THIS PRESENTATION DESCRIBES HOW A MAJOR EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER SUCCESSFULLY EMPLOYED A MANUFACTURING STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AS A CRITICAL INPUT INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUCCESSFUL CIM PLAN. IT IS DESIGNED TO REACH A BROAD RANGE OF PRODUCTS, ORGANIZATIONS AND DECISION MAKERS AT SENIOR LEVELS OF A COMPANY. IT CONTAINS A NUMBER OF MESSAGES ABOUT MANUFACTURING, TECHNOLOGY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ESTABLISHING A VISION FOR HOW A COMPANY CAN INTELLIGENTLY ALLOCATE RESOURCES AND APPLY TECHNOLOGY TO GAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE MARKETPLACE. THE BASIC MESSAGE IS (VISION) + (SIMPLIFY, AUTOMATE, INTEGRATE) = SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.