How implementing lean technologies into your supply chain can reduce lead times from 15 days to less than two. In the past, manufacturing was vertically integrated and the suppliers were located within a short radius. Manufacturing today is less integrated and the suppliers are global. Only through supplier collaboration can information be controlled and automatically computed.
Ultriva, a supply chain management software company, implemented a demand driven manufacturing model by providing full visibility, scheduling, and sequencing of production of customer orders at the cell level for a manufacturing plant. Previously it took ten days before the order reached the factory floor; orders were scheduled on a weekly basis, causing an overall lead time of fifteen days. Now it is down to two.
This article originally appeared in Automation and Controls Today Magazine.
http://www.aandctoday.com/technical-article/195-the-solution-is-consumption-based-replenishment
Understand what value can be gained by using simulation-based predictive analytics for supply chain, distribution center, logistics and warehouse design, operations, and improvement
Crosscheck: Intergation Methods, Supply Chain Management and the Boeing 787 D...Herbert Ferguson-Augustus
As a part of Communication course at the University of Minnesota, Herbert B. Ferguson-Augustus researched the supply chain management practices at the Boeing Company during the 787 Dreamliner Program. Research focuses on how Boeing integrated its Tier I suppliers into the design and production processes. Research findings are discussed here.
Ultriva, a supply chain management software company, implemented a demand driven manufacturing model by providing full visibility, scheduling, and sequencing of production of customer orders at the cell level for a manufacturing plant. Previously it took ten days before the order reached the factory floor; orders were scheduled on a weekly basis, causing an overall lead time of fifteen days. Now it is down to two.
This article originally appeared in Automation and Controls Today Magazine.
http://www.aandctoday.com/technical-article/195-the-solution-is-consumption-based-replenishment
Understand what value can be gained by using simulation-based predictive analytics for supply chain, distribution center, logistics and warehouse design, operations, and improvement
Crosscheck: Intergation Methods, Supply Chain Management and the Boeing 787 D...Herbert Ferguson-Augustus
As a part of Communication course at the University of Minnesota, Herbert B. Ferguson-Augustus researched the supply chain management practices at the Boeing Company during the 787 Dreamliner Program. Research focuses on how Boeing integrated its Tier I suppliers into the design and production processes. Research findings are discussed here.
Understand the relationship between supply chain management (SCM) and organisational business objectives
Explain the importance of effective supply chain management in achieving organisational objectives
Explain the link between supply chain management and business functions in an organisation
Discuss the key drivers for achieving an integrated supply chain strategy in an organisation
Be able to use information technology to optimize supplier relationships in an organisation
Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used by an organisation to maintain supplier relationships
Task 2.2: Use information technology to create strategies to develop an organisation’s relationship with its suppliers
Develop systems to maintain an organisation’s relationship with its suppliers
Case Study of a maintaining organization’s relationship with suppliers:
Understand the role of information technology in supply chain management
Assess how information technology could assist integration of different parts of the supply chain of an organisation
Task 3.2: Evaluate how information technology has contributed to the management of the supply chain of an organisation
Assess the effectiveness of information technology in managing the supply chain of an organisation
Understand the role of logistics and procurement in supply chain management
Explain the role of logistics in supply chain management in an organisation
Understand the value of simulation based predictive analytics for distribution center, supply chain, logistics, or warehouse design, operations and performance improvement
What is supply chain management programBrijesh Kandu
The Supply Chain Management Program integrates topics from manufacturing operations, purchasing, transportation, and physical distribution into a unified program. Successful supplychain management, then, coordinates and integrates all of these activities into a seamless process.
zkStudyClub - Reef: Fast Succinct Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge Regex ProofsAlex Pruden
This paper presents Reef, a system for generating publicly verifiable succinct non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs that a committed document matches or does not match a regular expression. We describe applications such as proving the strength of passwords, the provenance of email despite redactions, the validity of oblivious DNS queries, and the existence of mutations in DNA. Reef supports the Perl Compatible Regular Expression syntax, including wildcards, alternation, ranges, capture groups, Kleene star, negations, and lookarounds. Reef introduces a new type of automata, Skipping Alternating Finite Automata (SAFA), that skips irrelevant parts of a document when producing proofs without undermining soundness, and instantiates SAFA with a lookup argument. Our experimental evaluation confirms that Reef can generate proofs for documents with 32M characters; the proofs are small and cheap to verify (under a second).
