For decades, manufacturers have been tripped up by the simplistic idea that Lean is about “zero inventories.” It probably didn’t help that one of the earliest and most prominent books about what many used to call “Japanese manufacturing practices” had that exact title: Zero Inventories. It was published in 1983, well before “Lean” was a term used for this. Not even Toyota has zero inventories. They don’t have zero raw materials. They have non-zero buffer inventories … Continue reading Be Careful With “No Waiting Rooms” Just Like “Zero Inventories”