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Foreword
In August of 2011, Bostik was facing a crisis. In one sector of the business,
our ability to properly service customers had reached a critical level.
On-time / in-full delivery rates had reached a low of 10%, inventories were
climbing, lead times had increased to 21 days from an industry standard
of 5 days, and people were losing condence in our ability to x the prob-
lems. We were on the verge of losing the entire business, not just a few
orders. Aer a frustrating day at one of our major plants, I returned to my
hotel and called the one person I knew could help, Phil Kirby.
I had a long-standing relationship with Phil, dating back ...