Just-In-Time Inventory Practices
Abstract
When people first started to transform raw materials into finished products, much thought
was not given to the efficiency of the process. As we know now, much thought and
planning need to be put into manufacturing and inventory systems, to make the process as
efficient and profitable as possible. But how did we get from the crude primitive
manufacturing systems of the past to what we know of the highly productive and efficient
systems of today? To answer this question, I will not only consider the people who
changed the system, but also analyze how their ideas and contributions changed the way
we manufacture today. To understand the how the system has changed and why it does
function so well, I will consider how Just-In-Time inventory practices tie-in with the
principles of Lean manufacturing. I will consider the types of decision making tools, and
how they are used as well as the positives and negatives associated with each system. As
people began to learn and understand that there was a better way to do things, the face of
manufacturing had to change, but change never comes quickly or easily.
Just-In-Time Inventory Practices
Lean manufacturing and Just-In-Time inventory systems are two principles that we will
examine to understand why and how business has the productive capacity and efficiency
that it has today. The origins of Just-In-Time systems can be credited to Eli Whitney and
his interchangeable parts and to Henry Ford with his Model T manufacturing strategy.
These systems and the ideas were even adapted by Japanese manufacturers like Toyota,
after World War II (A Brief History of Lean, 2014). Getting to where we are at today with
high-tech automotive manufacturing, from the introduction of interchangeable parts was
not a quick or easy process. This journey involved numerous people and their innovative
ideas.
Early Manufacturing to Present Systems
Manufacturing began when people started to convert raw materials into finished products
in their homes and shops using hand tools to complete the entire process in this early form.
A few people revolutionized the process one step at a time. The first person commonly
credited with the start of what we know as Just-In-Time systems, is Eli Whitney. He
introduced interchangeable parts into the system at the time, which allowed for items to be
made to exact specifications, very quickly (Whitney, 2014). Focus was centered on
singular items and individual processes rather than overall process improvement for years