Paper: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1886
PHP Frameworks: I want to break free (IPC Berlin 2024)Ralf Eggert
In this presentation, we examine the challenges and limitations of relying too heavily on PHP frameworks in web development. We discuss the history of PHP and its frameworks to understand how this dependence has evolved. The focus will be on providing concrete tips and strategies to reduce reliance on these frameworks, based on real-world examples and practical considerations. The goal is to equip developers with the skills and knowledge to create more flexible and future-proof web applications. We'll explore the importance of maintaining autonomy in a rapidly changing tech landscape and how to make informed decisions in PHP development.
This talk is aimed at encouraging a more independent approach to using PHP frameworks, moving towards a more flexible and future-proof approach to PHP development.
Understand the relationship between supply chain management (SCM) and organisational business objectives
Explain the importance of effective supply chain management in achieving organisational objectives
Explain the link between supply chain management and business functions in an organisation
Discuss the key drivers for achieving an integrated supply chain strategy in an organisation
Be able to use information technology to optimize supplier relationships in an organisation
Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used by an organisation to maintain supplier relationships
Task 2.2: Use information technology to create strategies to develop an organisation’s relationship with its suppliers
Develop systems to maintain an organisation’s relationship with its suppliers
Case Study of a maintaining organization’s relationship with suppliers:
Understand the role of information technology in supply chain management
Assess how information technology could assist integration of different parts of the supply chain of an organisation
Task 3.2: Evaluate how information technology has contributed to the management of the supply chain of an organisation
Assess the effectiveness of information technology in managing the supply chain of an organisation
Understand the role of logistics and procurement in supply chain management
Explain the role of logistics in supply chain management in an organisation
Understand the value of simulation based predictive analytics for distribution center, supply chain, logistics, or warehouse design, operations and performance improvement
What is supply chain management programBrijesh Kandu
The Supply Chain Management Program integrates topics from manufacturing operations, purchasing, transportation, and physical distribution into a unified program. Successful supplychain management, then, coordinates and integrates all of these activities into a seamless process.
zkStudyClub - Reef: Fast Succinct Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge Regex ProofsAlex Pruden
This paper presents Reef, a system for generating publicly verifiable succinct non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs that a committed document matches or does not match a regular expression. We describe applications such as proving the strength of passwords, the provenance of email despite redactions, the validity of oblivious DNS queries, and the existence of mutations in DNA. Reef supports the Perl Compatible Regular Expression syntax, including wildcards, alternation, ranges, capture groups, Kleene star, negations, and lookarounds. Reef introduces a new type of automata, Skipping Alternating Finite Automata (SAFA), that skips irrelevant parts of a document when producing proofs without undermining soundness, and instantiates SAFA with a lookup argument. Our experimental evaluation confirms that Reef can generate proofs for documents with 32M characters; the proofs are small and cheap to verify (under a second).
Paper: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1886
PHP Frameworks: I want to break free (IPC Berlin 2024)Ralf Eggert
In this presentation, we examine the challenges and limitations of relying too heavily on PHP frameworks in web development. We discuss the history of PHP and its frameworks to understand how this dependence has evolved. The focus will be on providing concrete tips and strategies to reduce reliance on these frameworks, based on real-world examples and practical considerations. The goal is to equip developers with the skills and knowledge to create more flexible and future-proof web applications. We'll explore the importance of maintaining autonomy in a rapidly changing tech landscape and how to make informed decisions in PHP development.
