Design

Production

Information

are technologies which facilitate thedesign processes

are technologies which facilitate theproduction processes

are technologies which facilitate themanagement or business processes

Processes

MaterialsOrganisation

• Materials • Components• Equipment

“Soft” “Hard”

• Skills• Systems• Organisation

• Processes

Base

Key

Pacing

• At early research stage• Emerging in other industries• Competitive impact unknown but promising

Emerging

• Potential to change the basis of competition• Not yet embodied in a product or process• Competitive impact likely to be high

• Embodied in products and processes• Offer basis for differentiation• High competitive impact

• Essential to the business• Widespread and shared• Little competitive advantage, if any

Embryonic Growth Mature AgeingP

erfo

rman

ce

Time / investment




Technology Management ..

.. is concerned with ensuring that all necessary technology is available within the business in a timely manner

.. addresses the processes of understanding and applying technology within the business for profit

Technology ManagementManaging the Know-How




Technology and Technology Management

A central issue is communication:

• Between technologists & technologists• Between technologists & business managers• Between different businesses




Defining TechnologyThe Know-How of the Business

Technology ..

.. may be classified in three ways : as products, processes and people. Here, people is a shorthand way of referring to the management methods, knowledge bases and modes of thought and action which underpin given products and processes.

[Whipp, 1991]Technology ..

.. in a firm is the knowledge of the productive capabilities of the firm’s businesses”

[Betz, 1992]

Technology ..

.. is the process which allows a company to say “we know how to apply science and engineering to ... ” in a way which clarifies what the technology does for the business instead of just stating what the technology is

[Roussel et al, 1991]




Feedback

Planning

ProcessInvestigation

ImprovementPlans

Planning

ProcessOverview

Feedback

Planning

Feedback

StrategicOverview

TechnologyManagement

Need

Assessment Procedure

Transfer

Feed-back

Span of Technology Management activities

DrillDown

Process Assessment

Transfer

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Research - Example #1Technology Management Process Assessment Procedure (TMAP)




1) To develop integrated practical approaches which will assist managers in dealing with areas of current difficulty in the strategic management of technology

2) To develop a practical framework, grounded in system thinking, which gives an overview of technology practices and theories of the firm and supports understanding and application of the approaches

Tools & Techniques

Frameworks

Research - Example #2Strategic Technology Management

- Linking technology resources to company objective

Aims




Technology Roadmapping

timeBusiness /

Market

Product /Service

Technology

Benefits:

• Effective communication of developed technology strategy, and support for technology planning • Attractive to industry - many companies have tried, some with notable success

Challenges:• How to explore linkages between market, product and technology, now and in the future?

• How to develop strategy? How to prioritise and schedule technology investments? • How to implement? How to integrate? How to maintain?

• ‘TRM start-up process’ development and testing

• Technology planning framework development • Survey of technology planning & TRM practice and need




Workshop 1Market

Workshop 2Product

Workshop 3Technology

Workshop 4Roadmapping

• Performance dimensions• Market / business drivers• Prioritisation

• Product feature concepts• Grouping• Impact ranking• Product strategy

• Technology solutions• Grouping• Impact ranking

• Linking technology resources to future market opportunities

TRM ‘start-up’ process




time

Business /Market

Product /Service

Technology

Prod

uct f

eatu

res

Business / Market drivers

Product features

Tech

nolo

gy s

olut

ions

TechnologyRoute Map

AnalysisGrids

Roadmap Input Data Development




Technology Planning Framework- Linking Technology Resources to Company Objectives

Pushmechanisms- capabilities(knowledge

flows)

Business Level

Focus:

Process:

Product Level

Focus:

Process:

Technology Level

Focus:

Process:

Organisation, networks and business portfolio; marketing & finance

Strategy development and implementation to deliver value into the future

Product /service portfolio and platforms; manufacturing & operations

Innovation, and new product development and introduction over time

Technology-science-engineering base / platforms

: Technology management (ISAEP) to maintain the technology base

Pullmechanisms

- requirements(knowledge

flows)

Organisation / Context

Time

“Know-why”

“Know-what”

“Know-how”

“Know-when”

“Know-who”




Research - Example #3Developing a Make or Buy Strategy

The Competitiveness/Importance matrix

High Medium Low

Importance to Business

Strong

Neutral

Weak

CompetitivePosition

Buy

Make

Invest/createa partnership

?




A Framework to Support Make or Buy Decisions

Triggers

Technology &Manufacturing

ProcessesCosting Sourcing

Skills &Systems

• Investment• Return on investment• Payback period• Total acquisition cost

• Capability of suppliers• Reliability of suppliers• Supply chain management

• Capacity• Control• Flexibility• Complexity• Life cycle

• Know-how• Expertise• Policies/procedures

PerformanceMeasures*

• Cost reduction• Lack of capacity• Reduce time to market• Increase quality• New product introduction

• Quality• Flexibility

• Focus investment• Balance capabilities• Skills shortage• Increase responsiveness

• Cost savings• Capacity utilisation• Time to market

ExternalEnvironment

MAKE-OR-BUY?

• Social Elements • Political Elements

• Economical Elements

• Competition • Availability of Suppliers

• Environmental Elements

Areas

Factors




• Scope– NPI research addresses any activity associated with the management of

the product life-cycle

• Recent and current projects– New Product Introduction in SMEs – NPI Collaborations– Good Design Practice Program (with RCA)

Research - Example #4New Product Introduction




NPI Collaborations project

Aims & Objectives• Improve the understanding of the processes of introducing

new products to market when significant development work is provided by new supplier / customer combinations

• Develop and test self-help workbooks for both supplier and customer that will assist them in managing the processes of starting, operating and withdrawing from product development collaborations.




Good Design Practice Program

Aims & Objectives • Specify the elements of current good design practice, defining

success factors for the process outcome

• Create and validate a generic process for the creation of new products using business, product planning, industrial design and product design inputs

• Identify any major issues affecting the adoption of good design practice by small and medium sized companies




Elements of Good Design Practice




Portfolio management / project prioritisation tool aims tocapture subjective judgement in an objective framework:

CUSTOMERFOCUS

TECHNOLOGYBENEFIT

COST aims to capture the value

of R&D to the company

aims to capture the

value to the business

of meeting customer

requirements

Research - Example #5R&D Project / Technology Selection at BAe




• Medium term themes– software technology management– cross boundary aspects / technology transfer– valuation

• Long term themes– technology strategy, new product introduction,

sustainability/reuse, foresight, cultural & behavioural aspects

• Long term emphasis– metrics, tools, processes, decision support

Future activities




Centre for International Manufacturing

International Manufacturing

Capabilities

LocationIssues

Strategy

InternationalManufacturing

Strategy Formulation

NetworkDesign

NetworkOperation

Capability learning

Information learning

• Manufacturing mobility• Fitness for transfer• Knowledge management in international manufacturing operations• Setting up an international manufacturing joint venture

• International manufacturing location decisions• Developing international manufacturing capabilities

• International manufacturing networks

• Evaluating the impact of host country characteristics on manufacturing decisions• Business unit planning: the impact of host country characteristics

Documents

Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing Centre for Technology Management David Probert