The very industry that birthed the just in time (JIT) inventory management movement back in the 1950s may be rethinking the approach as it continues to grapple with raw material shortages and other pandemic-driven supply chain impacts. Based on the philosophy that goods should be received from suppliers only as they are needed, JIT helps minimize inventory (and as such, stocking costs) and improves operational efficiencies.
JIT’s origins can be traced back to Henry Ford’s production line, where he was keenly aware of the burdens of inventory. Then, in post-war Japan, Taiichi Ohno (“Father of JIT”) adapted the system at Toyota and used it to manage smaller batch sizes and a greater variety of parts used to construct assemblies.