This talk is aimed at encouraging a more independent approach to using PHP frameworks, moving towards a more flexible and future-proof approach to PHP development.
Alt. GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using ...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Why You Should Replace Windows 11 with Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 for enhanced perfor...SOFTTECHHUB
The choice of an operating system plays a pivotal role in shaping our computing experience. For decades, Microsoft's Windows has dominated the market, offering a familiar and widely adopted platform for personal and professional use. However, as technological advancements continue to push the boundaries of innovation, alternative operating systems have emerged, challenging the status quo and offering users a fresh perspective on computing.
One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
A tale of scale & speed: How the US Navy is enabling software delivery from l...sonjaschweigert1
Rapid and secure feature delivery is a goal across every application team and every branch of the DoD. The Navy’s DevSecOps platform, Party Barge, has achieved:
- Reduction in onboarding time from 5 weeks to 1 day
- Improved developer experience and productivity through actionable findings and reduction of false positives
- Maintenance of superior security standards and inherent policy enforcement with Authorization to Operate (ATO)
Development teams can ship efficiently and ensure applications are cyber ready for Navy Authorizing Officials (AOs). In this webinar, Sigma Defense and Anchore will give attendees a look behind the scenes and demo secure pipeline automation and security artifacts that speed up application ATO and time to production.
We will cover:
- How to remove silos in DevSecOps
- How to build efficient development pipeline roles and component templates
- How to deliver security artifacts that matter for ATO’s (SBOMs, vulnerability reports, and policy evidence)
- How to streamline operations with automated policy checks on container images
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Generative AI Deep Dive: Advancing from Proof of Concept to ProductionAggregage
Join Maher Hanafi, VP of Engineering at Betterworks, in this new session where he'll share a practical framework to transform Gen AI prototypes into impactful products! He'll delve into the complexities of data collection and management, model selection and optimization, and ensuring security, scalability, and responsible use.
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
Le nuove frontiere dell'AI nell'RPA con UiPath Autopilot™UiPathCommunity
In questo evento online gratuito, organizzato dalla Community Italiana di UiPath, potrai esplorare le nuove funzionalità di Autopilot, il tool che integra l'Intelligenza Artificiale nei processi di sviluppo e utilizzo delle Automazioni.
📕 Vedremo insieme alcuni esempi dell'utilizzo di Autopilot in diversi tool della Suite UiPath:
Autopilot per Studio Web
Autopilot per Studio
Autopilot per Apps
Clipboard AI
GenAI applicata alla Document Understanding
👨🏫👨💻 Speakers:
Stefano Negro, UiPath MVPx3, RPA Tech Lead @ BSP Consultant
Flavio Martinelli, UiPath MVP 2023, Technical Account Manager @UiPath
Andrei Tasca, RPA Solutions Team Lead @NTT Data
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4
Reducing Customer Lead Time
1. Reducing
Customer
Lead Time
How implementing lean technologies
into your supplychain can reduce lead
times from 15 days to less than 2
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
BE Weekly | 13
Words by Thomas R. Cutler
Supplychain
2. Supplychain
14 | BE Weekly BE Weekly | 15
“Manufacturing is more competitive than ever with shorter
lead times, higher service levels, exploding numbers of
finished good SKUs and thinning margins”
T
he future of lean technologies
indicates that supply-chain
solutions will be increasingly
required to meet the demands
of the marketplace. Collaborative Supply
Portal (CSP) must manage raw material
replenishment, Lean Factory Management
(LFM) will manage shop-floor schedules,
and Collaborative Demand Portal (CDP)
will be required to service distribution
centers, dealers and OEMs all focus on the
execution side of the factory floor. Lean
planning must cross-over to procurement
as well in the form of a collaborative
request for quote (RFQ) module.
RFQ technology allows buyers and
suppliers to collaborate easily and
effectively in a bidding process. The
iterative process tracks and traces the
bids in real time until a winning bid is
converted into a purchase order. The
collaborative Planning Module integrates
planning data with execution and
establishes a feedback loop.
