1.0 Introduction 
   The economic realities of the modern world that 
   affect manufacturing enterprises are: 
   
    Globalization.
   
    International outsourcing .
   
    Local outsourcing .
   
    Contract manufacturing .
   
    Trend towards the service sector in developed economies. 
   
    Quality expectations. 
   
    Operational efficiency. 
   Globalization
   More countries are becoming industrialized, such as China 
   and India, due to their high population and low labor cost . 
   International outsourcing
   More parts and products are outsourced to companies outside
    the USA .  
   Local outsourcing 
   Within the same country . Due to specialty of the 
   suppliers, cheaper rate in smaller companies, lack of 
   in-house manufacturing capability 
  Contract manufacturing 
  The customer designs product while the 
  supplier makes the product .
  Trend towards the service sector in developed 
  economies 
   Erosion of direct manufacturing .
  Quality expectations
  Perfect quality is expected 
  Operational efficiency 
  Used to offset the high labor cost 
   Some modern manufacturing technologies that help to compete 
   : 
      • Automation 
      • Material handling technologies 
      • Manufacturing system 
      • Flexible manufacturing 
      • Quality programs 
      • Computer Integrated Manufacturing 
       (CIM)
      • Lean production 
  Automation
  Reduces labor cost, decreases production cycle 
  time, and improves quality.
Material handling technology 
  Include transportation, storage, tracking . 
 Manufacturing system 
  Production line, manufacturing cells. 
 Flexible manufacturing 
   Helps to compete in the low-volume/hig-mix 
   product categories .