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How to spot violation of the Flow principles in a Supply Chain?
When I speak to supply chain professionals, they agree that the entire supply chain, from vendors to consumers, should follow the rules of flow. However, they often struggle to find where these rules are getting violated.
The violations are quite visible in various parts of the chain – raw materials, WIP, and finished goods. These are visible at vendors, in manufacturing units and in distribution. We need to be sensitive to observe these.
Wherever you see high accumulation of inventory, check if it’s around the constraint. If not, it needs to be investigated as some flow rules are possibly getting violated. Similarly, if you see a stale item anywhere, it’s a warning sign. Stockouts at a strategic inventory buffer also qualify for such an investigation.
A walk in the Gemba, whether on the shop floor or in the market, will reveal many instances where the flow principles are getting violated. All we need is an eye for spotting such instances and curiosity to find out how it happened.