Innovative Infrastructure for Agile Manufacturers

To remain competitive, manufacturers increasingly need a support system of transportation, telecommunications, services, and knowledge centers. In the United States, some cities and government agencies are building individual components of a supporting infrastructure. But a strategic approach in which public and private sectors cooperate to create a business environment that enhances manufacturing agility is needed.

An example of such a system is the Global TransPark in North Carolina, which has fully integrated air, rail, highway, and sea transportation systems, as well as telecommunication and state-of-the-art electronic data interchange technologies to support manufacturers' logistical requirements. It contains the four elements that the authors say are necessary to agile manufacturers:

1. A seamless transportation network, with traffic management, vehicle control and safety systems, electronic toll payment, and emergency management systems. The network integrates air, sea, and land transportation through materials handling systems that accommodate various industries.

2. Telecommunications networks that provide information on markets and orders, track and manage material flows, and pool R&;D information.

3. Access to financial institutions, marketing and sales agents and consultants, legal services, exposition centers, and foreign trade zones. Agile manufacturers need commercial and service support, along with community amenities like good schools and cultural facilities.

4. A source of scientists, engineers, and managers. Such knowledge centers provide access to R&;D labs, colleges and universities, and a trained workforce.

What is needed, according to Kasarda and Rondinelli, is a cooperative approach to create an environment that fills all these requirements. Such an approach needs government and industry to work together to integrate infrastructure components.