Manufacturing's performance was judged on lowest unit cost and high over- head absorption, a practice that often leads to overproduction and incorrect product mix. Also, routine, but essentially unplanned, heavy promotions and spiffs" by the sales department to"make the numbers" at every month and quarter end had destroyed any normal customer demand pattern that might have existed. The customers were waiting for the promotions that they knew would come before they e These promotions didn't even necessarily ordered. involve products known to be in oversupply, or even in stock. It was just whatever sales decided to promote. The adverse effect of this on production, parts availability, and material and capacity planning, and on the inventories of non-promoted product in stock can easily be seen