In fact, reducing the kanban size to achieve lower inventory level, and simultaneously retaining the full customer satisfaction (i.e., 100% fill rate), may
not be easily implemented in some real situations. This paper examined two suggestions to reduce
the size of the kanban without
damaging the customer satisfaction, namely, reduction of
the machine set-up time, and breakdown of customer order size. The former may require capital
investment in equip- ment, therefore, breakeven analysis should be carried out for detailed
investigations of the possibility in terms of sales revenue. However, the latter requires agreement
between the manufacturer and the customer, which may not be an advantage, since it may cause the
loss of sales, and dis- turbance of the business schedules of values dear customers. Hence, the
decision of the size of the kanban should be made based on the trade-off between inventory level
and better
customer service.