1. The Secret Formulas
Tim Bina, Supply Chain Analyst
Vision-Ease Lens, Ramsey MN
Timothy D. Bina | Supply Chain Analyst
Vision-Ease Lens | 7000 Sunwood Drive Northwest | Ramsey, MN 55303
Tim.Bina@Vision-Ease.com 763.506.9232

2. Company: Vision-Ease Lens (VEL)
Ownership: Insight Equity, since 2004
Founded: 1930
Employees: 1,000+
Revenue: $100 Million +
Website: www.vision-ease.com
• In 1985, VEL was the first major lens company to introduce
prescription polycarbonate lenses.
• Today, headquartered in Ramsey, MN., VEL is a manufacturer of
quality ophthalmic lenses including clear, photochromic and
polarized in numerous materials such as polycarbonate, glass and
cast resin.

3. Ramsey, Minnesota
- headquarters
- manufacturing
London, UK
- sales
Jakarta, Indonesia
- manufacturing
Bangkok, Thailand
- manufacturing

4. • High Index Lenses
• Polycarbonate
Lenses
• Plastic and Glass
Lenses
• Polarized Lenses
• Photochromic
Lenses
• Progressive Lenses
4

5. Toilet Paper
1 Pkg Closet
Cub
On
Open
Toilet Paper
1 Pkg Closet
Cub
On
Open

6. • MRP works well for:
• Components used infrequently
• Long Lead Times
• Specialized Components in a Make-To-Order Environment
• Forecasted Items
• MPS Driven Parents and Components
• Kanbans and Min Max work well for:
• Relatively Steady Usage
• Low Volume
• High Volume
• Class ‘C’ parts
• Parts where the quantities consumed by parent parts vary somewhat
• Chemicals
• Shipping Boxes
• Parts you don’t want to put into inventory

7. Updated Min-Max Levels and reorganized storage

8. Plant moved from an MRP driven process to a Kanban Network
Cards in Red
Cards in Yellow
Cards in Green
Fill Bottom to Top

9. A Kanban is one part Equation and two parts Imagination
Work Instructions
Storage Space
for 4 bags
Order when 1
Bag is
Opened
Bags on Order
Resin:
-Long Lead Time
-1 Bag Min Order
Solvent:
-Short Lead Time
-4 Barrel Min Order
Order when
4th Barrel is
opened

10. Inventory Turns - Reynosa
COGS/[(BI+EI)/2]
3.11
3.51
1.99
1.57
2.36
2.56
3.10
2.74
3.10
2.82
4.31
4.46
$8,580,586
$7,729,356
$6,972,000
$6,616,134
$6,434,136
$6,087,067
$5,754,472
$5,958,990$5,815,694
$7,431,911
$8,714,958
$8,399,112
-
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
May 06 June 06 July 06 Aug 06 Sep 06 Oct 06 Nov 06 Dec 06 Jan 07 Feb 07 Mar 07 Apr 07
Tunrs
$0
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
$8,000,000
$9,000,000
$10,000,000
Inventory/COGS
Turns Inventory COGS std orders COGS DRK
P:Sandra DataInventory Turn CalculationsTurn Calculations
$3m inventory reduction (primarily motors) after
implementing Web-Based Kanban System.
$8.7m
$5.8m

11. Minimum
Safety Stock
Demand During Lead Time
Lot Size
Maximum
Safety Stock = z * σ * LT factor
Max = Min + Lot Size
Min = DDLT + Safety Stock

13. =AVERAGE(B2:Y2) =STDEVP(B2:Y2) =Z2*2
Monthly Usage Figures
=SQRT(60/30)
60 = Lead Time in Days
30 = Days in a Month

14. =IF(AD2<=MAX(AD2:$AD$14)*0.15,"A",IF(AD2<=MAX(AD2:$AD$14)/2,"B","C"))
ABC Assignment
If the Rank is less than the 15th Percentile, then ‘A’, if less than the 50th Percentile, then ‘B’, Else ‘C’
=RANK(Z2,$Z$2:$Z$14)

15. =IF(AE2="A",1,IF(AE2="B",2,3))
98% 2.03If ‘A’ order 1 month’s worth
If ‘B’ order 2 month’s worth
If ‘C’ order 3 month’s worth
Safety Stock = z * σ * LT factor

16. =IF(MAX(B2:Y2)/5>Z2,"Wildx5","-")
=IF(AI2="Wildx5",Z2*2,AH2*AA2*AC2)
Safety Stock = z * σ * LT factor
If the Maximum Demand is 5 times greater than average…
2 months Safety Stock

17. Max = Min + Lot Size
Min = DDLT + Safety Stock
=AB2+AJ2
=AK2+AF2*Z2