Customer Reviews

Necessary but Not Sufficient: A Theory of Constraints Business Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this book after reading The Goal, and It's Not Luck. I found The Goal and It's Not Luck to be very interesting to read. This one left a lot to be desired.

Some of Goldratt's assumptions in Necessary But Not Sufficient seem to be overly simplistic. For instance, he seems to advocate stripping out of mid-market ERP systems everything but production & inventory control. I doubt that too many manufacturing companies would really be beating down the doors of any ERP company who actually did this. He also seems to think that major changes can be made to an ERP system in a couple of weeks. Anyone who has dealt with changes to any software system, no matter how simple the system or how simple the change, knows that is simply not true.

I would like to see some case studies published to back up Goldratt's stories. In all of his books that I have read I have found his implementation successes a bit hard to swallow. I like his theories, but I think that actual case studies would greatly increase his credibility, especially with this book.

But my biggest gripe about this book is this: Who proof-read this thing? I have never read a book with so many typos! I would think that with 3 authors on the cover and a publishing company behind them that at least somebody would have read the thing first! It really got to be annoying to read through all the errors.

Anyways, read The Goal and It's Not Luck and skip this one.

Anxiously awaited, and extremely disappointing work from the authors. Reasons:

A. Inferior content. Neither does the book present a sound theory of enterprise/ B2B software, nor does it do do justice to the intellect and experience of its authors.

For example, why should "Drum Buffer Rope" software be part of the larger enterprise system? Or why companies need enterprise software in the first place? Just because the technologies are there?

Potential readers looking for ground-breaking thoughts in enterprise management and enterprise software are advised to read following previous works by two of the book's authors: 1. "The Haystack Syndrome" by Dr. Eli Goldratt 2. "Management Dilemmas" by Eli Schragenheim

B. Defeats the purpose. Enterprise software users, enterprise software providers and management consultants all risk being led down the wrong path by following superficial advice contained in the book.

For example, isn't it impractical to ask outsiders (enterprise software providers) to ensure that the insiders (enterprise managers) create value for their organizations? Does it mean that management also can be outsourced?

C. Amateurish storyline and poor editing. At a minimum readers should not be denied the pleasure of good reading!

The only value rendered by this book is reminding managers that all their investments, even in software, should have measurable payoff.

Necessary But Not Sufficient can be boiled down to three points:

1. Technology is worthless if it doesn't bring bottom-line value.
2. "Drum-buffer-rope" and "Buffer Management" are good
3. "Pull" inventory management is good

As an rabid reader and huge fan of The Goal, I was dissapointed with the delivery of this book. The fictional plot was boring and the characters were met with absolute apathy. While the above three points are repeated ad nauseum, no real background or detail is revealed on their delivery or use. Instead, Necessary But Not Sufficient is written as lengthy pieces of plot followed by short, almost textbook definitions of these business concepts.

If you're looking for a more interesting and in-depth read, stick with The Goal. Otherwise, shop around for a more engaging and insightful book.

If you're wondering why you didn't get a powerful return on your new ERP system, read this. Just as Eli's first book, The Goal, explained why manufacturing (in the '80's) was doing so poorly, Eli and his co-authors provide an equally lucid look at why ERP systems so seldom produce the return the vendors promise. Written in a story form, it identifies the problems faced by ERP system companies, systems integrators, and of course, their clients, the manufacturing companies.

There are also glimpses of what makes advanced planning and scheduling important, an interesting way of developing a pull-based supply chain, and a VERY interesting perspective on getting supply chain partners to collaborate. The book is not meant as an exhastive reference, but only a means to get you to think. It succeeds.

I would have given it 5 stars, but there are too many typos, and I think they could have gone more deeply into many of the subjects they brushed over. It would have been more satisfying to have a little more depth at the expense of breadth.

yet another business novel explaining Theory of Constraints. perhaps the best yet. tracking a computer software company, goldratt spins another intriguing tale of uncommon common sense.

this time there are no 'clouds' or diagrams of the thinking processes. each 'lesson' is given in plain english for the reader to discover on their own. at first, i missed the diagrams but then upon re-reading the book, i decided i liked it better this way. the title is about technology being "necessary but not sufficient" to solve any given problem. it was very well done. however, it took 95 pages to mention TOC.

as always, there is tribute to dr. deming. as well as to the numerous TOC consultants now available to assist YOUR business adapt TOC. yes, the book seems to be about ERP systems, but not really... it is about technology in general.

this is a very complete text for understanding TOC and it happens to be aimed [in my opinion] at the techies or "dot coms" of our present day times. and yet, it will stand the test of time. my thanks once again to eli for a most valuable resource.

-ski

To say that there's nothing of value here is incorrect. True, it helps to have read The Goal. Not only is an explanation of drum-buffer-rope needed, so is a definition of Murphy. No doubt this alienates the uninitiated, as might the book's meandering plot. However, there are a few ideas here that are pure gold.

