Time is a crucial element in all phases of the value chain. Firms can reduce time to market by redesigning products and processes, by eliminating waste, and by eliminating non-value-added activities. Firms can reduce the time spent on delivery of products or services, reworking a product, and unnecessary movements of materials and subassemblies Decreasing non-value-added time appears to go hand in hand with increasing quality. With quality improvements, the need for rework decreases, and the time to produce a good product decreases. The overall objective is to increase customer responsiveness.