Lean Manufacturing Driven by Rapid Return on eKanban Technology Investment

Lean Manufacturing relies heavily on trusted relationships with suppliers and pre-negotiated terms of engagement. Through the use of supplier quality certifications and blanket (long-term) purchase orders, a manufacturer can accurately and effectively calculate the optimal level of inventory needed to fulfill demand requirements through the duration of replenishment lead time. Ensuring supplier performance When a relationship is setup with a supplier, a service level agreement is defined. Items such as

Demand Driven Manufacturing in the Engineer-to-Order Space

Aligning Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement Practices Demand-driven manufacturing (DDM) is an approach to manufacturing where production is based on actual demand rather than forecasts. DDM enables a synchronized, closed loop between customer orders, production scheduling and manufacturing execution – all while simultaneously coordinating the flow of materials and resources across the supply chain. The terms Pull-based manufacturing and Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing are also used within the context of DDM

Modern Metrics

How Technology Has Changed What We Measure The two areas of my working world are embracing technology like never before: Marketing and manufacturing. While digital content and automated technologies gave birth to the modern marketer, a more real-time, digitally connected enterprise is driving modern manufacturing strategies like the Factory of the Future, Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 – all of which are grounded in Demand-Driven Manufacturing methods. This got me

Made for Manufacturers

By Sarah Balogh Made for Manufacturers A common statement I hear from customers is that they are working with technology and software that doesn’t provide the functionality they need as manufacturers. They are told that certain enterprise software packages “can do everything” they need to plan, schedule, and run their factories. But months after implementation they feel a sense of disenchantment. Why is this? Software Made for Manufacturing What these

Demand-Driven Technologies Evolved

By John Maher When I first began instituting demand-driven practices in the late 90s, we were into creating pull, eliminating waste, and getting on a path of continuous improvement. Technology at the time was seen as an inhibitor rather than an enabler. Most people active in Constraints Management and Lean Manufacturing were abandoning their technology and going to purely manual solutions. I always believed that technology was important to get

If it’s Not Real Time Data, It’s Old Data

We have so much real-time data around us in our daily routines. A barista starts to prepare my order the moment that I purchase my daily coffee. I instantly know how close I am to the speed limit thanks to my car’s speedometer. And I see an accurate count down of the number of minutes before my computer turns off due to a drained battery. Since all of this real-time