Development of a generic capability model for extended enterprise design for manufacture

Design for manufacture aims to design products for minimum manufacturing cost and time, without compromising the functionality or the quality of the product. The aim is to move the identification of potential manufacturing problems further up in the design process rather than making costly and time consuming changes in the production stage. In the extended enterprise, this transfer of information is not only between functions but also between organisations. The interorganisational barrier makes the transfer of information between design and manufacturing more difficult as it is rare for two organisations to have a formal means for transferring the information required by the product owner especially early in the supply relationship. It is also rare for the information to be stored in a format that is easily accessible to all the potential end user groups. This research develops a generic definition of supplier capability for machining suppliers in the aerospace industry. Through working with the design, manufacturing and procurement functions of an aerospace manufacturer, information requirements are captured. These requirements are verified with suppliers to match the "desire to access" to the "willingness to provide". This model presents a mechanism for the structured transfer of manufacturing information to design. The implementation of the model is in a database that can be filled with information using internet technology.