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For example, an automobile manufacturer experiences a surge in demand for metallic grey bodies with black cloth interiors for one of its popular models. In a Perfect Lean Market, the manufacturer’s system broadcasts this change in customer demand to every relevant link in the supply chain, automatically, immediately and simultaneously. All suppliers respond in near real-time by reconfiguring their own production processes to meet the new demand. And an almost instantaneous ripple effect occurs as all relevant systems reflect dynamic, real-time shifts in product requirements. Material and supplier requests … purchase orders … invoicing … accounts receivable … accounts payable … and the general ledger. Scheduling and inventory management … shipping and logistics. All updated automatically. The entire supply chain works in harmony striving to achieve one goal—satisfying the end demand of the customer.
In other words, production and distribution processes adjust, on the fly, without the flurry or the latency of chaotic messaging usually required in today’s world. No frantic phone calls. No misplaced faxes. No lost e-mails. And no reduction in productivity.
In the Perfect Lean Market, the most valuable asset of all—information—is automatically and continuously broadcast across every step of the process of getting goods to market. No one in the supply chain will worry that someone, somewhere, is out of the loop.
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