Just In Time Working

Just In Time Introduction

Just-in-time working (JIT) is also known as "lean manufacturing". The term comes from quality management theory and the goal is to produce high quality products in the most efficient and economical way.

Businesses of all sizes are using Just In Time to tighten up production. The goal is to reduce delivery lead times, cut inventory, reduce the amount of defects, improve staff productivity and make sure products are delivered on time. It's based on the idea that holding too much stock or too many finished goods is a waste of money, and that a manufacturing business can work more efficiently by ordering only the materials it needs to complete an order, rather than stockpiling.

If you've already reorganised your shop floor layout and tweaked your working practices, you could look at implementing new software to link all the functions in your company and speed up workflow.

Software such as Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) packages help companies manage complex supply chains, while enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) can help you plan across your entire business and link you to supply chain partners for lean manufacturing. ERP and MRP packages can also help retailers reduce inventory and manage their supply chain.

You don't have to be a big blue chip company to benefit - Just In Time can help manufacturing businesses big or small. And JIT's not just for the manufacturing sector. Streamlining the way you work is just as relevant to high street retailers under pressure to improve sales performance and reduce operating costs.

Read on to see how you can cut costs and react more quickly to customer demands.