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CHAPTER 3 The Four Critical Questions Answered 39

sophistication that can provide more visibility from a planning and execution perspective
and at the same time simple, clear, and highly visible signals across the enterprise.

Conflict 3: Dependence Versus Independence

This is a subtle but very important conflict to understand and is an extension of conflict
2. The solution to this conflict defines a huge innovation and leap forward for MRP logic.
MRP is fundamentally about making everything dependent (see Part 2). Lean’s answer
to the material planning puzzle is to promote complete independence. When everything
is dependent, the resulting picture can be very nervous (see Chapter 2 for a discussion of
system nervousness). When everything is independent, visibility is limited to what is
immediately in front of you. The solution to this conflict provides for planning and exe-
cution support for the demand-driven world in more complex operational environments.
See Part 4 for a discussion of demand-driven MRP.
While these conflicts continue to rage inside manufacturers, lean advocates are
beginning to understand the need for an effective technology solution. When it comes to
materials and inventory planning and execution Lean advocates often get accused of
being anti-technology. Do Lean advocates really want manufacturing companies to
entirely abandon the promise of technology? The answer should be yes when that tech-
nology is wasteful, confusing and not reflective of reality. Unfortunately, that has been
the situation for quite sometime with regard to traditional MRP and DRP systems. Point
8 of the Toyota Production System states: “Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technolo-
gy that serves your people and processes.” 12 Until now the prevailing materials and
inventory planning and execution technology, while thoroughly tested, has been largely
inappropriate to serve the people and processes in companies transforming to a demand
driven approach. The proliferation and sustainability of Lean implementations has been
negatively impacted by the lack of appropriate supply chain materials planning and exe-
cution technology.
Several analyst reports have concluded that there is tremendous potential for the
incorporation of better planning and visibility software into Lean implementations.
Manufacturing needs Lean to survive in the more complex environment of the 21st
Century. Lean needs an effective demand driven materials requirements planning
approach to bring that vision to reality.
What if there was an appropriate technology? What if a reliable, thoroughly tested
blueprint for demand driven planning and execution of supply chain materials with high
degrees of visibility could be introduced to the MRP world? Furthermore, what if that
blueprint also was extremely appealing to the MRP World? Sound impossible? It’s not; it
is reality and it is producing significant results in short periods of time for early adopters.

12 Liker, J. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill,
2004.