This elimination of waste should have one significant by-product: a reduction in cost for the supply chain. This is not to say that all costs are going to decrease, but rather that the supply chain costs will decrease. It is possible that some costs for suppliers may go up; however these increases should be offset by reductions in other areas. For instance, a supplier may hold inventory (vendor-managed inventory) for a client. The supplier's costs go up, as they are still responsible for the product, but the customer's costs should decrease.