ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the various traditional approaches to manufacturing management prior to the emerging global era of Just in time application in manufacturing organisations. The term manufacturing industry covers a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from the control of chemical processes to precision engineering, from making satellites to making bicycles. The management problems in flow manufacture are therefore mainly concerned with ensuring a continuity in material and component supply as well as a high overall system efficiency. The inventory control approach to manufacturing management pays little or no regard to how production is going to be addressed. Individual inventories of all components are kept with much of this inventory not being used for some time. The computer software may be good in itself with very few bugs, but its performance can only be as good as the data fed into it.
