About this Presentation
Two different types of variety exist: the total offering of products (the full product mix offered by a manufacturer; the total scope of products offered by the distribution chain; and the total variety of product categories in a retail shop) and within the same type or category of products – the variety of end-items that are offered. Both decisions are critical to the business as a whole; are impacted by a lot of uncertainty; and have huge impact of two critical resources (space and cash). Customers’ perception of value of a product is defined as meeting a practical need; a “status”; or esthetic or artistic excitement. The buyer, the variety, the manufacturer, and the variety per category dilemmas are discussed. Variety in a fashion and an electronics supply chain are discussed. The contribution of Herbert Simon is described.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Variety often feels like chaos — but it isn’t random. The session reveals how variability in demand, methods, and timing masks underlying patterns that only become clear when you distinguish between useful vs. disruptive variety.
Not all inventory protects flow — some hides problems. It hints at why excess stock looks like safety but actually covers up the real causes of delay and failure, and how reducing harmful variety restores predictable performance.
Too many choices slow everyone down. The presentation shows how simplifying decision paths — by limiting unnecessary options — can accelerate throughput without sacrificing real responsiveness.4. Variation isn’t just noise, it’s a signal. Rather than ignoring spikes and dips, the session suggests treating them as early warnings that expose hidden constraints and opportunities for improvement.
Instructor(s)
Eli Schragenheim
Eli Schragenheim is a well-known international management educator, author and consultant active in various fields of management. He worked with a huge variety of organizations all over the world, including public-sector organizations, industrial, high-tech and start-ups. Since he had joined Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, the famous creator of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) in 1985, Eli Schragenheim had taught, spoke at conferences, and consulted all over the globe. Eli Schragenheim is the author of several books on various aspects of management. His last book, Throughput Economics – Making Good Management Decisions, together with Henry Camp and Rocco Surace, was published in July 2019. Eli Schragenheim first book Management Dilemmas (1998) showed a variety of problematic situations in management and the rigorous analysis leading to the right solution. Next he collaborated with William H. Dettmer in writing Manufacturing at Warp Speed. In this book the new concept of Simplified-DBR, now a key concept in production planning according to TOC, was introduced. He collaborated with Carol A. Ptak on ERP, Tools, Techniques, and Applications for Integrating the Supply Chain, and with Dr. Goldratt and Carol Ptak on Necessary but Not Sufficient. In 2009 his book Supply Chain Management at Warp Speed, with William H. Dettmer and Wayne Patterson was published. In March 2015, Eli has opened a blog, now containing more than 140 articles on various topics in TOC that everybody can access.