Question 1. An undisputable source of gathering competitive intelligence is competitors' customers. What makes them choose a competitor's product is a central question in gaining competitive intelligence. I have over the years noticed that some firms actually prevent their customers from talking with/to potential competitors. They do this by actually discrediting potential competitors to the eyes of the customer. I have wondered how legal this is. Do you have some perspectives on this?
Question 2. How would you say an organization can create flexibility within the master production schedule, and how would such flexibility affect the production flow?