Reinventing Inventory Control

Western notions about inventory control revolve around economic order quantities and buffer stocks that are aimed at avoiding running out of stock but which result in high inventories and long lead times. Our inventory models need to be recast into principles: The lot-size principle is simply to keep cutting it—and cut setup times as partial justification. The buffer-stock principle is also to keep cutting—and solve the exposed quality, equipment, and other problems thereby exposed.