Frustrated at watching countless manufacturers implement kanban incorrectly or incompletely, then get lackluster results and conclude "kanban doesn't work," Russell set out to provide the definitive guide for getting the most out of a company's investment in kanban.

Many manufacturing, distribution, retail, and healthcare sites that deal with material as an integral part of their business have a goal to reduce inventory by 20% or more. Yet they have no idea how to accomplish that. Some are nervous about the consequences for customer delivery if they randomly reduce on-hand balances, while...