Why should we care? Small Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs) account for more than 35 percent of the U.S. manufacturing workforce and represent more than 90 percent of the firms in the nine leading defense-manufacturing sectors, yet less than 20 percent of the nation's 350,000 SMEs participate in the defense manufacturing arena. According to an SOA report, within 10 years the U.S. could lose a significant number of SMEs negatively impacting the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the American standard of living, and the nation's tax base. Learn how the Doyle Center assists SMEs by reading Benefits for SMEs

Welcome to the Doyle Center for Manufacturing Technology:
The alternate solution for defense manufacturing

Defense Department Challenges

U.S. defense spending is reaching record levels, in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually, creating increasing demand for original equipment and legacy parts-demand that is not wholly satisfied by U.S. manufacturers. In some cases the Department of Defense (DoD) must rely on manufacturers in other countries or simply go without critical replacement parts.

Obstacles Faced by SMEs

At the same time, Small Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs) in the U.S. are suffering because of their inability to integrate with electronically enabled supply chains and new paradigms in manufacturing. Participation as a defense prime contractor or sub-contractor requires e-commerce technology unattainable by more than 80 percent of U.S. SMEs.

The Doyle Center Objectives

The Doyle Center for Manufacturing Technology provides centralized assistance for SMEs providing research, technology, training, and tools. Piloting an SME-friendly model for an agile and cost-effective DoD supply chain, the Doyle Center is creating a national network of SMEs that will be brought together to form multiple Virtual Manufacturing Enterprises (VMEs) to produce products in the defense manufacturing arena.

E-Business Assistance for SMEs

Through these pilot efforts, the Doyle Center will become a bridge between the DoD, its prime contractors, and the nation's SMEs providing smaller manufacturers with:

• A national e-commerce portal through which DoD access, technology, and inclusion in virtual manufacturing enterprises is available.
• Full service defense contract management including capabilities marketing.
• E-business tools needed for project management, production management, engineering, and design.

The Virtual Manufacturing Enterprise is a critical component of the Doyle Center model; learn more about it by reading Virtual Manufacturing Enterprises .

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