Of course, the company concerned, Nypro, cannot be blamed for adopting a high-inventory process. They were using much the same process as
every other manufacturer of nylon and were following ‘best current
practice’. It simply had not occurred to the industry as a whole that inventory reduction was either possible or desirable. The chance of a major
escape was considered so low that the large inventory was not looked
upon as a hazard and everyone was so used to the process that its gross
inefficiency was accepted without comment or complaint. Yet most of the
material in the plant was getting a free ride; it was going round and round
with only a small proportion being reacted and removed at each pass.
What would we think of an airline which flew from London to New York
and back with only 6% of the passengers alighting on each round trip, the
rest staying on board to enjoy the movies?