Exploring Agile Methods Application in Manufacturing

In the contemporary business environment, production and manufacturing organizations face increased customer demands, market volatility, and various constraints. These challenges require the implementation of new methods to stay competitive, especially the utilization of digital technologies. Recently, agile principles and methods have spread into the manufacturing business. Therefore, this paper explores the applications of agile methods in manufacturing organizations and how they enhance production in terms of speed, cost-effectiveness, and quality. A mixed research methodology relying on a systematic literature reviewand interviews is adopted. The analyzed papers present the increasing developments in agile manufacturing since 2019. We found that agility is addressed as a capability for manufacturing to operate a business in an uncertain environment and react flexibly to serve customer demand. The results uncover significant opportunities and challenges for agility enhancement, which could be useful for production and operations managers.