Abstract :
Engineering has a pivotal role to play in the generation of profit in the increasingly uncertain world of manufacturing where many of the traditional functional roles are diminishing, or are being replaced by multifunctional teams as companies reorganise their business processes to react to increasing change, whether at the level of responding to small but rapid changes in market requirements, or at a more fundamental level of the adoption, or adaptation, of new technologies as companies undertake vigorous change in their efforts to remain in competitive positions. If manufacturing in Britain is to remain competitive into the 21st century it is necessary to understand what future cultural and organisational changes, and supporting technological changes, are going to be required and how the transition from the current state to an "Agile Manufacturing" state can be achieved throughout the industrial supply chain. Systems engineering has an important, evolving, role to play in the different engineering methods that we will see emerging in manufacturing industry as it changes to meet the global competition
