Linking technological innovations to strategic needs

Manufacturing technology developments need to be aligned with business needs. A UK government scheme to facilitate this linkage was carried out by contracted consultants in a series of companies. The initial task was to conduct a market needs review, so that the appropriate manufacturing developments to support those needs could be made. The authors 'shadowed' several of these company initiatives, and four typical cases are described to illustrate the type of work done by consultants in such situations. In each case different types of inadequacy made it difficult to link the market review to technology development needs. These types of inadequacy are discussed, and some possible explanations are suggested.