Articles, reports, books and video
The 10 factors of digital transformation success
IfM Engage Industrial Associate Kam Gossal explains how manufacturers can best align their digital transformation programmes and the key factors behind success.
In COVID-19 vaccines and economic recovery, supply chains loom larger than ever
Jag Srai explores the biggest global supply chain challenges as we look toward vaccinating the world — and riding out the peaks and troughs of supply and demand as economies reopen.
Mission critical supply chains: When recall isn’t the best option
When crisis hits and critical products are in short supply, the risk of recalls rises as corners are cut in production. But when these products are needed to save lives, recall isn’t the best option.
Learn from the survival of the fittest firms
Manufacturing firms have had a rocky 2020, yet some have not only survived but thrived, re-organising and experimenting with their operations during the pandemic. Jag Srai explains how businesses can learn from the 'survival of the fittest firms'.
Top tips to get your firm fighting fit post-COVID
Leading experts advise how businesses can best prepare for the months and years ahead, and any future disruption that may come.
COVID-19: Manufacturing at a turning point
At this IfM Briefing, leading experts from the Institute for Manufacturing draw lessons from the response of firms and governments to the COVID-19 pandemic, and look at how the manufacturing industry is likely to change and adapt in the months and years ahead.
Sinking, swimming or surfing: Perspectives on operating and business models
In a new report published with the World Economic Forum, Jag Srai along with co-authors Geoff Parker and Nitin Joglekar explore how the shock brought by the COVID-19 pandemic creates a tipping point for a long overdue conversation about new business models in advanced manufacturing.
What does lockdown mean for the future of our food supply?
Supply chain collaboration at local and international levels will be crucial in the months ahead, but ultimately COVID-19 will result in a rethinking of our reliance on global supply chains, in favour of more resilient and more local production.
Understanding risk in pharmaceutical supply chains
This executive briefing, an output from the ReMediES (Reconfiguring Medicines End-to-end Supply) project, covers key elements of supply chain risk specifically linked to the management of pharmaceuticals.
Driving competitive advantage through transformative technologies
Dr Jag Srai and Dr Paul Christodoulou provide insights into the Digital Supply Chains Consortium's work, including developing decision criteria for incremental or radical transformations.
An IoT-based Smart Supply Chain Automation System
As part of the Pitch-In project, we are creating a platform that allows systems to 'talk' autonomously through the use of IoT and agent technology.
How digital platforms are changing the way we do business
Professor Geoff Parker, a keynote speaker at the CIM Symposium 2019 and a leading thinker on digital platforms, shares his perspectives on how new digital models are fundamentally changing the economy and the operating environment, and how firms need to adapt to survive and prosper.
How sustainable are our online food shopping baskets?
E-commerce has completely changed the way we shop. But how sustainable is it? We interviewed Dr Jag Srai to find out more about the impact of online food shopping.
Thought for food: challenges in the food supply chain
Dr Mukesh Kumar leads research in supply chain resilience at the IfM. He describes how his work is helping to tackle one of this century’s most important challenges: food safety.
Collaboration as the best medicine
Dr Jag Srai explains how ReMediES, a 23-million funded, 4-year project has forged a new model for cross-sector collaboration in UK medicines manufacturing. As the project concludes, he describes some of the innovations it has delivered.
The new globalisation and rethinking our supply chains
With the advent of new technologies, a changing geopolitical context and ever more pressing concerns about sustainability, are we seeing the emergence of a new form of globalisation? Dr Jagjit Singh Srai examines the current state of globalisation in this article for The Manufacturer.
Next generation supply chains: making the right decisions about digitalisation
This white paper is based on research carried out by the IfM’s Centre for International Manufacturing and insights emerging from our work with industrial partners. In it we share our latest findings to help global companies consider their digital supply chain strategies.
Take your medicine: the future of pharmaceutical supply chains
Revolutionising pharmaceutical supply chains - from how a pill is made to the moment it is swallowed by the patient.
Thought for food: improving food safety through resilient supply chains
Dr Mukesh Kumar leads research in supply chain resilience at the IfM. He describes how his work is helping to tackle one of this century's most important challenges: food safety.
