1st Edition

Quick Response Manufacturing A Companywide Approach to Reducing Lead Times

By Rajan Suri Copyright 1998
    574 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    Developed by the author and now being employed by a number of businesses, Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) is an expansion of time-based competition, aimed at a single target with the goal of reducing lead times. The key difference between QRM and other time-based programs is that QRM covers an entire organization, from the shop floor to the office, to sales and beyond. Providing guidelines for establishing a QRM enterprise, this volume builds upon kaizen, TQM, TPM, and other practice to help organizations streamline all functions of their operation. It shows how to quickly introduce products, along with ways to rethink materials and production management.

    PART ONE: A New Way of Thinking Stems from One Principle
    Chapter One: QRM: Not Just Another Buzzword
    Chapter Two: Benefits of QRM
    Chapter Three: The Response Time Spiral -- Legacy of the Scale and Cost Management Strategies
    PART TWO: Rethinking Production and Materials Management
    Chapter Four: Reorganizing Production
    Chapter Five: Structured Methodology for Implementing Cellular Manufacturing
    Chapter Six: Creative Rethinking for Cellular Manufacturing
    Chapter Seven: Capacity and Lot-Sizing Decisions
    Chapter Eight: Material and Production Planning in the QRM Enterprise
    Chapter Nine: POLCA -- The New Material Control and Replenishment System for QRM
    Chapter Ten: Customer and Supplier Relations
    PART THREE: Rethinking Office Operations
    Chapter Eleven: Principles of Quick Response for Office Operations
    Chapter Twelve: Tools to Support Q-ROC Implementation
    Chapter Thirteen: System Dynamics Principles for Quick Response
    PART FOUR: QRM for Rapid New Product Introduction
    Chapter Fourteen: Extending Quick Response to New Product Introduction
    PART FIVE: Creating the QRM Enterprise
    Chapter Fifteen: Management Mind-Set to Support QRM
    Chapter Sixteen: Organizational Structure, Performance Measurement, and Cost Systems
    Chapter Seventeen: Steps to Successful Implementation of a QRM Program
    Appendix
    Endnotes
    About the Author
    Index

    Biography

    Rajan Suri (Founding Director, Center for Quick Response Manufacturing, Madison, Wisconsin, USA) (Author)

    "Rajan Suri's principles of Quick Response Manufacturing are easy to grasp and powerfully effective. They allowed us to reduce elapsed manufacturing time from 23 days to 7 days and work-in-process by 41 percent."
    — Charles J. Monante, President, Converter Concepts, Inc., JUNE 2004

    "Dr. Rajan Suri explains Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) in easy to understand terms: why it is necessary, its benefits, and how to implement it. At John Deere, we are using the QRM philosophy and tools to train our employees and our supply base. QRM has enabled us to implement changes that improve customer response time and take millions of dollars out of our supply chain."
    — Bill Butterfield, Supplier Development Process Owner, Deere and Company, JUNE 2004