Design for manufacturability and time-to-market: Part 2: some empirical findings

Examines the impact of the intensity level of design for manufacturability (DFM) on the time-to-market. Hypothesizes that companies which use the DFM technology strategically are more likely than their counterparts to exhibit a shorter time-to-market, introduce new products and processes more often, and are more responsive to their customers needs. An index for measuring the intensity level of DFM is developed. The analysis was based on data collected from 165 manufacturing firms in three industry groups in US - industrial machinery equipment, electronic and electric machinery equipment, and transportation equipment. Suggests that differences in time-to-market among firms with different intensity level of DFM do exist. Shows the existence of moderate association between DFM and time-to-market, and between DFM and introducing new products and new processes.