Subcontracting can be an important means of overcoming capacity shortages and of workload balancing, especially in make-to-order companies characterized by high variety, high demand variation and a job shop configuration. But there is a lack of simple, yet powerful subcontracting rules suitable...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the state of small manufacturing companies in Brazil. The paper seeks to identify their competitive priorities based on their recent developments and their anticipated opportunities and challenges. Design/methodology/approach – This is an...