Want a more flexible supply chain? As complexity and demand for new products grow, companies are realizing that their supply chains need to be more flexible. Yet while they realize the importance of flexibility, they struggle with how to accomplish this difficult task. The key elements, according to an A.T. Kearney study, are reducing cycle time and implementing a pull-based replenishment process.

Supply Chain Management Review, January, 2007 by Garber, Randy; Sarkar, Suman

During World War II, Boeing reached a peak production of more than 1,000 bombers per month using simple equipment and without computers or a highly skilled workforce. Within four years, it introduced a large number of innovative designs--including the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, and B-29 Superfortress. The company maintained its stride after the war, becoming one of the largest global manufacturers of commercial aircraft.

Today, however, with far better equipment, computers, and a highly skilled workforce, Boeing struggles to produce one-tenth the number of aircraft it produced during World War II. It takes an average of two years to fill an aircraft order and several years to introduce a new aircraft design. The reasons are clear:...

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