Aspiration and reality of inventory-free production

For the production of industrial goods LEAN management is an important issue to increase efficiency in the value chain. The pursuit of the optimal process chain brings some responsible person to a critical thought: “Do we have a set-up overkill?” The stress field of production and set-up costs, inventory and delivery service levels provide parameters for lot sizes. But conditions in growth, crisis and complex value chains require different approaches. Most manufacturing philosophies and strategies apply just for the big picture, but do seldom benefit on-site component production.