12.1 Introduction

For all profit-earning corporations, it is natural that the goal of the corporation is to make as much profit as possible for now and in the future. Moneymaking is also a process; there is also a process management problem in running, improving, and possibly redesigning this moneymaking process. Naturally there are several questions about this moneymaking process:

1. How does this moneymaking process work?

2. What is the determining factor for the capacity of this process?

3. If we want to make more money, what is the most efficient way to improve the process?

The theory of constraints (Golratt and Cox 1986, Goldratt 1990) tries to answer these questions. Goldratt and Cox (1986) wrote a book titled The Goal. This book is in a novel format and describes the life of a plant manager who struggles to simultaneously manage his plant and his marriage. The term "theory of constraints" is not mentioned, but the main ideas of this theory are discussed in bits and pieces. The following terms are often mentioned in The Goal:

• Bottlenecks

• Throughput

• Inventory

• Return on investment

• Cash flow

• Socratic way

• Fear of change

The Goal also reminds readers that there are three basic measures used in the evaluation of the moneymaking process:

• Throughput

• Inventory

• Operational expenses

In a manufacturing plant circumstance, Goldratt and Cox think that these measures are more relevant in moneymaking than frequently used performance measures such as machine efficiency,...