It is all about leaning the supply chain.
In the past manufacturing was vertically
integrated and the suppliers were located
within a short radius. Manufacturing
today is less integrated and the suppliers
are global. Only through supplier
collaboration, and real-time flow of order,
shipment and receipt information can be
controlled and automatically computed.
The result is the next important step of
lean—kaizen, or continuous improvement.
CA, late last fall, Nicole Smith of Zurn
Wilkins (a Rexnord Company) shared
the company’s experience of reducing
customer lead time from fifteen days
to less than two days. She also shared
how the company was able to reduce the
raw material and WIP (work in process)
inventory by twenty percent.
Rexnord is a diversified multi-platform
industrial company that manufactures
and markets power transmission and
water management products. Revenue
last year was $1.3 billion and the firm
employs nearly 7000 people.
Ultriva, based in Cupertino, CA,
implemented a demand driven
manufacturing model by providing full
visibility, scheduling, and sequencing
of production of customer orders at the
cell level for one of the Rexnord plant in
Indianapolis. Previously it took ten days
before the order reached the factory floor;
orders were scheduled on a weekly basis,
causing an overall lead
time of fifteen days.
Laksham commented
about the Rexnord
situation, noting, “We
facilitated the orders to
be directly dropped at
the manufacturing cells
within 15 minutes of
receipt. If the order was
received before 2 pm it
was manufactured and
shipped on the same
day; if after 2 pm, it
was shipped the next
day. Currently over
30,000 finished goods
SKUs (stock keeping
As a manufacturing journalist it was a
pleasure to interview Narayan Laksham,
Ultriva founder and CEO. He founded the
company 1999 with a vision of building
an organization that develops customer
driven solutions which guarantee high
value, quick deployment, and measurable
returnoninvestment.Lakshamhaswritten
articles on several lean topics including
“When Push comes to Pull Kanban wins.”
He is also a co-inventor of the patent
pending “Inventory Optimization Tool.”
This recent conversation revealed how
much has changed in the supply chain
during the intervening conversation,
when first interviewed six years ago.
Manufacturing is more competitive
than ever with shorter lead times, higher
service levels, exploding numbers of
finished good SKUs and thinning margins.
Laksham points out, “The focus of leaning
in manufacturing was concentrated on
streamlining the factory floor, alignment
of production lines, optimization of space,
and standardizing of operating procedures.
One key area which was not touched was
the supply chain material replenishment.
Given that purchase parts could be as high
as 60% of manufacturing costs, applying
lean methodologies to this process is
critical. As excess inventory eats the
margins, part shortages reduce customer
service levels and result in lost revenues.”
At an APICS (Association for Operations
Management) meeting in Van Nuys,
units) are being manufactured using this
advanced process.”
After the initial process, Rexnord
implemented the supplier kanban modules
across several plants in the US, to ensure
that the raw materials were available to
meet demand. More than 22,000 parts
are being replenished by 178 suppliers
across these plants. Finally Rexnord
implemented internal kanban to set up
a pull system from its final assembly to
upstream work centers.
In an effort to better understand why
supply chain managers are frequently
broadsided with wrong size inventory,
Laksham explained, “The inability
of current supply chain management
systems to support true collaboration
and execution between manufacturers
and their supply chain partners result
in supplier whiplash, poor delivery
performance, and lost revenue.”
The mission of providing greater
• RYG dashboard indicators
show inventory health
• Built-in workflow
business rules engine
• Complete order tracking
• Automated email alerts based
on pre-set business rules
• Daily/monthly business proces routines
• Single version of the truth - buyers
suppliers see the same view from
their perspective
3. Supplychain
16 | BE Weekly BE Weekly | 17
transparency and visibility between
manufacturers and supply chain partners
allows manufacturing customers to
experience an average 35% increase in
inventory velocity. The across-the-board
improvements in employee productivity
and supply chain decision making has
delivered even greater value through ultra-
responsive, demand-driven supply chains.
