Reduce the Units of Input Not Producing Output

Reduce units of Input (I) available but not producing Intermediate Cost Drivers
(ICDs). This action makes Input levels more directly variable with the quantity of the ICD by reducing the amount of the available Input that is wasted or idle. For example, an employee (I) might produce one subassembly (ICD) per day. During that day, the employee spends a total of one hour waiting for parts for the subassembly. If the Company could eliminate that one lost hour of the employee's work day by providing parts in a more timely manner, the Company could reduce the number of employees (I) needed to produce the same subassembly (ICD) by 1/8th.

E. Reduce other underemployed input.

These changes put idle, or wasted, Purchases and Capital to work. These examples complement the ideas above, which deal primarily with improving the efficiency of People.

Capital:
Working capital

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	3571	1994	Dell to completely abandon retail store sales. Main reason to reduce costs and to adjust prices quicker than retailer. With less inventories, if Intel announces that the price of chips will fall Dell can change prices immediately.
2	3651	2008	Retailers and manufacturers are taking new steps to stem the tide of product returns. Sony Corp. added an option allowing consumers to engrave their name or other message on a Vaio computer 2006. It expanded the program to its digital cameras as well. The program lets customers personalize products, but a side benefit for Sony is that engraved products can be returned only because of defects or other reasons that are the company's fault. So far the company has saved more than $1 million with the program.
3	3651	2008	Retailers and manufacturers are taking new steps to stem the tide of product returns. Vizio says that some of its customers don't understand the basics of their high-definition TVs, like where to get the sharp-looking new programming. Vizio added a notice on its products' packaging material which instructs people to hook up their TV sets to a high-def source, such as a high-def set-top box from a cable service.
4	3663	1992	Motorola's suppliers are paid when finished Motorola products containing their components are shipped.
5	3674	2007	IBM has developed a simple and inexpensive way to recycle defective silicon wafers. It is using the wafers in its own factories to recalibrate gear and for solar power panels which use simpler silicon designs. Big chipmakers often destroy wafers to prevent rivals from getting a hold of technology. IBM's process wipes away traces of the original chip design which may alleviate those concerns. This process may improve profit margins as the cost of raw silicon increases.
6	3711	2005	Ford Motor Co. has started selling its second hybrid vehicle with a new online approach. The company is encouraging buyers to go online to place orders at www.marinerhybrid.com, where they will be assigned a "personal sales consultant" to help them find a dealer, arrange a price and schedule times for signing of papers and pickup at dealership. As a result, dealers won't have Mariners on their lots for test drivers. Each region, however, will have a vehicle available to be tried out that dealers can schedule to use. Lincoln Mercury is hoping that this new online approach will ensure the limited number of new hybrids get to the customers who want them, instead of sitting on dealer lots in places where there is little or no demand.
7	5300	2006	With $30 billion in theft, there's a revolution in surveillance systems. Professional shoplifters are driving up losses dramatically, to $855 per shoplifting incident last year, from $265 in 2003. Gatekeeper Systems Inc. has invented an electric-fence technology for carts. The system, called GS2, uses radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, which are embedded in car wheels, and antennas around the periphery of the store that broadcast signals to the chips. When a cart approaches the store boundary, the wheels lock up and can only be unlocked by an employee who activates a remote control device. Target Corp. and several smaller chains have signed on.
8	5411	2008	Tesco PLC opened its first stores in the U.S. last month, using Dunnhumby Ltd., which also works for Kroger Co., to fine-tune its offerings to shoppers' needs. For example, Kroger used to run sales on its best-selling products, but data showed that meant discounts for middle-income people who would have bought the products at full price anyway. Now Kroger cuts prices on store brands and other value items bought by its most price-sensitive customers.
9	5600	2007	Fraud and the associated costs has forced some retailers to modify their return policy. Even honest customers are facing more stringent policies. Returns at the Gap made without a receipt are given a merchandise certificate which is only for the current sale price.
10	5621	2005	Retailer Forever 21's head buyer tracks what stylish gals are wearing in Los Angeles, where the company is headquartered, and makes occasional style-spotting forays overseas. After a new look is spotted, a sketch or sample is rushed to one of several manufacturers in L.A., where 40% of the clothes are stitched. Using labor in L.A. shaves six weeks off the time it takes to get items into stores. After the clothes are made, Forever 21 ships apparel to stores from the distribution center in its headquarters building. Stores are designed to help customers spot and grab loads of merchandise quickly. There are lots of windows, extra lighting and, in some stores, gigantic bags filing the role of a supermarket cart.
11	5699	2004	One of the biggest problems with the previous management of the Guess line was the inventory management. Excess inventory in retail clothing tends to go quickly to half price sales and off-price out-lets, so it cuts badly into margins.
12	5731	2004	Best Buy is aiming to outsmart the bargain hunters and coddle the big spenders. To deter the customers who drove profits down, it began enforcing a restocking fee of 15% of the purchase price on returned merchandise. To discourage customers who return items with the intention of repurchasing them at an "open-box" discount, Best Buy is experimenting with reselling them over the internet, so the goods don't reappear in the store where they were originally purchased.
13	5731	2005	Woot.com sells one product a day from one manufacturer at a steep discount. Brian Carlness of Rockford Corp. in Arizona rid his inventory of digital streamers in just 8 hours by selling it on woot.com for $199 instead of the original $800. Manufacturers like the website because they can sell their merchandise without having to compete with others selling similar items. The website makes money by charging the manufacturer a commission for each sale. Sale starts midnight Central Time and ends at 11:59PM or if stock sells out first.
14	6311	2003	Lean production is built around the concept of continuous flow processing rather than batch processing. In the model cell the team was able to create a small batch flow that greatly minimized the build-up of work in progress.

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