Lean Manufacturing in Build to Order, Complex and Variable Environments (Lean Transformation)

Today's customers want products configured just the way they want, delivered as quickly as possible, and only in the quantity needed. In the past, many different configurations would have been built and held in inventory in order to meet these requirements. Today, that isn't practical. Inventory ties up capital, takes up space, and in today's rapidly changing environment, can quickly become outdated. The solution is Lean manufacturing - making just what the customer wants once he has already placed an order for it. This isn't difficult in repetitive environments. But can it be done in environments that are build-to-order, complex and variable?Complex products present many challenges. For example, scheduling them through assembly can be an extremely complicated task. But the authors of this book have found it can be done using the right production techniques coupled with assistance from sophisticated scheduling software. What they have to say is not just theory. They explain how the techniques they have devised are being used today in factories in the United States, Italy, Rumania and several other countries.