Manufacturing gets a makeover

Supply-chain management and automation add efficiency to the process.

The automotive industry has talked for years about the concept of building cars to meet customer requirements, but it's still more conceptual than actual. In the off-highway world, however, manufacturing customized equipment is nothing new, even though most off-highway factories aren't nearly as automated as those of carmakers.

“There is a lot that other companies can learn from the off-highway industry about how to make products to order,” said Julie Fraser, Principal at Industry Directions Inc., a market research company. “They may sell through dealer networks with standard platforms, but they have always offered a lot of bells and whistles that could be added on.”