Lean manufacturing is an effective way to increase sales, cut costs, improve margins and secure the future of a business. The problem is that the principles and philosophies of lean manufacturing are geared towards mass production operations and can be ineffective for smaller job shops, and make-to-order businesses. This text delivers a proven approach for smaller suppliers who want to successfully cut their lead time and increase profitable growth. This book explains how to: apply the principles of pull, flow and the elimination of waste to every area of the company, at every stage, from "quotes to cash"; implement a continuous improvement process - while sidestepping the typical implementation pitfalls; ease scheduling problems; and improve performance and profitability by using practical concepts, process analysis tools and perspective-enhancing techniques.