Most manufacturing companies with batch-and-queue "push" production systems have been blindsided by today's consumer who expects quality products and services delivered on demand and customized to individual taste. In The Perfect Engine, manufacturing experts Anand Sharma and Patricia E. Moody describe for the first time how leading "pull" production pioneers build to order by reducing inventory, decreasing cycle time, minimizing floor space, and eliminating waste.

Drawing on scores of examples and detailed case studies of three leaders in the demand economy field -- Maytag,...