The Goal (novel) - Evaporating Cloud

Evaporating Cloud

The book gives a good example of the Evaporating Cloud thinking process when Alex Rogo wants to increase the plant's throughput but he can not do so according to a salesman, Johnny Jons, because there are not any deals available. However, later it turns out that there is a deal from a French client who wants a certain part at a low price and in a massive amount, the conflict being they won't make a big profit and Alex's plant can't produce the amount wanted in time. Alex's team comes up with the idea that if they can't produce it all at one time they could produce the quantity in pieces which bumps the price back up because the client isn't ordering in bulk anymore.(This is not what it says in the book. The book says they are unable to produce the 1000 parts in 2 weeks but they are able to produce 250 parts a week for 4 weeks to satisfy the order. The price remains the same, and the flow and cost are better managed between both manufacturer and buyer. Page 245 of the 20th anniversary edition (3rd revised edition 2004)). The French client hears of the plan and makes a deal with Jons even though it's a little more costly which increases the throughput of Alex's plant and the net profit of UniCo by finding a win-win solution to a situation that had goals in conflict with each other.