Vertically integrated product/process strategies in highly competitive environments: case study of the flexible door industry

There are a number of product/process management and support activities that are required to nurture in a manufacturing collaborative environment that have implications to strategic manufacturing systems. These include product design activities (including mechanical design, electrical design, test design, and design for supply chain management activities) and planning and scheduling activities (including forecasting, positioning of material to fulfil demand, and capacity management activities) are associated with resisting potential threats to manufacturability. The present case study documented two vertically integrated companies, a raw material manufacturer of PVC, and the actual manufacturer of finished door product composed primarily of extruded flexible PVC materials. Although each company had their own unique process strategies and methods of managing capacity, a number of lessons learned and recommendations were made to increase their strategic effectiveness.