On-Time delivery is now a basic requirement by most customers. Some customers even require that vendors deliver their products in time slots on a given day. Many customers measure suppliers (sometime called supplier score carding) based on product quality, product cost, product reliability, yield and on-time delivery. These scorecards are then used to award future orders and contracts.

Most companies respond to these customer requirements by holding buffer inventory. Carrying buffer inventory costs money and in the current global environment, this will reduce margins or make a manufacturer not competitive. So what can a manufacturing company do?