The Bee Hive

System complexity, an inherent element of most modern production and inventory control systems, creates a plethora of direct and indirect costs. To attack complexity, the manager must attack its effects and then identify and address root causes.

Complexity shows up in excess inventory, increased lead times, and falling quality levels (yields). Lets be clear, though, about one thing. There is nothing wrong with complexity if that's what the customer - especially the critical customer - wants and is willing to pay for. But complexity is wrong if it results from our attempts to satisfy customer demand at all costs or from our tendency to view and attack problems in isolation without drawing on past solutions.