ERP vendors tout simpler, hybrid approaches

Lean manufacturing seeks build-to-demand using value-stream mapping and creation of level-pull executed via Kanban. But setting it up requires significant time and diligence, and isn't always the best route, says ERP vendor Lilly Software Associates.

Vendors support lean philosophies, but also embrace hybrid approaches. An approach called "Simplified Market Pull" is easier and quicker for most companies, says company VP Mike Lilly.

"You don't need to map the whole value stream to significantly reduce work-in-progress and lead time," says Lilly. "You do need to stop releasing work to the plant floor until the right time."

Under traditional push-style manufacturing, the hope is that the sooner work orders are released to the floor, the sooner they come out the other side, says Lilly. But what happens, is that capacity gets flooded with forecasted orders that don't have a current demand.

Key to Easy Lean, says Lilly, is "protected pull" in which work is only released to the floor if there is a current customer order. If the order is just-in-time—i.e., the customer wants it now—the solution's logic protects with inventory. If the customer asks for the order by a certain date, the protection is via time buffering.

Since the factory floor isn't flooded with forecast-driven work, says Lilly, much of the queue time goes away, and shorter lead times can be accommodated. For this to work, says Lilly, a change in thinking is required. "Under push, the thinking is, 'what is the latest date we would want to release this order to the floor?' Under simplified market pull, the principle becomes, 'don't even think about releasing this order before this date.' "