Pull means you start a project when there is a) customer demand and b) worker capacity.
This improves cycle time, because you’re only working on the projects that customers pull (request). It likewise reduces the need for large amounts of inventory. You create inventory only as it’s needed.
Here are two surefire ways to establish pull in your print shop:
CREATE AN ORGANISED QUEUE. It should be based on the urgency/priority of the product and whether or when you can allocate the resources. You can set your Print MIS to automatically prioritise projects and create a systemised process for moving tasks through pipeline.
The queue will help prevent downtime; each task gets started as it’s pulled by the customer, and completed as dictated by customer demand. The Print MIS alerts staff to incoming work through email triggers, so there’s little lag time in moving from order to start of work.
The queue also reduces multitasking, which is known to slow production and compromise quality.
WORK WITH CUSTOMERS ON A TIMELINE. Getting the customer involved in setting a definitive timeline can reduce the need to juggle jobs mid-production, which wastes substantial time. The customer then pulls the project only when they have completed their planning and a definite schedule is in place.