In JIT, total inventory is a general figure of merit. Say, like how many pushups a Marine can do. Systems of comparable virtue should have similar levels independent of thruput.
Some watch-outs, tho...
1) Apple just sold out prior models, that's why they're going back from 2 days to 4+. Shows good transition planning. New SAP system will help
2) Dell runs far more variety, models, & options; Apple has simpler SKU structure -- sufficient to explain 4-vs-7 IMHO
3) Apple runs lines in 2-3 sites. Dell has 'em all over (I think), which would bias higher, too.
4) inventory could be counted different by the two
NET, AAPL's 4-days does sound to be in same league as Dell's 7,
BUT, really hard to know for sure without walking both systems and asking lotsa questions. |
