Anecdotes and Fables

Just in Time

Use this story to illustrate how both the customer and the supplier need to be efficient for processes to work.

‘Just in Time’ (JIT) is a manufacturing philosophy where the supplier provides parts to the production line just as they are required. One of the advantages of this process is that eliminates buffer stocks and reduces the amount of expensive storage that is required.

Many manufacturers seem to think that JIT is just a matter of giving the supplier a schedule of when the parts should be delivered. They also fail to realise that JIT means using the parts just in time as well as delivering them just in time.

One such manufacturer implemented JIT, but had a problem on the production line and had no method for switching off the supply of parts. As the number of delivered parts started to pile up, they had to hire trucks to store the parts. In fact, JIT came to stand for ‘Jammed in Trucks’!

Become a member to get early access to new anecdotes and fables.

About Learning Pages | Support us | Latest Resources