Most manufacturing companies are facing volatile and unpredictable demand due to trends such as increased global competition, shorter business cycles and broader product ranges. To survive in this competitive and fast-changing environment, it is necessary to improve flexibility and become truly agile. The required flexibility levels have to consider volume fluctuations, product mix fluctuations and customer lead time requirements. Tools and strategies that enable the supply chain to meet these requirements, without compromising on the unit cost, must be implemented.