JIS and a Time Slot Management system

Manufacturing companies have to adapt to serve consumer needs that increases the need for raw materials, which requires huge storage capacity. They try to eliminate the need to build large warehouses with a JIT or a JIS system. Only the most basic parts / raw materials are kept in stock, the rest are kept on constant delivery. The JIT philosophy forms the basis of the JIS system, which already sets up the right order among suppliers as it is needed for production. This can be supported by a well-functioning time slot mangement system.

Incresed economical production = JIT

The term used in production logistics, lean, is a production organization methodology through which manufacturing companies try to increase the economics of producing their products by increasing logistics goals. One of the pillars of lean is the Just in Time system. JIT, as a manufacturing and logistics strategy, ensures that needs are met at the right time, in quality, in quantity, from the right place, to the right place, with the right equipment and at the right cost.

The pull – based strategy within the logistics chain, in which the customer “pulls” the material and not the supplier pours it on the user companies. As a result, companies need to store much smaller stocks than before due to punctual deliveries.

Further reduction of storage capacity = JIS

The Just In Time philosophy is the basis of the Just In Sequence supply strategy, with the difference that the goal is not only to get the right parts in the right quantity and quality, from the right place, to the right place based on the conformity principle but also in the order required by the place of use.

Applying JIS requires preparation, expertise, and a strong IT background from both the manufacturer and supplier, so it is especially important to carefully plan and optimize these processes. The design of this philosophy depends on an available set from which the needs can be assembled in the appropriate order. The three pillars of the concept are integrated data processing (suppliers, manufacturers and customers) covering the entire supply chain, production and assembly segmentation, and procurement synchronous with production or production. The successful implementation of Just In-Sequence delivery requires extremely close cooperation from each actor in the supply chain.

How can a time slot management system support this supply strategy?

As mentioned above, task planning and optimization is key to mastering smooth workflows. In a TSM system, traceability of supplier arrivals is ensured. But a well developed system can help so much more than that.

In GLABs, it can even be tracked if there is a delay at one of the suppliers for some reason. It is possible to use the data obtained from the logging of work processes for statistics and to improve and optimize their processes based on it.

They can evaluate which supplier usually when arrives, whether it has delays or not, based on this information it is easier to select / change suppliers. With this, freight costs can also be managed as well as reduced. If the transport organizers / partners do not book a time slot and do not reach the slot for which they have been booked, they can even face fines for “sabotaging” production. Here again, the need for tremendous cooperation and coherence is needed to use this strategy.

Furthermore, if the handling of freight orders is linked to the time slot management system, information can be provided on the time interval a delivery can arrive. In this case, the most important thing is “until when”, because in this way, the raw material can be provided to the production line by the warehouse, so that there are no interruptions in successive use.

The future of the strategy

It is not yet clear how long these strategies will remain effective. There are more costs to maintaining a moving warehouse, as accidents, traffic jams and tolls all reduce the optimum performance – as COVID-19 pointed out with the border lock and multi-day congestion along the borders. Therefore, an efficient warehouse may be better able to serve the desired result. Furthermore, internal logistics can also affect operations: if it malfunctions and is unable to deliver goods to the production line on time; or you cannot unload on time because you are only concentrating on the production line. Balance development is necessary because internal logistics is also a key element to develop JIS.

You can find out more about how our Time Slot Management helps warehouse operations here.