on 1 july 2002, Neo Sia Meng, executive director of four star industries private limited discussed with his brother and company executive Neo chip ern, the problems and chaos created by the unpredictability of demand which resulted in a significant decline in the order fill rates. Sia Meng had learnt from his factory manager that even after two weeks, the order v shopper, a four star dealer, could not be completed due to stock outs of certain slow-moving mattresses. the number of mattress models that four star manufactured had grown 18-fold in the previous six years. though the warehouse space and inventory had increased substantially, the stock outs of some mattress models resulted in the decline of order fill rates. order fulfillment pressures were creating significant difficulty in production scheduling and putting increasing stress on manufacturing staff. Sia Meng was worried that these operational problems might provoke some of his long-serving employees to consider leaving the company