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Lean manufacturing was born from the Japanese company Toyota Production Systems in the 1990’s. Is a systematic method for waste minimisation in the production process, to increase the efficiency of a company. There are four principal methods used in lean production:

continuous improvement (kaizen)

just-in-time (JIT)

kanban

andon.

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2. The origins of Just in Time production type

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2. The origins of Just in Time production type

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It was firstly implemented in Japan in the Toyota by Taichii Onho.  After WWII, Japan was rebuilding the industries, therefore, most companies had lack of cash to finance big inventories. They didn’t have enough space to build big factories and had high unemployment rates so it wasn’t good for the economy to set up the assemble methods of productions that were popular at the time and labor efficient (Ford). In addition, the island didn’t and currently does not have enough natural resources of which businesses could build products. Thus, Toyota came up with the idea of building smaller and affordable factories in which only the inventory needed was stored. As the inventory was kept low, other factors were not necessary such as the people who look out for the inventory. By 1980, articles about this lean manufacturing method arrived to the United States and the method was rapidly adopted by other companies.

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3. Description of Just in Time production type

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3. Description of Just in Time production type

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The Just in Time production method consists in producing and delivering finished goods only when they are ordered, with the objective of avoiding the waste and costs of holding buffer stock (storage, permissions, employees and insurance costs). Therefore, the production cycle starts only when an order is placed, meaning that this production type must reach the customer’s very specific order. The cycle consists of short-notice planning for manufacturing, purchasing the required raw materials, finish the produced goods and ship them right away instead of storing them.

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4. Conditions necessary for this particular type of production method to work

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4. Conditions necessary for this particular type of production method to work

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Considering that the Just in Time production method depends on short-notice orders or unexpected changes in demand, this Lean production type requires efficient suppliers that deliver materials as fast as possible, making sure that doesn't jeopardise the quality of materials. This method might also require specialised employees depending on the type of order, considering these can be very specific in some industries. Investing in more efficient machinery is a must in order to reach customer’s specification Just in Time. Another alternative is to use the Just in Case method, which requires to hold reserves of raw materials or partly finished goods in case of an unexpected change in orders or problem in the manufacturing chain. Also, a good online system would facilitate the placing of orders for customers instead of relying on phone calls, emails, or meetings.

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Less space needed: unlike JIC, this method will not hold buffer stock, optimising storage space to store goods.

Waste reduction: A faster turnaround of stock prevents goods becoming damaged or obsolete.

Smaller investments: avoids the investment on huge amounts of stock at once; ideal for small companies.

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6. Limitations of Just in Time production 

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6. Limitations of Just in Time production 

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It is necessary to find suppliers that are able to provide inventory at a short notice in case of a big order of the product.

When the orders are very small, supplier’s minimum order policies may be a problem.

It requires a lot of planning since the companies must recognize their sales trends and variances to have enough inventory to produce during seasons of high sales and to order less inventory to produce for seasons of low sales.

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We think the Just in Time technique is very useful to avoid the holding of stock or even raw material, which could otherwise result in increase costs of permissions, storage, employees and insurance. It also enables a more direct relation with customers as the company would have to communicate with them to know what their specifications are for the good being produced, which increases brand loyalty, thus improving the public image of the business. However, this lean production method is very specific to some industries. For example, this production line wouldn't be suitable for a supermarket as it requires to have plenty of stock.

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LLP, B. Just-in-time and lean production. Business Case Studies. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://businesscasestudies.co.uk/exel/managing-the-supply-chain-for-globally-integrated-products/just-in-time-and-lean-production.html

The Fabricator. (2015). Just in Time. Retrieved from https://www.thefabricator.com/article/cadcamsoftware/adjusting-to-a-just-in-time-manufacturing-environment