Performance measurements in the implementation of CIM in small and medium enterprises: an empirical analysis

If a company has a strategic goal of achieving better productivity and qual ity, it is not only necessary to have action programmes that support produc tivity and quality, but also score-keeping system in manufacturing must int egrate both the strategy and the actions. Performance measurements must app raise, reinforce and reward improvements in terms of action programmes bein g used to pursue productivity and quality. Performance improvement in small - and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be achieved through the implement ation of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). Many SMEs do not consider the implications of long-term benefits of CIM, but only consider short-ter m financial benefits when they decide about the implementation of CIM. They simply ignore the strategic benefits and intangibles. However, performance measurements considering financial, non-financial, tangible and intangible costs, and benefits have not received significant attention from SMEs whil e deciding on CIM. Nevertheless, CIM plays an increasingly important role i n all aspects of competitiveness both in terms of product development and p roduction techniques in SMEs. Therefore, considering the importance of inve stment in CIM by SMEs, an attempt has been made in this paper to study the implications of performance measurements on the implementation decisions. A framework has been developed to study the investment justification on CIM in SMEs with the help of an empirical study conducted in British SMEs. Fina lly, the conclusions are presented.