Manufacturing systems research encompasses a wide range of operations and management processes that support manufacturing activities along the value chain.

Topics include: how design can be effectively managed to create sustainable, desirable, usable and producible new products and services; developing RFID technology and through-life product information management systems (and working with the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Collaboration to drive the adoption of new sensor and data management technologies in the construction sector); understanding and reconfiguring global manufacturing, supply and service networks; developing the knowledge and tools that help accelerate the transition towards a sustainable industrial system; how practitioners can become more effective in manufacturing industry roles and companies can develop and sustain the capabilities they need to compete in the global industrial ecosystem. Service research also looks at how manufacturers can develop new service and support engineering capabilities to support business models.