Implications of computer-integrated manufacturing in small and medium enterprises: An empirical investigation

In this paper, an attempt has been made to discuss the implications of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the help of empirical research. The role of SMEs in a national economy has been emphasized all over the world, considering their contribution to the total manufacturing output and employment opportunities. SMEs are flexible and innovative, taking into account the size and business structure. Hence, there is potential to improve the overall performance of SMEs and their competitiveness. The physically distributed manufacturing environment of large-scale manufacturing industries emphasizes the importance of SMEs. CIM has been successful in large-scale industries for improving productivity and quality, and hence competitiveness of manufacturing. However, CIM has received little attention from SMEs although it has an important role to play in improving the competitiveness of SMEs in a global market. Realizing the potential of CIM in SMEs, an attempt has been made in this paper to study the potential of CIM with the help of a suitable model and an empirical analysis.