There is a general challenge offered to the field of engineering economics by the introduction of advanced manufacturing systems. Typically, the traditional approaches do not account for the significant intangible benefits offered by the CMS. In this paper, an attempt has been made to overcome the above-mentioned deficiencies by presenting two multi-attribute decision models – analytical hierarchy process and performance value analysis – for the justification of cellular manufacturing systems. The usefulness of the proposed models is demonstrated through a case situation. © 2004 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.