Just in Time Delivery

BA464: Operations Management

February, 2009

Just In Time (JIT)

“When is the best time to have an inventory part ready for production?  Just in time.

When is the best time to have an item ready for the next step in production? Just in time.

When is the best time to have a product ready for delivery to a customer? Just in time.

Why do manufacturers build inventory of both finished goods and raw materials? Just in case!” (Mind Tools, 2009) [1]

Just-In-Time manufacturing is a management philosophy which strives to eradicate manufacturing waste by producing only the precise amount and combination of parts right in time for customer delivery.[2]

The elements of Just-In-Time delivery may include but are not limited to the following:

• “Shared product design with customers and suppliers

• Movement toward single sourcing

• Proximate suppliers and customers

• Reduced machine set-up times

• Total preventative maintenance

• Reliance on analytical tools to identify sources of defects in products and processes

• Demand-pull support

• Cellular plant layout” (Droge, Germain, 1998)[3]

Henry Ford, of the Ford Motor Company, was the first to use some sort of Just-In-Time system. He only bought material that was needed on his production plan. He also set up deliveries so that the flow of products would be smooth. Ford’s process was adopted by other car manufacturers and perfected by the Toyota Company in Japan.

“The basic elements of JIT were developed by Toyota in the 1950's, and became known as the Toyota Production System (TPS).  JIT was well-established in many Japanese factories by the early 1970's.  JIT began to be adopted in the U.S. in the 1980's (General Electric was an early adopter), and the JIT/lean concepts are now widely accepted and used.” (Jacobs, 2006)[4]

The advantages and disadvantages of Just-In-Time

Having a safety stock can be both reassuring and costly. Companies may be unnecessarily locking away a huge...