Make to Stock

Make to stock [MTS] describes a ‘push’ manufacturing strategy in which goods are manufactured in anticipation of a customer order being received. The approach is an alternative to ‘make to order’, in which case goods are produced only when a customer order is received. A visit to a car dealership will reveal that there is lots of unsold metal on the forecourt. This reminds us that automotive supply chains are not completely ‘pull’ supply chains, and when dealerships run ‘end of season’ discounts to shift unsold cars, it shows that stock and overproduction are muda, or waste. See also Agility, Lean Manufacturing, Make to Order and Muda.

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Discover the world’s largest Glossary of Procurement terms

With over 800 Procurement specific terms (and growing) you will find everything you need to know or thought you knew about the Procurement function. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive list collated from the Comprara Groups hub of training and procurement consulting source materials.The Procurement Glossary has been compiled by industry expert Paul Rogers.