Pull vs Push: a Discussion of Lean, JIT, Flow, and Traditional MRP
Part Two: Challenges and User Recommendations
P.J. Jakovljevic - January 15, 2004

Challenges

Still, while some tout that flow manufacturing principles can be implemented successfully, regardless of the industry, type of manufacturing environment, or product volumes, the concept has not been everything to all people so far. It is still challenging or even unsuitable to use in a jobbing shop producing highly configure-to-order (CTO) or engineer-to-order (ETO) products with high setup and long lead times, although when it has been occasionally deployed there, it has met almost as much success as in high-volume, more repetitive make-to-demand environments...