John Maher, Synchrono Manufacturing Software

Using TOC, Lean and Six Sigma to Become More Demand-Driven

What Tools to Use to Get the Most of Your Demand-Driven Changes Last time, we looked at specific companies that I have worked with and how they became more demand-driven using the Theory of Constraints (TOC) as a first step. As you saw from these real-life examples, TOC works well as a pointer to see where you need to change – and what should be the first items on the

Three Bottlenecks the Modern Marketer Must Overcome

How a manufacturing theory helps Jeff Bezos—and you—focus on what really matters The Week recently ran a story about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos making all of his senior managers read, The Goal, by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox. So why would Jeff Bezos – widely considered one of the most visionary CEOs today —want his team to buy into a business book’s philosophy that’s mostly concerned with manufacturing

Which System is More Complex? The Answer is Simpler than You Think

Using the Theory of Constraints to Become More Demand-Driven- Part 1 In my last blog post on How TOC delivers powerful results, I talked about how every manufacturer that I worked for early in my career believed that their environment was completely unique. However, just like doctors are trained not to look for zebras when diagnosing horses, the Theory of Constraints (TOC) allows you to diagnose your environment in the

Demand-Driven Matters

Welcome to the Demand-Driven Matters blog. During our conversation in this space, I hope to bring you additional insights on demand-driven manufacturing and/or help in your quest to become a demand-driven, factory of the future. I call this blog a conversation for a reason—your input will enrich what we are trying to do here, which is provide ideas about how you can become more demand-driven, each and every day. When

Never Stop Learning

Necessary demand-driven components: How TOC delivers powerful results I grew up in a home where my family held daily quizzes around the dinner table about what we learned during the day at work or school. These topics ranged from Astronomy to current events – yet what this experience instilled in me was not so much knowledge in specific disciplines, but the idea that I could learn something new each day.