The Competitive Advantage of Flexible Automation

Many firms do not gain competitive advantages after the introduction of flexible automation. Using eight case situations, this paper explains some of the reasons why flexible automation often does not offer the expected competitive advantages. The situations in these eight firms are confronted with four propositions, which indicate the possible impact of flexible automation on the performance of firms. Next to the reasons why flexible automation does not automatically offer competitive advantages, the paper shows which measures and future developments are needed to apply flexible automation in the best possible way. Authors: Jannes Slomp, Gerard Gaalman, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.