Business strategy driven IT systems for engineer-to-order and make-to-order manufacturing enterprises

This thesis reports research into the specification and implementation of an InformationTechnology (IT) Route Map. The purpose of the Route Map is to enable rapid designand deployment of IT solutions capable of semi-automating business processes in amanufacturing enterprise. The Map helps structure transition processes involved in“identification of key business strategies and design of business processes” and “choiceof enterprise systems and supporting implementation techniques”. Common limitationsof current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are observed and incorporatedas Route Map implications and constraints.Scope of investigation is targeted at Small to Medium Sized Enterprises(SMEs) that employ Engineer-To-Order (ETO) and Make-To-Order (MTO) businessprocesses. However, a feature of the Route Map is that it takes into accountcontemporary business concerns related to “globalisation”, “mergers and acquisitions”and “typical resource constraint problems of SMEs”.In the course of the research a “Business Strategy Driven IT System Concept”was conceived and examined. The main purpose of this concept is to promote thedevelopment of agile and innovative business activity in SMEs. The Road Mapencourages strategy driven solutions to be (a) specified based on the use of emergingenterprise engineering theories and (b) implemented and changed using componentbasedsystems design and composition techniques.Part-evaluation of the applicability and capabilities of the Road Map has beencarried out by conducting industrial survey and case study work. This assessesrequirements of real industrial problems and solutions. The evaluation work has alsobeen enabled by conducting a pilot implementation of the thesis concepts at thepremises of a partner SME.