TABLE OF CONTENTS Master scheduling is not a perfect science. There are many factors that affect process. Some of these factors include the market and environment, inventory or manufacturing strategy, product complexity, the players and process owners involved, top management cooperation and ownership in the process, and of course master scheduler competence. The following interviews with some of the masters I have had the privilege of working with describe best practices and show how there are no perfect variation-free processes. It is hoped that something can be learned by hearing it from the horse s mouth, as the saying goes.
You may notice that some of the practices actually deviate a little from the methodologies outlined in this book. This is the real world, which has great value in learning. The methodologies represented here are some of the best examples of good application of the ideals from this book. All are successful and profitable companies.
The three master schedulers I chose for this chapter range from relatively new in the field to experienced veterans. Their inventory strategies include (1) make-to-order forklift trucks, a major capital investment and a complex product; (2) assemble-to-order archery equipment, a consumer product with significant seasonality issues to deal with; and (3) plastic bottles, a commodity make-tostock product with many different market issues not seen in the other products. All of these organizations are regarded as high-quality, high-performance companies in their markets.
The first interview is with Bob Shearer.
