Back to Glossary

Just In Time Manufacturing

What Is Just In Time Manufacturing?

Just in time manufacturing, popularly abbreviated as JIT, is an industrial process geared towards meeting the prevailing market demand. Unlike a typical industrial process, where production aims to sustain supply chains throughout the year by creating surplus products, JIT manufacturing means satisfying exact market needs and not more. 

Benefits Of JIT Manufacturing

JIT manufacturing has various business benefits, including:

  • Cost-efficient operations due to reduced, sometimes zero wastage.
  • Focuses on quality improvement due to reduced processing time.
  • Optimized storage space and costs since there is no surplus.
  • Fosters good business relationships because you can meet supply needs “just in time”.
  • Greater customer satisfaction, thanks to quality products.

Disadvantages of Just In Time Manufacturing

Like any industrial process, just in time technique has its drawbacks too. For instance, you might not have surplus stock to meet unexpected demands, something that can taint your relationship with suppliers. At the same time, your whole operational schedule relies on suppliers that can hinder rapid scaling.

Just In Time Manufacturing Examples

The JIT approach is a go-to option for many manufacturers who want to cut inventory costs. Prevalent examples include:

  • Car Assembly at Toyota Motor Corporation — the plant receives car parts only when it’s ready to assemble them after a client places an order.
  • Food processing at Burger King — the food retailer has all the ingredients at hand but only prepares the burger after customers place their orders.
  • Mobile phone assembly at Apple Inc. — Apple has JIT relationships with independent manufacturers all over the world to reduce its warehouse costs.

How JIT Production Differs From Traditional Manufacturing

Both the JIT approach and traditional processes focus on sustainable supply chains. However, traditional processing focuses more on cutting the costs of creating a particular product, by creating it in voluminous numbers.

On the other hand, the just in time technique is aimed at optimizing the intermediate production process with regard to the prevailing market demand. In other words, this process relies on the current customer needs to reflect them in the final product design.

RELATED TERMS

Frequently Asked Questions About Just In Time Manufacturing

Who invented just in time manufacturing?

Well, it’s Taiichi Ohno, when he was working at a Japanese Toyota assembling plant in the 1970s.

Just-in-time production is most associated with which manufacturing process?

This technique is synonymous with car and mobile phone assembly processes. Players in these industries often get into just-in-time relationships with independent manufacturers who are close to the consumer.

Does JIT manufacturing fit my business?

This technique might fit your business if you often produce items that rely on the customer placing an order to sell, such as food. This approach might be ideal if your business keeps a low inventory or the inventory is non-existent altogether.

What are the requirements for implementing JIT production?

The prerequisites for implementing just-in-time manufacturing are:

  • Reduced wastage;
  • Total quality control;
  • A healthy relationship with suppliers.

You May Find It Interesting

2 min read
Gepard Updates

Bintime Achieves ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certification, Raising the Bar for Gepard PIM Security

Our parent company, Bintime, has officially achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, the world’s leading standard for information security management.

Read more
Gepard PIM August Product Updates
4 min read
Gepard Updates

Gepard PIM Product Updates August 2025: Smarter Pipelines, AI Shopping Agents & More

Discover Gepard PIM’s August updates: AI shopping agent, smarter pipelines, Amazon category mapping, compliance tools, and faster testing.

Read more
Product Data Syndication

Product Content Syndication: Tools, Services & Strategy for Multichannel Growth

Define product content syndication and aggregation. How retailers and brands can benefit from syndication and distribution of product content.

Read more
Gepard PIM AI Mapping Feature
< 1 min read
Gepard Updates

From Data Chaos to Global Harmony: Meet Gepard’s AI Mapping Agent

Gepard’s AI Mapping Agent does both jobs: Builds taxonomies and data models. Maps them across suppliers, systems, sales channels.

Read more
Product Taxonomy Definition_ Mapping, Creation & Best Practices

Product Taxonomy Definition: Mapping, Creation & Best Practices

Find out what is product taxonomy, learn about its best practices and why it’s important for eCommerce business.

Read more
How Data Validation Transforms eCommerce Businesses

How Data Validation Transforms eCommerce Businesses

Read about the impact of data validation on eCommerce companies. Learn how to validate data to generate revenue and get a deeper understanding of your customers.

Read more
Gepard PIM AI Mapping Feature

Product Data Mapping: Framework, Automation & Best Practices

Discover what is product data mapping and how Gepard helps automate it. Learn frameworks, tools, and AI-powered solutions for eCommerce success.

Read more
How to Cut EU Chemical Regulations Compliance Time by 90%

How to Cut EU Chemical Regulations Compliance Time by 90%

Automate REACH, CLP & SCIP compliance with Gepard ECHA Connector. Cut risk, reduce manual work & ensure EU chemical regulation readiness.

Read more
Gepard PIM Product Updates July
3 min read
Gepard Updates

Gepard PIM Product Updates July 2025: Product URL Scraping and More

Our Gepard PIM summer release emerges from a structured development cycle underpinned by thorough technical reviews and measured iteration.

Read more
NEW EPREL CATEGORIES: HOW BRANDS DEAL WITH IT

The EPREL “Gotchas” we’re Already Seeing (and How Teams are Fixing Them)

Learn how brands adapt to the NEW EPREL categories: smartphones/tablets labels, PIM workflows, QR links, audits, fines.

Read more

Let’s Get In Touch

Need to contact us? Just use this form

Gepard Privacy Policy
Success