ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how manufacturing excellence philosophies can be adopted in the ceramic manufacturing context with appropriate strategy. The ceramics industry is undoubtedly one of the most ancient industries. Clay was the first raw material used to manufacture ceramicware that is predominantly known as earthenware. To achieve the operational excellence in any manufacturing environment, the primary requirement is to design the appropriate manufacturing strategy aligned with the corporate strategy. As a part of the manufacturing strategy, the vertical integrations among the different sections and units are very important. Delivering products with consistently good quality is one of the major elements of the manufacturing strategy. As a part of the enterprise manufacturing strategy and the process design, several components are outsourced to authorized vendors to reduce process complexities and minimize the overall production cost. Discrete manufacturing is a process where the semi-finished products are identifiable in every stockable stage of the production.