How bright is your digital future: digitalising the extended supply chain
Dr Jag Srai, Head of the IfM's Centre for International Manufacturing (CIM), and his team have developed a new way to help companies embrace the challenges and opportunities of digitalising the extended supply chain.
Making the Right Things in the Right Places video
Paul Christodoulou, Principal Industrial Fellow at IfM Education and Consultancy Services in this video discusses the IfM process for Production Footprint Strategy.
Connecting the unconnected: New thinking on next generation supply chains
As the annual Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium marks its twentieth year Dr Tomas Harrington, Dr Jag Srai and Paul Christodoulou from the IfM's Centre for International Manufacturing (CIM) reflect on the new supply chain thinking that is emerging from companies such as Cisco, Coca-Cola, Jaguar Land Rover, Johnson Matthey, Cambridge University Press and Schneider Electric.
Keeping the supply chain flowing
In this age of rapid and escalating change, what can businesses do to flourish? Take a look at their supply chains, say researchers in the Centre for International Manufacturing, part of the IfM, based on their research in the UK and India.
Redefining 21st Century Supply Chains
The globalization of manufacturing has radically transformed how supply chains are built. As a result, tomorrow's supply networks will need to be more strategic, resilient, sustainable, and customer-focused.
International Manufacturing Briefings - 2007-2009
IfM briefings and case studies provide a two-page summary of management, technology and policy issues.
Supplying innovation: unlocking innovation in the supply chain
The Cambridge Service Alliance have launched a new white paper 'Supplying Innovation - Unlocking Innovative Behaviours in the Supply Chain', by Jingchen Hou, Jonathan Baker-Brian, Claire Vine.
The lost art of risk management
Dr Mukesh Kumar from the Centre for International Manufacturing suggests that multinational manufacturers are taking unnecessary risks with their industrial investments and he offers a solution.
Twenty-first century supply chains: Transforming the pharmaceutical industry
The Centre for International Manufacturing (CIM) is leading the research programme in REMEDIES, a £23m sector-wide initiative to understand how pharmaceutical supply chains in the UK are set to change.
Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium Proceedings
Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium Proceedings.
Making the Right Things in the Right Places
Describes a structured approach to understanding and exploiting a company's international 'manufacturing footprint' - the location of its plants around the globe, what their roles should be and how they interact with each other.
Capturing value from global networks
Strategic approaches to configuring international production, supply and service operations.
UK-India Manufacturing Policy Roundtable summary report
The UK-India Manufacturing Policy Roundtable, organised by the IfM and UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN), was held in April in New Delhi, India.
The future of supply chain data management
Looking at the latest developments in supply chain research with Aerospace giant Boeing, including developing components with in-built intelligence which use the latest technologies to assess and manage their own service needs.
Global production network planning at Caterpillar Inc: a case study
Rod Skewes, Caterpillar's Manager of Global Production Network Planning, describes their approach, developed in collaboration with Cambridge University.
Understanding China's manufacturing value chain
This report from the IfM's Centre for International Manufacturing examines opportunities for UK enterprises in China and includes elected case studies in white goods, TFT-Liquid crystal display and pharmaceutical sectors.
ISBN 978-1-902546-69-8
Fitness for transfer: Assessing manufacturing technologies for relocation
Deals with one of the most problematic stages in international manufacturing transfer - evaluating the ease or difficulty with which a particular technology may be moved to a new location. (1999, Spiralbound, 68 pages)
ISBN 1-902546-01-6
Manufacturing mobility: A strategic guide to transferring manufacturing capability
A step-by-step guide to planning the international transfer of production technology, allowing potential problems to be identified early in the planning stages.?(1999, Spiralbound, 50 pages)
ISBN 978-1-902546-02-5
Manufacturing location decisions: Choosing the right location for international manufacturing facilities
Provides a systematic process to follow when choosing the location of international manufacturing sites, taking into account both strategic and operational issues. (2000, Spiralbound, 58 pages)
ISBN 978-1-902546-05-6
