Articles Capacity & Bottlenecks

Making the flow go smoothly
Balancing production capabilities against supply and demand

Manufacturing Schedules
Yes, you do need to put some thought into your manufacturing schedule!  Because small changes can make a big difference in your line’s productivity.  But you don’t need to stress about it.  We got you 😉 Princess Capybara didn’t realize this at first… If you’re a regular PCat reader,... Read More...
Demand Forecasting
You know that having the RIGHT amount of inventory is crucial to your business success.  But how do you know exactly what the right amount is???  Enter Demand Forecasting Demand forecasting is just what it sounds like: predicting how much demand (how many sales) there will be for each... Read More...
Inventory
You run a small manufacturing business.  Or maybe you think of yourself as more of a Maker business owner or a Craftsperson.  Anyway, you make things and sell them.  But how do you know how many to make???? When you first started out, the answer was probably, “Ummm… some?”... Read More...
Do You Know Your Manufacturing Capacity?
If you’re scaling up your Making or Manufacturing business, sooner or later you’ll want to perform a formal (ok, let’s get real, a semi-formal 😉 manufacturing capacity analysis.  Yes, I promise, it really is easier than you’re probably thinking. Process Cat’s friends were able to figure it out… If... Read More...
Manufacturing Bottlenecks
If you’re scaling up your production, you know that your manufacturing bottleneck is important. You know that the bottleneck is the station or piece of equipment with the lowest throughput. (If you don’t? Start with this article and then come back 🙂 But did you ever stop to think... Read More...
Scale-up: bottlenecks
When you’re having trouble producing your product fast enough, that’s a great problem to have!  It means people like your product and you’re doing a good job of getting the word out about it with your marketing efforts. But it’s still a problem you need to address! In this... Read More...

THE ZATTATAT CAST:

Meet the characters with the skills & Zattatudes who can help engineer your manufacturing success

Princess Capybara

Age: 35

Background: Biotech

Current Gig: Mold-Making

Zattatude: Seeks to geek out with the top tech she knows best

Gary

Age: 44

Background: Accounting

Current Gig: Baking

Zattatude: Lives to figure out how everything in life adds up

Process Cat

Age: Timeless

Background: Manufacturing

Current Gig: Helping People

Zattatude: Loves to teach others how to scale up their businesses

Rhonda

Age: 53

Background: Nursing

Current Gig: Woodworking

Zattatude: Celebrates ditching her bureaucratic hospital job for her hands-on craft business