Peace on Earth and Goodwill Between Sales and Production

The decorations. The music. The food. The holiday season is a time of cheer and goodwill for many people. Nevertheless, there are two groups who may find each other especially trying this time of year: sales and production. That’s because this isn’t just the holiday season; it’s also the end of the fiscal year for many organizations. While everyone else has visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, sales has

FAQ: What is the Difference Between Pull Manufacturing and Demand-Driven Manufacturing?

I often talk about pull manufacturing and Demand-Driven Manufacturing as though they are one and the same. That’s because, in my mind, they are. However, after reading through a couple of online articles this afternoon, it’s clear not everyone sees it that way. In fact, some of the various ways pull manufacturing is described on the Internet can be a bit confusing. In pull manufacturing, replenishment

Why Demand-Driven Manufacturing is Focused on Metrics for Action

Driving Continuous Improvement. In Demand-Driven Manufacturing, there is only one measurement that is important to drive performance: Throughput. There are two subordinate measurements: Inventory and Operating Expense. These three measurements cover the gambit of what needs to be measured because they are directly related to customer orders, cash captured inside the organization, and the cash it takes to turn inventory into sales. Demand-driven managers know that having too many metrics

Demand-Driven Supply Chain Transformation

End-to-end Visibility for Real-time Coordination, Communication, and Commitment By applying demand-driven methods and synchronizing processes, manufacturers are reaching new levels of communication, profitability, and customer responsiveness. Demand-Driven Manufacturing incorporates the best of Lean manufacturing, Theory of Constraints (TOC), and Lean Six Sigma principles. In demand-driven environments, production is based on actual customer demand, with everything synchronized (people, processes, materials, machines, and information) to drive flow. The process is accelerated by

Aligning Metrics to Strategy

Measuring your strategic goals against their value and the time, money and attention they need When we began our metrics discussion, we talked about how behaviors are too often dictated by metrics—and whether or not these behaviors actually “move the needle” for sustainable supply chain improvements. Mark Davidson’s blog about aligning metrics to larger goals and objectives covers this topic well. I’d like to go over what I find especially

Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement

Building Muscle for Waste Awareness It almost seemed hackneyed: Lean manufacturing and continuous process improvement. The phrase is tossed about with a certain familiarity and forgone conclusion. Yet this intentional, ongoing process of improving services, and procedures to improve flow, customer satisfaction, quality, safety, and profit means nothing without metrics. A systematic process which identifies and eliminates waste so that ongoing, measurable gains are routinely achieved can only be quantified