LEAN & MEAN
But the customer is king!
Lean manufacturing, Kanban, Supply chain management, Total Quality Management, Continuous improvement, Demand forecasting, Inventory management—these are all terms we’ve been inundated with in recent years, but they have often been reinvented and repackaged since the Industrial Revolution.
The problem is universally recognizable: the customer waits and waits, and when they finally want information on prices and delivery times, the pressure mounts to provide a quote as quickly as possible. Then, it goes quiet, often for a long time. When the validity of the offer has long expired, the order comes in with delivery times that are unachievable, along with additional requirements concerning quality, number of deliveries, etc.
This puts the entire internal organization on edge because the salesperson, the buyer, the lawyer, and the accountant all have their own perspectives on the order. A car, airplane, or radar often consists of several thousand parts. There’s plenty of work to be done and also considerable risks. If just one thing goes wrong, the car, airplane, or radar cannot be put into use.
Let’s just acknowledge that the source of this stress comes from the end customer. In our case, these are often the European NATO countries.
If they read this call to action: make some quick decisions and place orders on time.
To all our direct customers, feel free to reach out because IPP is eager to assist with the challenges of inventory management and all related matters. With over 50 years of experience, we can confidently say that the customer is king.