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The problem with managing Kanban loops (the number
of Kanban "pull" signals needed in a customer-supplier
relationship to ensure sustained customer service with a
minimum of stock) is similar to that encountered in establishing
appropriate planning parameters for ERP systems: the environment,
demand and constraints are constantly changing. The size of the
Kanban loop must constantly be adjusted to account for that change.
The number of required Kanbans varies as a function of the
lot size determined for the specific product and the combined
impact of the product mix's lot-sizes, on the lead-times. The
calculated lot sizes must respect bottleneck constraints as
well as management targets such as stock turns and efficiency.
Establishing and validating lot-sizes is thus the first step
in managing Kanban loops in that lot-sizes drive all the other
parameters by derived impact. Optimizing the lot-sizes is not
a simple task, and it is generally not done. Or it is done in a way
that does not consider the impacts on the other items of the
product mix, bottleneck capacity or management targets in terms
of inventory turns and lead-times.
Lance-Lot calculates the precise number of Kanbans
required for each item to account for each aspect of Kanban loop configuration
(Kanbans for the lot-size, Kanbans for the buffer, and
Kanbans for the reaction time and the structure of the demand).
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