Current situation analysis: Manufacturing challenges in woodworking sector

Paper in proceeding, 2015

The woodworking sector is highly competitive and mostly competes by manufacturing cost and product quality. The raw material itself stands for more than 50% of total manufacturing cost. In order to decrease manufacturing costs, there is a need to increase quality and efficiency. Even though competitive manufacturing is a widely researched area, sparser research is focused on the woodworking sector. The purpose of this paper is to identify challenges affecting manufacturing competitiveness regarding the following components: management, people, production process, material and material handling, and information. The results are based on a literature review, supplemented by a case study conducted at a Swedish interior wood products manufacturing firm. Results indicate that lack of competence is a challenge inhibiting manufacturing competitiveness. Other challenges identified are related to, among others, adaptability. The woodworking sector have a low level of adaptation to new manufacturing methods and technologies, leaving it lagging behind other industries.