4 ms·

Yep. The push for zero inventory, just in time, outsourced manufacturing created a traffic jam when there was no buffer to absorb the shock.

eitland 5y ago
It might be worth nothing that Toyota - from where the JIT idea came - hasn't been as much affected by it as many others.
- jjk166 5y ago
  JIT may have originated at Toyota, but Toyota's version of JIT is not what is nowadays commonly referred to as JIT. Toyota's production sytem is a lean manufacturing method where stages of production are rate matched (ie operation B is using parts at the same rate operation A is producing them), but there still are buffers of inventory between stages. The goal is to make the whole system communicate in such a way that when one part needs to change rate, everything else changes rate at the same time. In conventional JIT, the goal is specifically to minimize inventory by minimizing the time between when something is produced and when it is consumed. This is good from an accounting perspective as money that would be tied up in inventory can be put to other uses such as investments. JIT is about eliminating the variability for which you would need buffers, really the opposite of what Toyota does.
  - eitland 5y ago
    Which was my point: JIT might been have misunderstood.
- mamurphy 5y ago
  Do you have any sources your can share or more info about this? I Googled and the first result was "Under delta, supply chain strains, Toyota slashes production."[0] Many similar results[1][2][3]. Six months ago they were getting temporary reprieve because they monitored supply and snapped some up[4], but now, six months later, they seem to be having to slash production like everyone else. [0]https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-technology-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-a89b86a18861a7a48fd87939913c23af https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-technology-business-hea... [1]https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a37364490/toyota-cutting-global-production-not-tundra/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a37364490/toyota-cutting-g... [2]https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/toyota-slashes-production-as-pandemic-strains-supply-chain https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/toyota-slashes-producti... (pbs reiterates AP report) [3]https://www.thestreet.com/phildavis/stocks-options/thursday-failure-supply-chain-issues-force-toyota-to-cut-40-of-production https://www.thestreet.com/phildavis/stocks-options/thursday-... [4]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-07/how-toyota-s-supply-chain-helped-it-weather-the-chip-shortage https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-07/how-toyot...
- rossdavidh 5y ago
  Toyota historically has worried more about keeping a close relationship with their suppliers, which means keeping them afloat during hard times. American automakers historically are less interested in that. My understanding was that Toyota's cuts in orders for parts were less drastic than their competitors.

eitland 5y ago

It might be worth nothing that Toyota - from where the JIT idea came - hasn't been as much affected by it as many others.

jjk166 5y ago
JIT may have originated at Toyota, but Toyota's version of JIT is not what is nowadays commonly referred to as JIT. Toyota's production sytem is a lean manufacturing method where stages of production are rate matched (ie operation B is using parts at the same rate operation A is producing them), but there still are buffers of inventory between stages. The goal is to make the whole system communicate in such a way that when one part needs to change rate, everything else changes rate at the same time. In conventional JIT, the goal is specifically to minimize inventory by minimizing the time between when something is produced and when it is consumed. This is good from an accounting perspective as money that would be tied up in inventory can be put to other uses such as investments. JIT is about eliminating the variability for which you would need buffers, really the opposite of what Toyota does.
- eitland 5y ago
  Which was my point: JIT might been have misunderstood.
mamurphy 5y ago
Do you have any sources your can share or more info about this? I Googled and the first result was "Under delta, supply chain strains, Toyota slashes production."[0] Many similar results[1][2][3]. Six months ago they were getting temporary reprieve because they monitored supply and snapped some up[4], but now, six months later, they seem to be having to slash production like everyone else. [0]https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-technology-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-a89b86a18861a7a48fd87939913c23af https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-technology-business-hea... [1]https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a37364490/toyota-cutting-global-production-not-tundra/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a37364490/toyota-cutting-g... [2]https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/toyota-slashes-production-as-pandemic-strains-supply-chain https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/toyota-slashes-producti... (pbs reiterates AP report) [3]https://www.thestreet.com/phildavis/stocks-options/thursday-failure-supply-chain-issues-force-toyota-to-cut-40-of-production https://www.thestreet.com/phildavis/stocks-options/thursday-... [4]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-07/how-toyota-s-supply-chain-helped-it-weather-the-chip-shortage https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-07/how-toyot...
rossdavidh 5y ago
Toyota historically has worried more about keeping a close relationship with their suppliers, which means keeping them afloat during hard times. American automakers historically are less interested in that. My understanding was that Toyota's cuts in orders for parts were less drastic than their competitors.