ownership en route, some of which add value. An ideal system operates on a pull basis rather similar to a kanban. However, owing to the manufacturing delays and need to compensate for inconsistencies in supply a certain amount of inventory has to be held. A good company will be able to predict the necessary stock levels to meet supply through forecasting, market surveys and a good knowledge of the market. If this is executed well the company will gain a considerable advantage over its competitors. In a perfect system where time delays are negligible, stock would not be required as Figure 2 shows[7].