TO BECOME COMPETITIVE ON A GLOBAL BASIS AND TO ACHIEVE WORLD CLASS STATUS IN MANUFACTURING, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEVEOP A FOCUSED COMUTER-INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING VISION AND PLAN. THERE ARE MANY HELPFUL TOOLS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST IN DEVELOPING A CIM PROGRAM, BUT WHICH TOOLS YOU SELECT AND HOW YOU APPLY THEM COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE. THIS PAPER IS A STEP-BY-STEP DESCRIPTION OF HOW CRITICAL ISSUES ARE IDENTIFIED, SUBSEQUENT TECHNICAL AND NONTECHNICAL SOLUTIONS, AND HOW DECISION MATRIX DEVELOPED A PRIORITIZED PROGRAM LISTING AND SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.