Introduction: The Design and Implementation of Automated Manufacturing Systems

Automated manufacturing systems have the potential for providing a heretofore unmatched level of manufacturing performance along the four strategic dimensions of cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility. However, the complexity of these systems presents several problems in their design and implementation. This special issue focuses on how models can contribute to solving these problems. Four themes are covered: characteristics of decisions, system design, implementation, and performance measurement and adoption of automated manufacturing.