Removing bullwhip from Lexmark’s toner operations

Production and Operations Management Society Annual Conference, Denver, USA, May 3rd–6th, 10 pages.

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Abstract

Lexmark’s existing planning system, that controls the production of printer toner, created a bullwhip effect of 5.4:1. Inventory variability, measured as a ratio to the demand variance, was 27:3. We describe a project where, since 2011, we have been able to reduce bullwhip to 0.94:1 and inventory variability to 2.15:1.