ABSTRACT
Products and manufacturing technologies have technology life cycle that travels from research and development into commercialization. The strategic Total Manufacturing Assurance (TMA) direction is to develop and locate product and manufacturing capabilities to cost-effectively meet customer demand and revenue expectations. The technology life cycle is rooted in economics, which indicates a strong dependency on how quickly and completely new technologies are adopted within a consumer market. From a business perspective, an overriding concern is return on investment (ROI), technology development, and commercialization tactical strategies, which focus on finding a way to enable early, rapid, and complete penetration of the market. Advancing through the technology life cycle leads to diminished commercialization risk. Strategic technology transfer is a necessary activity to establish productive and efficient logistical pathways to customers.
