Doug Hudgeon pointed his readers to a blog post that fascinated me on a key Toyota manufacturing innovation called SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies). The post follows the logic and rationale behind optimizing manufacturing processes against market requirements. Here is a direct link.
I love lessons like these where false choices are exposed. Toyota seems to have proven you can dramatically lower manufacturing overhead costs & at the same time provide more consumer options.
The post is by Bill Waddell at EvolvingExcellence, and he is clearly a demand-driven JIT supply chain guy.
I see a growing link between "Long Tail" thinking which I've posted about previously (excelling in variety vs. going for the homogenous blockbuster) & demand-driven supply chains. Perhaps one of my fellow Procurement bloggers will take the time to tie these 2 threads together.
2 responses so far ↓
hudgeon // 06/12/06 11:39 PM at 11:39 pm |
I agree. I see the same connection. For a procurement department “set-up” means “going to market”. For SMGTM (puzzle it out) to be possible, a purchaser’s requirements must mesh exactly with a vendor’s product or service. The longer the tail, the more likely this is to occur.
hudgeon // 06/13/06 1:04 AM at 1:04 am |
… It’s easy to see how procurement professionals in the 90’s were gripped by e-marketplace mania.
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