The JIT StrategyBy adopting a JIT approach to inventory and product management, companies can often significantly reduce costs. Inventory costs weigh heavily on business expenses, especially in manufacturing organizations. By minimizing the amount of inventory you hold, you save space, free up cash resources and reduce waste resulting from obsolescence. JIT Systems To facilitate a JIT approach, you need a variety of systems in place. The most notable is a Kanban. This is a Japanese approach to ensuring a continuous supply of inventory or product. Kanbans were designed to support the JIT philosophy. A Kanban is a visual signal that indicates that it is time to replenish stock and possibly reorder. For example, when the supply of bolts on an assembly line drops below a certain number, it may discover a yellow line painted around the inside of the storage container. This yellow line tells the foreman that he needs to prepare a request for more bolts. This request is forwarded to the purchasing department, which processes the order. This prevents the bolt supply from falling below a critical quantity and allows production to continue flowing