If you’ve spent some time in the world of manufacturing, chances are that you’ve heard of the term JIT delivery.  Just-in-Time delivery, or JIT delivery, helps businesses maximize their output every day. Filling more orders and spending less time on mundane tasks are just a few of the ways that your business can leverage JIT to your benefit. If your interest is peaked, this is the article for you.

Understanding what exactly JIT delivery is, its history and the benefits of using it are all essential in comprehending how, and why, JIT could benefit your business. By the end of this article, you should definitely be more informed and, hopefully, one step closer to implementing JIT delivery into your business.

Let’s clear the air here, Just-in-Time delivery doesn’t actually mean just-in-time. JIT delivery is an inventory management process that helps businesses more efficiently move their inventory from warehouses. This process is historically known as the Toyota Production System or TPS (we’ll get into that later) and colloquially known as lean manufacturing.

Despite its various names and acronyms, JIT delivery is not nearly as intimidating as it seems. This process is actually quite easy to understand.

With JIT delivery, businesses order their stock as needed, rather than ordering stock in bulk. Although this may seem simple, it’s designed to drastically increase efficiency, decrease waste, and optimize the time spent by your manufacturing workers. Whether it’s industrial lumber, pallets and crates, or anything else you need, JIT delivery gets your items there when you need them.

You might be asking yourself, what makes JIT delivery so special then? Isn’t it just another way of managing stock?

On its face, it definitely may seem simple. The logistical know-how behind JIT, however, is anything but simple. Manufacturers that provide companies with JIT delivery must have the buying power to supply their business partners’ needs for JIT at any time, have the manpower to get orders out to companies when they need it, and have the transportation capability to get inventory to the buyer in a timely manner.

Because of these factors, JIT delivery hasn’t always been feasible for either manufacturers or suppliers. In fact, the ability to provide JIT delivery is fairly new in the grand scheme of manufacturing.

Originally introduced in Australia by the British Motor Corporation, the concept of JIT delivery was quickly adopted further North in the Pacific. It turns out, 1970s Japan was the perfect place for JIT delivery to be brought into the mainstream.

Apparently, an island isn’t the best place to build large factories and store millions of pounds in stock. Along with this, Japan’s lack of natural resources, a suffering economy, and high unemployment created the perfect storm for JIT delivery.

Toyota, a Japanese car company, saw the economic and practical benefits of JIT and decided to implement the inventory management system in its business. With JIT delivery, Toyota saw a rapid increase in productivity and profitability, growing itself into the car giant we know today.

By 1977, the rest of the world had taken notice of Toyota’s success. In fact, Toyota was so successful with this model that business leaders dubbed the system the Toyota Production System. From that point forward, JIT delivery made its way across the globe at a rapid pace.

Saving time and money, this is the beauty of JIT delivery.

In order to understand just how beneficial JIT delivery actually is, we have to compare it to the traditional method of managing inventory.

Many businesses still go the traditional route when it comes to managing their stock in warehouses. They predict what materials they believe they will need and let those products sit on the shelves until they’re needed. When demand is high, this system can work brilliantly – but as we all know, this isn’t always the case.

In many cases, businesses order materials that aren’t frequently used for ‘just-in-case scenarios.  Having a stagnant inventory can be a pretty big problem.

These goods take space away from profitable goods, they take time away from your employees, and ultimately, they take money away from the business. With JIT delivery, businesses don’t have goods that sit unused. Space is available for the materials you need, and unused items are simply nonexistent.

Additionally, JIT delivery saves your workers loads of time. Rather than unpacking stock that may or may not be used, employees can get straight to manufacturing the goods your clients need. Your workers will definitely be happy with this change… no one likes to spend time unpackaging goods they know will sit forever.

Saving time and money, this is the beauty of JIT delivery.

Understanding JIT delivery is essential when you’re looking at inventory management options. Through its definition, its history, and its benefits, we hope that you now have a good understanding of what exactly this system does. Who knows, maybe you’ll implement JIT delivery in your warehouse one day.