Cycle stock is the average amount of inventory a business needs to meet customer demand.  The stock will generally deplete gradually as a business or organization receives orders from customers and replenish according to a cycle as suppliers provide the necessary orders. 

  In both lean and six sigma it is important to understand all aspects of waste, including inventory.  One form of inventory is anticipation inventory.  Anticipation inventory is built according to "anticipated" or some future demand.  It is additional inventory that is created above and beyond the actual demand of customers according to forecasts, projections or trends.  Some examples of anticipation inventory might be:

1. Promotions
2. Vacations
3. Shutdowns
4. Strike

​Reference: Apics Dictionary 14'th edition.

  Total quality management (TQM) consists of organization-wide efforts to install and make permanent a climate in which an organization continuously improves its ability to deliver high-quality products and services to customers. While there is no widely agreed-upon approach, TQM efforts typically draw heavily on the previously developed tools and techniques of quality control.

Reference: Wikipedia - Total Quality Management

  Vendor Managed Inventory programs are a powerful way to leverage an organization's strengths and focus on your core competencies.  Vendor Managed Inventory places the responsibility of selected services and or items on a chosen supplier.  In most cases the supplier will handle all agreed upon aspects, Which would include:

1. Tracking Inventory
2. Ordering Inventory
3. Logistics
4. etc.

   **Discussion Opportunities: Answer in comments below.

•  What benefits do you think a company would gain by pursuing vendor managed inventory?
•  What risks might a company take by using a vendor managed inventory system?

  The scatter diagram graphs pairs of numerical data, with one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship between them. If the variables are correlated, the points will fall along a line or curve. The better the correlation, the tighter the points will hug the line.

Reference: ASQ - Scatter Diagram

  Quality Control is a system of verification and maintenance that is used to meet a desired level of control/quality in an existing product, service or process.  Optimum control is often achieved through:

1. Detailed planning
2. Proper use of equipment, tools, materials and resources.
3. Continued inspection.
4. Integrity.
5. Corrective action as needed.

Discussion Opportunity (Comment below please)

• Why do you feel quality control is important to an organization?
• What are some common trends in quality control today?

  The ©STUDY activity was inspired by Mr. Taiichi Ohno's famous stand in the circle training method.  Whether you're a consultant looking to add to your repertoire, an organization looking for a specific training method or an individual trying to develop their skill set in identifying waste, the ©STUDY activity is a perfect way to help employees:

1. Learn to see waste.
2. Discover opportunities to improve.
3. Develop a kaizen mindset. 

  The ©STUDY Activity is included in the 8 Forms of Waste Course, The Introduction to Lean Course and The ©Gemba Methodology Course.

  Kata is a martial arts reference which describes a system of individual or team training, exercises or techniques that are used to develop skill sets.