The Just in Time (JIT) process improvements philosophy is the contemporary business’ environment survival guide that enables them to remain competitive in today’s dynamic market contexts. Consumers in the contemporary space demand high quality goods, reliable supply, and low prices, aspects that companies using traditional production methods cannot meet. JIT comprises processes and outcome measurements that accord organizations the capacity to meet today’s demanding client’s needs and to adopt to their ever-changing tastes and preferences. However, the just in time process improvements plan must be incorporated with other value-adding strategies, such as value stream mapping (VSM). The extensive analysis of JIT and VSM shows how companies, such as Amazon, can satisfy dynamic client orders while ensuring lean production of goods.
The JIT process improvements plan is the production of a unit of material just in time for it to be incorporated in the next production process for high quality product outcomes. In the model, organizations restructure their traditional production structures to produce just enough products for to meet present customer consumption requirements ( Bhushan et al., 2017) . For instance, Amazon is an e-commerce business that stores goods in warehouses awaiting client orders. However, most inventory may expire while in warehouses and the organization would be compelled to meet stock waste costs. However, using the JIT technique, Amazon would order just enough items from committed suppliers and dispatch the items to vendors and clients who demand the goods, and then wait for the next order request. Therefore, Amazon would eliminate costs, such as inventory wastage, warehouse maintenance, motion of excessive inventory to warehouses wastes ,and transportation costs.
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Major processes and metrics Amazon would use to measure order processing improvements would be educated team players, high quality of products procured and sold, employee teamwork, and excellent communication amongst team players. Amazon would only be successful if every employee worked according with other team members to ensure efficient production of goods. Under JIT, the organization would hire supply chain management employees and supervisors to ensure only required units of ordered products are procured from suppliers ( Bhushan et al., 2017) . Therefore, the supply chain process would be most critical for Amazon’s JIT. Thus, if a regular client ordered for ten boxes of good A, Amazon would procure exact product amounts from the supplier. If the client ordered through a vendor, the organization would deliver the ten boxes to the seller just in time for the client to access it. Teamwork would be essential to ensure JIT supply chain process is smooth and highly efficient. Suppliers and vendors would have to be excellent team players to receive and process orders just in time for delivery to clients. A separate process under Amazon’s JIT plan would be quality assurance from supervising teams. Amazon’s competitive strategy is to sell high quality products to clients at low prices. Therefore, the company could hire quality control personnel to ensure goods dispatched to clients and vendors are of highlighted quality. Finally, Amazon would educate all involved supply chain parties about the new JIT supply chain and product delivery strategy to ensure efficient processing of orders and elimination of unwanted waste.
Metrics that would quantify order processing improvements are eliminated warehouse and over-procurement costs, reduced transportation costs and increased product quality sold. If the new JIT supply chain process is better than the traditional pre-stocking of inventory awaiting client orders, then Amazon will not incur warehouse costs unless under critical circumstances. Clients will order X amount of products, and the organization will request suppliers to deliver equal goods. Amazon will only act as a temporary custodian of goods, and clients will receive their items just in time as requested. In the end, Amazon will not incur expenses from storing goods they do not know when clients will order. Additionally, if the new JIT process improvement plan is effective, Amazon will not incur expenses previously accumulated from acquiring supplies from wholesalers and transporting it to warehouses in different locations awaiting client orders. Instead, the company will only incur delivery costs to the client or vendor and strictly when clients order a good ( Singh & Ahuja, 2014) . Finally, if Amazon implements the JIT supply chain improvement technique, costs associated with inventory waste will be eliminated. The company will not have to pay for expired or defaced products that go bad while awaiting client orders in warehouses because under the new JIT process, Amazon only procures goods from suppliers when they receive client requests. Finally, if Amazon were to implement the new JIT order processing system, clients will enjoy high quality goods at low prices because the burden of warehouse storage and transportation to warehouses they previously incurred is eliminated. Moreover, Amazon will have quality control teams that ensure suppliers deliver only high quality goods.
Various measuring techniques that would be used to check for the new JIT order processing would be quality, teamwork, education, and communication. All the mentioned control measures are essential as explained but vary in essentiality ( Singh &Ahuja, 2014) . For instance, team work and communication would be most important to ensure client orders are processed immediately Amazon receives them. The company’s supply chain supervisors would have to be excellent communicators to alert suppliers of new customer requests and specifications, then communicate all through to ensure expected delivery turn-around times are met promptly. Quality would rank third in Amazon’s new JIT order processing and delivery technique, because customers must consume quality products. Last, education would rank lowest because team players could learn while on the job and deliver excellent results after, say, three months.
Quality and communication were selected for Amazon because they are aligned to the company’s mission statement, “We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection, and utmost convenience.” ( Amazon mission statement 2020 , 2020) Amazon would only actualize its mission statement if its order processing ensured high quality of goods were procured from suppliers just in time for delivery to clients. Additionally, for Amazon to deliver convenience and selection, it would rely on internal excellent internal communication amongst supply chain employees, who also include customer service representatives, sales, and finance departments. Therefore, the quality and communication metrics were selected because they align to the organization’s mission statement, as explained.
Amazon’s JIT order processing would be inconsequential without a value mapping stream. VSM is the visualization of the final product outcome by staging a product’s design, required materials, employees involved to produce it, and financial and communication aspects of production ( Muniyappa et al., 2014) . The company creates a map of how value could be added on every product processing step and visualizes the client receiving a high quality product. VSM bases its approach on lean production in that if a client receives value added products infused in the production process, the company will eliminate associated wastes. Amazon would incorporate VSM in its supply chain process by ensuring suppliers receive accurate specifications of client orders, checking for quality of supplied products, and delivering high quality items to customers. Team players involved in Amazon’s order processing supply chain would have excellent communication skills, besides being outstanding team players. Further, quality control teams would have to be strict to ensure suppliers meet demanded product client, delivery trucks and companies would be careful not to deface products on transit and in the end, clients will receive premium products.
Finally, Amazon would have to sustain the new JIT order processing technique by ensuring all mentioned metrics are met every time the organization receives client orders. Every employee and supplier involved in the company’s supply chain would have to be an excellent team player and good communicator. Additionally, Amazon would have to hire qualified quality control teams to ensure clients receive premium products as anticipated. Moreover, Amazon would have to educate all workers and suppliers of its new JIT order processing technique to ensure process smoothness. Finally, every time Amazon received client orders, it would have to incorporate value mapping stream in all order processing steps until the customer receives their items. In the end, Amazon would benefit financially and gain a competitive advantage if it improved its supply chain process.
References
Amazon mission statement 2020 | Amazon mission & vision analysis . (2020, June 11). Mission Statement Academy. https://mission-statement.com/amazon/
Bhushan, U., Aserkar, R., Kumar, K. N., & Seetharaman, A. (2017). Effectiveness of just-in-time manufacturing practices. International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research , 8 (6), 1109-1114. https://www.ijbmer.com/docs/volumes/vol8issue6/ijbmer2017080602.pdf
Muniyappa, M., Prasad, S., Kumar, K., & Puthran, D. (2014). Value stream mapping as a tool for lean implementation: A case study. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development , 3 (5), 477-481. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299541670_Value_Stream_Mapping_as_a_Tool_for_Lean_Implementation_A_Case_Study
Singh, G., & Singh Ahuja, I. (2014). An evaluation of just in time (JIT) implementation on manufacturing performance in Indian industry. Journal of Asia Business Studies , 8 (3), 278-294. https://doi.org/10.1108/jabs-09-2013-0051
