lean thinking and JIT model for Companies

lean thinking and JIT model for Companies

Question 1

Companies are under pressure to adopt lean thinking and JIT model for various reasons. Before delving into the reasons, lean thinking is a business methodology whose sole objective is to offer a new approach to think about creating more benefits and value to society or individuals while reducing waste. JIT, which stands for Just in time model, is a management philosophy that guides manufacturing, production, or supply by allowing suppliers to deliver raw materials at the right time or as scheduled to avoid waste.

Companies use both lean thinking and JIT model to increase efficiency. Companies employ these philosophies solely to become more efficient in their operations. For instance, lean thinking would increase efficiency by aligning customer satisfaction with job satisfaction. By doing the company is likely to improve its effectiveness in especially in service delivery (Caldera, Desha, & Dawes, 2017). Also, lean thinking encourages innovation, which helps the company to produce high-quality products or services in a profitable manner whilst reducing overhead costs to the environment, suppliers, and customers. Similarly, JIT allows organizations to reduce waste and minimize costs by receiving raw materials or goods only at a time they are needed.

Further, companies are using lean thinking to sustain their growth. In the current business environment where the competition gets intense every day, it is upon businesses to find a way of sustaining growth. By maintaining growth, businesses stand a chance of countering competition and gaining a competitive advantage even in a challenging environment or situation. Therefore, companies are finding it reasonable to use lean thinking, which can help them to think innovatively on things like growth, expansion, and innovation (Caldera, Desha, & Dawes, 2017). In the same breath, companies are using the JIT model that their operations, manufacturing, or production is not cut or stopped temporarily due to late or delays in delivery of raw material or goods. Hence, to achieve a continuous and steady supply chain, companies have to use the JIT model.

Question 2

The lean manufacturing model is centered on the elimination of waste that hampers the company’s chances of maximizing profits and satisfying its customers (Wyrwicka, & Mrugalska, 2017). Therefore, waste is one thing that companies employing lean manufacturing try to eliminate so that they can operate optimally. In summary, the most well-known wastes include transport, over-production, defects, over-processing, inventory, motion, waiting, and non-utilized talent.

Over-production occurs when a company produces products in excess. Even as an organization focuses on increasing output, there is a need to be realistic. An organization should ensure that its production is within the amount demanded. However, in most instances, over-production can happen, forcing an organization to incur expenses such as storage or wasted material. Over-production can lead to significant losses to an organization when some products get obsolete or when some become useless inventory (Wyrwicka, & Mrugalska, 2017).

If a company has defects, it is likely to affect customer satisfaction. Also, money and time are likely to be impacted. In essence, defects occur when incorrect documentation, poor design, and unclear processing happens. While waiting happens during machine downtime or when there is poor communication or unnecessary delays, which can affect production. There are instances when a company’s operation comes to a standstill due to unplanned or delayed equipment repair.

Transportation is a waste in most cases if it cannot deliver materials or products at the right time. It can cause waste, like waiting if it impacts the delivery of raw materials. Transportation is essential in lean manufacturing, and if not properly managed, it can be a significant waste (Wyrwicka, & Mrugalska, 2017). While over-processing is a waste that occurs, primarily unnecessary activities are carried out—for instance, coloring or writing unnecessary graffiti at the company.

Question 3

Organizations are using lean thinking for some reasons. One of the primary reasons is that lean thinking can eliminate waste. When organizations are driven by a goal, vision, or mission, the best thing to consider is reducing waste. It is a waste that can cost a company a fortune. Thus the organization is implementing lean thinking in order to come up with appropriate ways of removing waste from its operations (Tezel, Koskela, & Aziz, 2018). For instance, there could be waste arising from transportation where goods are delivered to the market after several days. Also, waste can result from overproduction, which in essence reduces efficiency at warehouses.

Similarly, some organizations use lean thinking purposefully to create knowledge. Knowledge acquisition or management is becoming a critical concept in all organizations seeking to progress. Hence, lean thinking allows companies to acquire new knowledge or teach knowledge that is utilized purposefully to promote innovation(Tezel, Koskela, & Aziz, 2018). Aside from that, organizations are using lean thinking to improve production. Lean thinking allows an organization to develop better ways of delivering results in a faster way by managing their flows. Lean thinking is seen as the best way to increase workflow and efficiency in all business operations.

Also, lean thinking helps companies improve coordination among employees and management since it is built on the principle of respecting people. With lean thinking, employees’ efforts are always recognized. For instance, an organization suffering from employee conflicts can utilize the principle of respect in lean thinking to achieve courteous, thoughtful, and tolerant employees. Also, lean thinking is adopted purposefully to improve quality in all operations of an organization since it supports continuous improvement, sustains growth, and fosters innovation.

Nevertheless, some benefits accrue to an organization that uses lean thinking. Some of these benefits include freed up space, customer satisfaction, faster manufacturing of products, better product quality, self-driven employees, proper utilization of talent, and better focus. Fundamentally, with lean thinking, companies will produce products with improved quality, and this will automatically satisfy customers’ needs or desires(Tezel, Koskela, & Aziz, 2018). Also, the workers of an organization will be motivated to work diligently so that their organization can achieve its goals and objectives.

Question 4

I think the agile supply chain is the right concept in this Covid-19 emergency. Covid-19 is ravaging through developed and developing nations bringing the entire global society to a standstill. The health systems are overwhelmed, and medical supplies are urgently needed to save lives. The agile supply chain is the right concept because it is through it that organizations ramp up production. It is through it that organization become more responsive to market demands. Today, the need for medical supplies or masks, gloves, ventilators, ICU, and HDU beds has increased. Therefore, the agile supply chain is allowing organizations to respond to this kind of emergency. For instance, recently, in New York State, where Covid-19 had taken a toll on the population, the agile supply chain has been useful in responding to this emergency.