Systems innovation: Managing manufacturing systems redesign

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate innovation and present a perspective on the various approaches to manufacturing innovation. It seeks to examine how the current array of change approaches have contributed to the body of knowledge on manufacturing innovation, and it hypothesises as to why, despite this wealth of knowledge, organisations still have difficulties in developing effective innovation processes. This paper proposes the need for a system-based approach to process-related innovation within manufacturing organisations. A number of key innovation levers to support the management of the innovation process are defined and a brief introduction is provided to the 'total effective integration' achieved by the Systems Innovation Manager software.