Multiplant manufacturing strategies among the fortune 500

This paper identifies and examines four distinct multiplant strategies prevailing within the nation's largest manufacturing companies. These multiplant strategies govern the charters under which plants operate, thus helping to insure focused factory operations. Using detailed data drawn from over 300 plants, the paper reports on the apparent attractiveness of different strategies to different industry groups and singles out those specific plant characteristics which Fortune 500 plants attribute most often to each strategy. This information can aid in the assignment of plant charters, within company operating divisions.