Just-in-Time (JIT)

What is Just-in-Time (JIT)?

Just-in-Time (JIT) is a production and inventory management strategy built around a straightforward idea: materials, components, and finished goods should arrive or be produced exactly when they're needed, not before. Instead of stockpiling parts in warehouses, you time everything so resources show up right as they're about to be used. The result? Less waste, lower storage costs, and capital that isn't sitting idle in the form of inventory.

Toyota Motor Corporation developed this approach in the early 1970s, with Taiichi Ohno leading the charge. It changed how manufacturers thought about efficiency. The guiding principle seems almost obvious once you hear it: only receive supplies and produce goods when there's actual demand for them. But pulling it off requires tight coordination with suppliers, precise scheduling, and a level of process discipline that many companies struggle to achieve.

When JIT works well, you end up with a production system that stays lean and can pivot quickly based on what customers actually want, all while keeping inventory to an absolute minimum. JIT is a core component of lean manufacturing and often works hand-in-hand with visual scheduling systems like Kanban to signal when new materials are needed.

Key Characteristics of Just-in-Time

• Pull Production: Instead of building to forecasts, production happens in response to real customer orders. You make things because someone wants them, not because a spreadsheet predicted they would.
• Minimal Inventory: Materials arrive as close to their use time as possible. This means you don't need massive warehouses full of parts that might sit there for months.
• Strong Supplier Relationships: JIT only works if your vendors can deliver reliably, on time, and with consistent quality. These partnerships tend to be close and collaborative.
• Continuous Improvement: There's always something to optimize. JIT practitioners look constantly for ways to cut waste, improve quality, and streamline operations.
• Quality at the Source: Problems get caught and fixed immediately rather than discovered later. If a defect appears, production stops until it's resolved.

Just-in-Time Examples

Example 1: Automotive Manufacturing

Picture an automotive assembly plant that receives engine components from suppliers just hours before installation. Rather than maintaining a warehouse with thousands of engines collecting dust, the plant coordinates deliveries of 50-100 engines multiple times throughout the day, timed precisely to the assembly schedule. The warehouse shrinks dramatically, and the plant always uses the latest component versions instead of working through old stock.

Example 2: Restaurant Operations

A fast-casual restaurant chain orders fresh produce each day based on the previous day's sales and current reservations. There's no walk-in cooler stuffed with ingredients that might spoil. Instead, deliveries arrive each morning shortly before doors open. The food stays fresh, waste drops significantly, and the menu can shift with seasonal ingredients or changing customer tastes without the burden of using up existing inventory first.

Just-in-Time vs Traditional Inventory Management

JIT takes a fundamentally different approach than traditional inventory management methods, and the differences show up across nearly every aspect of operations.

How Glitter AI Helps with Just-in-Time

Making JIT work requires procedures that everyone can follow consistently. There's little room for ambiguity when timing matters this much. Glitter AI helps organizations document their JIT processes through visual work instructions, so you can create clear step-by-step guides for receiving procedures, quality checks, supplier coordination, and production workflows.

The screen recording features make it simple to capture how experienced team members handle JIT operations, then share those practices across shifts and locations. In environments where precise timing and standardized processes determine success or failure, having this kind of accessible documentation matters. It cuts down on errors, speeds up training for new hires, and helps maintain the coordination that JIT systems depend on.