{"id":1975,"date":"2022-03-14T13:01:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T05:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/?p=1975"},"modified":"2022-10-12T12:21:44","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T04:21:44","slug":"just-in-time-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/articles\/just-in-time-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Just-In-Time Production: What Is It, and Can It Work For You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just-In-Time (JIT) is much more than a buzzword used by advocates of Lean manufacturing<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s a management philosophy, inventory control method, production approach and cost-saving measure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially, Just-In-Time production reduces waste by optimising resource allocation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a lot to it, so let\u2019s unpack the potential of JIT.<\/p>\n

What is Just-In-Time manufacturing?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Just-In-Time is a managerial and operational approach that produces what the customer wants, when they want it, without order delays or excess costs.<\/p>\n

Rather than producing what you think<\/i> the customer wants, Just-In-Time means delivering what they demand<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It might seem daunting to think about JIT as an end-to-end manufacturing method.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But broken down to a step-by-step supply chain, in which each link only produces what the subsequent link demands, JIT becomes easier to digest.<\/p>\n

Where did it start?<\/h3>\n

Credit for JIT manufacturing canonically goes to Toyota. After WWII, the car manufacturer didn\u2019t have space or supplies to build a backlog of products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The story goes that Toyota execs on a junket to the USA saw a supermarket only replenishing the items customers actually purchased. The shelves were never empty, nor was the warehouse overstocked with unwanted items.<\/p>\n

It took 15 years, but eventually, Toyota was producing in the same way, reducing their costs and optimising time to market. They treated each link in the production process as the \u201csupermarket\u201d, only replenishing what was being used.<\/p>\n

The pros and cons of Just-In-Time manufacturing<\/b><\/h2>\n

Unlike traditional manufacturing, Just-In-Time shifts focus from production at scale to Lean manufacturing methodologies<\/span><\/a>. That can have benefits and drawbacks for Australian manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Pros and cons of Just-In-Time manufacturing<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Pros<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Cons<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Lower inventory costs<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Usually requires retraining staff<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Deliver and get paid faster<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Australia\u2019s isolation makes JIT ordering risky<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Less storage space required<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Business system overhaul<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Reduces handling and logistics costs<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Less robust during seasonal demand cycles<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Simpler production planning<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Psychological and organisational resistance<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Decreasing product defects<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Streamlined production processes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Flexibility to respond to customer demand<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Easier customisation<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Clearly, JIT is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Successful implementation usually means turning the business\u2019 approach to manufacturing on its head \u2013 which takes time and resources.<\/p>\n

However, with an end-to-end ERP like Jobman<\/span><\/a>, manufacturers can confidently implement JIT and other Lean processes in stages. They rely on data-driven insight<\/span><\/a> and process automation to minimise disruption.<\/p>\n

How to implement JIT production<\/b><\/h2>\n

Just-In-Time is both a philosophy and practice. That means implementation happens on every level of your organisation.<\/p>\n

Inventory<\/h3>\n

Eliminate extra stock to reduce waste and storage costs.<\/p>\n

Production<\/h3>\n

Ensure production staff are trained, informed and empowered. Plus, your machinery needs to be reliable, with support from business management systems like an ERP.<\/p>\n

Pull signals<\/h3>\n

Schedule production based on pull signals; that means not producing until a customer (or downstream process) sends a demand signal.<\/p>\n

Management approach<\/h3>\n

Relying on data, implementing Agile processes, and targeting long-term growth through iterative improvements can help implement JIT manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Supplier relationships<\/h3>\n

By building robust long-term partnerships, you can trust suppliers to send what you need when you need it.<\/p>\n

Just to summarise\u2026<\/b><\/h2>\n

Just-In-Time production relies on robust business systems, clearly defined production processes and an empowered workforce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have all those in place, get in touch with the Jobman team<\/span><\/a> to find out how a manufacturing ERP can help simplify production and find all the answers.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just-In-Time (JIT) is much more than a buzzword used by advocates of Lean manufacturing. It\u2019s a management philosophy, inventory control method, production approach and cost-saving measure.\u00a0 Essentially, Just-In-Time production reduces…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lean-manufacturing","8":"category-job-management"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}