Exploiting embedded supply-chain real options creates powerful opportunities for competitive manufacturing in high-cost environments. Rather than seeking competitiveness through standardization as is common to lean production, real-options reasoning explores opportunities to use supply-chain...

The concept of heijunka--controlling the variability of the job arrival sequence to permit higher capacity utilization--plays an integral role in lean production theory. In situations where the customer defines the delivery sequence, however, scheduling production to maximize utilization becomes...