Just In Time (JIT) Vs Supermarkets
Many pioneers of lean manufacturing or JIT traveled to USA to
study the Henry Ford's line assembly system. They studied the
manufacturing system which made Henry Ford one of the richest of
the planet. They studied the pluses and minuses of the system.
But, many Japanese manufacturers were more interested in
supermarkets than Ford's system. Sounds bad? It is true though.
Lean manufacturing pioneers thought about the possibility of
using the super market concepts in the manufacturing process
that they are going to develop. It might not be possible to say
lean manufacturing is born on the supermarket concept. But JIT
operates more or less similar to the concepts of the super
markets.
A supermarket never keeps large stocks in them. They will keep
only the shelf full and when the goods are being removed from
the customer, it will be detected ad the shelves will be
replenished daily or twice a day. The important concept behind
this system is not having large stocks and continuous
replenishment based on the consumption. This will give
supermarkets large floor space savings, less wastage and ability
to react for the customer requirements.
This is what happens in JIT manufacturing. Goods are produced
only when they are required. Therefore there is no requirement
for the stocks. Raw materials are purchased in small batches,
when they are required. Then the goods are produced with a
continuous flow. Then the finished products are distributed to
the customers in small batches, continuously. This means, no
wastages in the form of opportunity loss for the capital,
reduced quality defects, floor space savings, higher flexibility
and shorter lead-times.
This process will be stimulated by the customer demand.
Customer requirement will pull the product from the
manufacturer. Don't you see a big similarity between lean
manufacturing and supermarkets?
For more information visit Lean
manufacturing concepts explained