Scott Harvey, vice president of
Operations at CareFusion, another
enthusiastic user of the technology
remarked, “The cloud-based platform has
a low barrier to entry and allows for an
incredibly high level of standardization
across all of our suppliers, which made
it the obvious solution. As a medical
device company working in a highly
regulated industry, it is imperative that
we maintain a high level of transparency
and accountability.”
During the extensive interview with
Laksham, he concluded that the shift
for most manufacturing companies is
becoming demand responsive. “Returning
The cloud-based supply-chain solutions
streamline the production schedules with
customer demand and synchronize the
supply with shop-floor consumption. It uses
the consumption-driven replenishment
model to establish a true pull process
across the value chain. The primary goal
of the system is to right-size the inventory
whether it is finished goods, work-in-
process, or raw materials. Using a unique
supply-chain-loop-based architecture,
manufacturing companies can establish
real-time collaboration with their customers
and suppliers. This collaboration allows
manufacturers to carry the right mix
of inventory at the distribution center,
shorten the lead time to their customers
and improve the service levels through
elimination of part shortages.
Thekanbanprinciplecanbeeffectively
implemented with the use of technology,
as consumption-based replenishment
has evolved from its simple card-based
roots into highly sophisticated software
applications. These applications can
help manufacturers determine the most
optimal inventory levels for operations,
and can rapidly recalculate efficient
replenishment trigger points as demand
to a more basic question of the objective
of supply chain management is vital. The
goal is to source, make and deliver the
product from the point of origin to the
point of consumption in the least amount
of time at the lowest cost. Given that goal,
thetwomostimportantattributesofsupply
chain management are responsiveness
to the velocity of product flow, and the
ability to move products quickly and
with agility. These attributes enable the
transition from push-based replenishment
to pull-based replenishment. To focus on
these attributes, it is vital to look toward
the customer, the customer’s customer, or
the end-user of the product.”
Since few companies can source
material and produce all products
in the volume required to meet a
day’s production, the solution lies in
consumption-based replenishment.
Consumption-based replenishment has its
roots in lean manufacturing and “kanban”
replenishment—a Japanese term for a
card used to signal the need for inventory
replenishment. Kanban now describes
the “pull” method of keeping production
lines optimally stocked with parts at the
exact time and quantity needed. A simple
analogy: Think of a carton of milk in the
supermarket—as one carton is pulled off
the shelf, another carton slides into its place,
immediately restocking the inventory.
varies over time. By taking a customer-
centric approach to daily operations,
manufacturers focus investments on
enabling operations to build only what is
needed to replenish what the customer
has ordered. This paradigm shift
results in companies embracing a goal
of delivering the products customers
want, when they want them, and in the
quantities they want.
Now, and for the next decade, efforts
to eliminate waste will start by applying
lean principles to supplier and customer
collaboration. This combination will
result in sensing demand changes and
synchronizing supply resulting in right-
sizing of inventory across the respective
transaction points.
About the author
Thomas R. Cutler is the President CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, TR Cutler, Inc.,
(www.trcutlerinc.com). Cutler is the founder of the Manufacturing Media Consortium including
more than 4000 journalists, editors, and economists writing about trends in manufacturing, industry,
material handling, and process improvement. Cutler is a member of the Society of Professional
Journalists, Online News Association, American Society of Business Publication Editors, and
Committee of Concerned Journalists, as well as author of more than 500 feature articles annually
regarding the manufacturing sector. Cutler is the most published freelance industrial journalist
worldwide and can be contacted at:
trcutler@trcutlerinc.com
“The shift for most
manufacturing companies
is becoming demand
responsive”
“The cloud-based supply-
chain solutions streamline
the production schedules
with customer demand and
synchronize the supply with
shop-floor consumption”