One such idea is that using technology to add value by increasing capacity only improves net income when overhead is cut. I have personally seen ERP value proposition spreadsheets that haphazardly combine income statement and capacity improvements to arrive at a total "value created" number for the client. Capacity improvements are a means to value creation, not an end. Technology firms that misunderstand this will have problems cost justifying their solutions to their clients. They should read this book.

Another golden idea is that technology deployment is only one part of the business improvement process. The other (perhaps more important) part of the process comes from changing the success metrics surrounding the area that deploys the technology. For example, if Tyson pays its plant managers to maximize efficiencies, it's natural that they will increase the chicken supply regardless of expected demand, burning cash in the process. Accordingly, technology driven capacity increases will drive up finished goods inventories unless firms change the way they reward their plant managers.

This book has bold implications for CPFR software users. How likely is it that plant managers at the top of the supply-chain will do what's in the best interest of the entire supply-chain if doing so makes them look like they are doing a poor job? Not many. And what if the members of a given supply-chain are different companies, with different lending ratios, stock prices, industry benchmarks, and so on? And whose customer is the end-user anyway? Thought provoking.

If anything, the book educates supply-chain students that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sure it's fun to think theoretically about supply-chain management, but the real world is a cruel mistress. This book reminds us that if CPFR and ERP were such a great ideas, then there would be no unprofitable vertically integrated companies. Reason enough to buy the book.

Book Review: This is Eli Goldratt's clearest story of theTheory of Constraints Holistic Approach-integrating the wholesupply chain.

The heroes in this novel are from the softwareservice industry who must provide software to connect the variedcompany components. The heroes struggle as they try to meet client demands and at the same time provide real value to the marketplace.

In the first chapter, Eli tells why the stock market is so fickled, exposes the results of two breakthrough ideas, outlines the key role of the CEO and clarifies the confusion between pessimism and paranoia. And the chapters accelerate from there.

After the third chapter, you are drawn into the story and forget this really is a systems management textbook. Read carefully to discover: Many erroneous assumptions made by management (e.g. Measuring efficiency is good) Discover the problems with Finite Capacity Planning (and the solution) The full solution for Distribution and Replenishment Systems How to synchronize engineering with the rest of the firm (yes, it is possible) The terrible effect of Transfer Pricing (nothing is sold until the final customer pays) The devastating results of Min-Max inventory policy The best use of Dollar-Days How to find the next constraint (the one that will hit you in the face as soon as you fix the current one) Each chapter builds on the understanding of the previous chapters to help the reader see the possible impact of applying TOC to the whole enterprise. Towards the end of Necessary But Not Sufficient you will find you want to go back and re-read The Goal, and Its Not Luck so you can better understand the TOC applications. That is good, but finish Necessary But Not Sufficient first. The last three chapters outline an "UnRefusable Offer" from the software providers to industry. While Eli intended this offer to be a prediction of the future, it is rapidly happening-its probably in place by the time you read this book review.

This book has very little new material from previous TOC books. It doesn't lead the reader as well as The Goal or It's Not Luck. In short it is a "Rah-Rah" book telling the reader how great TOC is without giving much detail and in the context of a novel that doesn't create a great amount of character sympathy. I really don't understand how a man as brilliant as Goldratt could have written this. Get The Goal, It's Not Luck, and the appropriate textbook(s) to implement TOC in your business.

I have thouroughly enjoyed Goldratt's other books--each taught me a new framework and how to apply it. Each taught in an interesting and easy to follow manner, and applied the framework to many different problems. This book didn't do that. It restated that the concepts that we learned in the Goal, Critical Chain, and Its not Luck are good and still apply, but doesn't add anything new. As far as I can tell, the only new idea briefly appears in the last chapters-- dollar-day metrics; and seems to appear from out of the blue. On the positive side, the style of writing hasn't changed much-- its still easy to read. If you've read the previous Goldratt books, don't bother. If you haven't, don't bother--go read them!

Technology is great, however in and of itself it does not solve anything, and often compounds the problems which it is deployed to fix. Goldratt discusses this issue extensively in "Necessary but Not Sufficient"

BGSoft is a fictional ERP company that must face the reality of the aforementioned dilemma. BGSoft's clients desire a measurable ROI following the massive expenditure required for an ERP installation. This ERP vendor must dig deep to document the tangible bottom line (financial) benefits, which its clients reap from installation of the software. In his typical business novel format, Goldratt masterfully engages the reader, and eloquently presents the logic used to bring about bottom line results.

The results achieved are impressive, and involve the application of the Theory of Constraints. The company must carefully craft its moves so as to appease Wall Street. Goldratt also delves into the reasoning behind the sometimes-astronomical valuations of technology companies, and the massive fluctuations associated with this speculative sector.

"Necessary but Not Sufficient" provides rock solid logic that is fundamental for success in today's technology focused business environment. While the focus here was an ERP vendor and it's clients, the same fundamentals apply equally well to the dot-com world. Look at the big picture, find the constraint, elevate it, and repeat. Most of all remember that people solve problems and bring about change and improvement. Technology is merely a tool, often necessary, but not sufficient in and of itself.