Value Stream Design: Guidelines for the Future State

Intermediate 10 min read · Updated 2026-10-31

The future state does not come from creativity; it comes from rules. Rother/Shook list eight key questions, Erlach ten design guidelines. They share the same core: align to takt time, flow where you can, pull where you must, schedule at one point.

The guidelines

Produce to takt time: every process works to takt, not faster and not slower.
Finished goods supermarket or ship directly: supply standard products with steady demand from a supermarket, let customer-specific products flow straight to shipping.
Continuous flow wherever possible: link processes with similar cycle times into a cell; the inventory between them disappears.
FIFO lane where flow is not possible: a capped quantity in a fixed sequence between two processes.
Supermarket with kanban where FIFO does not work: behind processes that run in batches because of long changeovers or many variants. The customer process withdraws from the supermarket, and the withdrawal triggers replenishment.
Schedule one pacemaker process: only it receives the customer schedule; everything upstream runs on pull, everything downstream flows.
Level the production: distribute product mix and volume evenly at the pacemaker (heijunka), with small release units (pitch).
Shorten EPEI: cut changeover times so every product is made more often and inventory goes down.

Steering bracket example (future state): takt time 60 s. Welding 1, welding 2 and assembly (39 + 46 + 62 = 147 s of work content) become one flow cell; 147 s ÷ 60 s = 2.45, so three operators. The planned cycle time of the cell is 56 s, just below takt (3 × 56 s = 168 s of capacity for 147 s of work), with 95% uptime after TPM. In front of the cell is a stamped-parts supermarket with kanban behind stamping, and after it a finished goods supermarket; the cell is the pacemaker with a daily schedule. Production lead time drops from 11.3 to 4.0 days.

How to run the workshop

Start at the customer: which process should be the pacemaker? Usually the last process before shipping, or assembly. From there, work upstream: what can flow, what needs FIFO, what needs a supermarket? Justify every decision with cycle time vs. takt time, changeover time and the number of variants.

In the editor, set the state to "Future", mark the pacemaker, replace inventories with supermarkets or FIFO lanes and draw pull connections. The kanban calculator sizes the supermarkets, the checks flag missing kanban loops, and the current/future comparison quantifies the gain.

Typical results

Production lead times in future-state designs often drop by 50 to 80%, because inventory between linked processes disappears and supermarkets are capped. Processing time barely changes; the gain is in the waiting.

Practice in the editor

Open the "Steering bracket (future state)" template and check where the flow cell, supermarket and pacemaker are used.

Open the template in the editor Start blank

Free, no sign-up, in your browser. Metrics, timeline and checks are calculated automatically.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pacemaker process?

The one process that receives the customer schedule. Upstream of it, material is replenished by pull; downstream of it, material flows at takt to shipping. It sets the rhythm of the whole value stream.

When to use a supermarket and when FIFO?

FIFO when the upstream process can run in the same sequence. A supermarket when it has to produce in a different sequence or in batches because of changeovers or many variants.

How big does a supermarket need to be?

Demand during the replenishment lead time plus a safety allowance. The kanban calculator in the editor computes the number of cards and the inventory from daily demand, replenishment lead time, container size and safety factor.