LINKING TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS TO STRATEGIC NEEDS

Manufacturing technology developments need to be aligned with business needs. A UK government scheme to facilitate this linkage was carried out by contracted consultants in a series of companies. The initial ta sk was to conduct a market needs review, so that the appropriate manuf acturing developments to support those needs could be made. The author s 'shadowed' several of these company initiatives, and four typical ca ses are described to illustrate the type of work done by consultants i n such situations. In each case different types of inadequacy made it difficult to link the market review to technology development needs. T hese types of inadequacy are discussed, and some possible explanations are suggested. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.