INDIVIDUAL

ACTIVITY
By: Von Gibson C. Melo
Just in Time

Just-in-time' is a management philosophy

and not a technique.

It originally referred to the production of

goods to meet customer demand exactly, in
time, quality and quantity, whether the
customer' is the final purchaser of the
product or another process further along the
production line.

It has now come to mean producing with

minimum waste. "Waste" is taken in its most
general sense and includes time and
resources as well as materials.

When first developed in Japan in the 1970s,

the idea of just-in-time (JIT) marked a
radical new approach to the manufacturing
process.
Advantages and
disadavtages
 Reduced Space Needed - With JIT you have a

Advantages of faster turnaround of stock, which means that you

do not need a lot of warehouse or storage space
to store goods or materials. Ultimately, this will

Just in Time reduce the amount of storage space your

organization will need to rent or buy, which will
free up funds for other parts of the business.
Smaller Investments - JIT inventory management
is an ideal methodology for small production

facilities that do not have the funds needed in
order to purchase huge amounts of stock at
once. Ordering stock materials only when they
are needed enables you to maintain a healthy
and smooth cash flow.
Waste Elimination/Reduction - A quicker
turnaround of stock prevents goods that have
become damaged or obsolete while sitting in
storage, reducing waste. This again saves money
through preventing investment in any
unnecessary stock and reducing the need to
replace old stock.

 DISADVANTAGES OF JUST IN TIME
Risk of Running Out of Stock -
With JIT manufacturing, you do
not carry as much stock. This is
because you base your stock off
of demand forecasts, and if those
are incorrect, then you will not
have the correct amount of stock
readily available for your
consumers. This is one of the most
common issues with
manufacturing that utilize
methodologies such as JIT and
lean.
Dependency on Suppliers - Having
to rely on the timelessness of
suppliers for each order puts you
at risk of delaying your customers’
receipt of goods. If you are unable
to meet consumer expectations,
then they could take their business
elsewhere. This is why it is
important to choose reliable
suppliers and have a strong
relationship with them so that you
can make sure that you have the
materials you need to meet your
customer demands.
Waste Elimination/Reduction - A
quicker turnaround of stock
prevents goods that have become
damaged or obsolete while sitting
in storage, reducing waste. This
again saves money through
preventing investment in any
unnecessary stock and reducing
the need to replace old stock.
Examples of
Just in Time
Toyota

Toyota is considered by many to be the poster child for

JIT success. The Toyota production strategy is highlighted
by the fact that raw materials are not brought to the
production floor until an order is received and this product
is ready to be built. No parts are allowed at a node unless
they are required for the next node, or they are part of an
assembly for the next node. This philosophy has allowed
Toyota to keep a minimum amount of inventory which
means lower costs. This also means that Toyota can adapt
quickly to changes in demand without having to worry
about disposing of expensive inventory.

Important Factors to Toyota Success:

Small amounts of raw material inventory must be kept

at each node in production, so that production can
take place for any product. These parts are then
replenished when they are used.
Accuracy of forecasting is important so the correct
amount of raw materials can be stocked.
 Dell has also leveraged JIT principles to make its

Dell manufacturing process a success. Dell’s approach to JIT

is different in that they leverage their suppliers to
achieve the JIT goal. They are also unique in that Dell is
able to provide exceptionally short lead times to their
customers, by forcing their suppliers to carry inventory
instead of carrying it themselves and then demanding
(and receiving) short lead times on components so that
products can be simply assembled by Dell quickly and
then shipped to the customer.

Important Factors to Dell’s Success:
Dependable suppliers with the ability to meet Dell’s
demanding lead time requirements.
A seamless system that allows Dell to transmit its
component requirements so that they will arrive at
Dell in time to fulfill its lead times.
A willingness of suppliers to keep inventory on hand
allowing Dell to be free of this responsibility.

 Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson’s use of JIT is mostly characterized by

its transformation in the late World War 2 era from an
inefficient manufacturer that solved all of its problems
with extra inventory to a nimble manufacturer able to
meet demand and provide short lead times.

Results of Harley Davidson’s JIT Implementation:

Inventory levels decreased 75 percent.

Increased productivity.
Harley Davidson’s success with the implementation of
JIT had a lot to do with the fact that when JIT was put
into practice, process problems could no longer be
hidden by costly inventory that helped to meet ship
dates. The inefficiencies in the processes were quickly
identified and solved.
REFERENCE
SOURCES
https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/re
search/dstools/jit-just-in-time-
manufacturing/#:~:text=%60Just
%2Din%2Dtime',further%20along
%20the%20production%20line.

https://www.planettogether.com/
blog/advantages-and-
disadvantages-of-just-in-time-jit-
manufacturing

https://www.brighthubpm.com/m
ethods-strategies/71540-real-life-
examples-of-successful-jit-
systems/