And we say JIT can’t work !!!!
Hello Friends!!! sorry for this unintended abscence. I had been busy working on a research paper on JIT with Mark....a friend of mine in Lincoln University...hi Mark!!! People go nuts when it comes to JIT implementation. They say it's not invented here, and it can't work in my firm. Believe me....it can and it will. Because JIT is very natural...we eat when we need it....we breathe when we need it....not more and not less all the time.
Even the Nature likes some of the vital things supplied to us on a JIT basis. JIT needs a supply chain system that should deliver things in the right quantity, at the right place, at the right time, and at the most economical cost. When it comes to the supply of oxygen, I am sure, Nature is the only supply chain Manager that can do it. Others can be nowhere in the race with her if we go by the definition of JIT. Just imagine a day in our life. We need oxygen to survive all the time. Even a small disruption in its supply can result in your last chance to read this blog…..and my last chance to publish this. If the same thing is done by human being, we would be moving all the time with a cylinder of oxygen, in the class, in the car, in the factory while working, and I feel scared to imagine the situation on a dinning table with all the diners facing each other in those weird eating gears.
So looks like, when we (the consumers or customers) need things on a JIT basis, the supplier (the Nature) will be forced to provide it on a JIT basis. For example, we get newspapers, news bulletin, emails, etc on a JIT way, why? Because we will not accept newspapers which are more than a day old. We will feel irritated if we get our sms from our friends delivered 20 minutes late due to an awful traffic jam on the service provider’s network. So, if the service providers want us to remain on their list, they have to make their system agile, smart and excellent enough to have our messages delivered on a JIT basis.
Let’s take some more examples…..In some countries (specially in the countryside), the milk is supplied by the milkmen at the customers’ doorsteps every morning on a JIT basis, because the customers don’t have refrigerators, which make the shelf life of milk very small (a few hours or just a day), and they will not accept milk on non-JIT basis. Same is true about many food items, vegetables and fruits. So, who says JIT is not a viable model in our business operations. Most of the Japanese suppliers have their supply chain synchronized with JIT philosophy, and they are reaping huge benefits in terms of reduced cost, reduced lead time, high visibility, enhanced quality, and continuous improvement.
So, folks, if you think that JIT is impossible to implement in your business environment, then think again!!!!
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posted by Dr. Ram Roy at
12:48 AM
2 Comments:
Hello Dr. Roy, I found your article on JIT quiet interesting, and myself being an ardent promoter of VMI, appreciate your enthusiasm for the same. I feel that JIT is applicable to every part of our life, and its importance is clearly evident in the huge benefits it has brought to the manufacturing industry.
In normal day to day life, it’s true that we expect and follow JIT practically, but consider the same scenario for an OEM manufacturer or a FMCG manufacturer. Their customers (say an automotive manufacturer or a retailer), would expect them to provide the inventory at the right time and at the right place, and the supplier's SLA would be tagged to that, but don’t you feel that in such a case, it’s the supplier who is facing a major part of the risks and pressures of the business.
Sir, I believe that for business partners (supplier and buyer), the risks and rewards sharing should be proportionately justified, if its business, then both should face the uncertainty involved in it, and share the risks accordingly. What I feel, is that JIT concept should be coupled with or elevated to a further level of collaboration, where the risks and rewards are shared by both the business partners (supplier and buyer), e.g. CPFR. I feel that this holds a potential for making a strong bonding and relationship of trust among the business partners (which I feel was lacking in JIT to some extent), and that, certainly acts as a strong motivator for better services from the supplier.
Regards,
Amit
March 16, 2007 at 2:32 AM
Hi Amit,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments.
I was thinking about this and I got one just-in-time, which corroborates the dictum that JIT is just a wish away. I agree with you that JIT partners should share the risks and rewards. There is no room for mistrust and adversarial relationship in JIT supply chain, and one can learn a lot from Japanese keiretsu network system. Thanks once again....Roy
March 16, 2007 at 4:20 AM
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