Just-In-Time Manufacturing & UNEX

Just-in-time manufacturing originated at the British Motor Corporation in Sydney, Australia in the mid-1950’s, was later adopted in Japan, and became more prominent in the US in the 1970s when Toyota adopted the methodology. Just-in-time manufacturing, or JIT for short, was renamed lean manufacturing in the 90’s, and is still called this today.

Just-in-time manufacturing, also known as just-in-time production or the Toyota production system (TPS), is a methodology aimed primarily at reducing flow times within production as well as response times from suppliers and to customers. Items are manufactured to meet demand, not in advance. In other words, manufacturers make only what is needed, when it is needed and in the amount that is needed. Other names for just-in-time manufacturing include the Kanban System or the Supermarket Method.

 

The  concept was described by Henry Ford in his 1923 book, My Life and Work: “We have found in buying materials that it is not worthwhile to buy for other than immediate needs. We buy only enough to fit into the plan of production, taking into consideration the state of transportation at the time. If transportation were perfect and an even flow of materials could be assured, it would not be necessary to carry any stock whatsoever. The carloads of raw materials would arrive on schedule and in the planned order and amounts, and go from the railway cars into production. That would save a great deal of money, for it would give a very rapid turnover and thus decrease the amount of money tied up in materials.”

But the concept really took off with Toyota and remains foremost in the minds of many manufacturing businesses as a way to eliminate waste, which is the main concept of lean manufacturing, while streamlining operations, lowering operating costs and improving customer service.

Toyota has six rules to describe how this works:

• Later process picks up the number of items indicated by the kanban at the earlier process.
• Earlier process produces items in the quantity and sequence indicated by the kanban.
• No items are made or transported without a kanban.
• Always attach a kanban to the goods.
• Defective products are not sent on to the subsequent process. The result is 100% defect-free goods.
• Reducing the number of kanban increases the sensitivity.

UNEX manufactures lineside storage solutions which can store and flow products from the initial demand point bin. UNEX also makes manufacturing supermarkets which can store and flow products from the inventory control point bin. UNEX’s manufacturing supermarkets provide lineside shelving where workers pull components from as needed for manufacturing. Miniature stock locations are located close to the assembly line, allowing the lines to be replenished quickly and easily.

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source http://www.unex.com/just-in-time-manufacturing-unex/

Warehouse Space- When Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Warehouse space is becoming a premium in today’s fast-paced e-commerce world. There just isn’t enough warehouse space available to store products to meet online customer demand. This is partially due to the fact that very little development occurred a decade ago because of the economic downturn, and the market just hasn’t been able to build enough warehouse inventory fast enough to keep up with demand.

It all comes down to space and time. The race for space is all about augmenting storage capacity, increasing labor productivity and speeding throughput.

As our industry faces the pressures of omni-channel commerce, including exponential increases in the number of SKUs handled and percentage of item-level picking required, DCs and warehouses are busier than ever.

How do you know how much warehouse space you really need? Are you sure you’re optimizing the warehouse space you already have? Can you adapt existing space or equipment to maximize utilization and efficiency? Can you add space by expanding up or out? Should you lease additional supplemental space? Or should you start planning for new construction that’s designed to anticipate future needs? How would this new expansion affect your picker’s travel time and pick rates?

Building a new facility is expensive. Expanding an existing one is time-consuming and costly. A warehouse that is too crammed with products is inefficient.

The answer is that instead of worrying about finding a new warehouse location, you could try to optimize your existing warehouse space using UNEX Span-Track. Span-Track is designed to eliminate dead zones in the warehouse – empty pallet rack space – by maximizing space utilization within existing pallet rack.

Using Span-Track, you utilize the entirety of your pallet rack depth by loading SKUs behind the facings. Instead of lining a shelf with one SKU, you can load all those SKUs behind each other and let them flow forward to your order pickers, allowing more SKUs in less space. This will help maximize space utilization while reducing travel time and distance between picks.

Other things you can do include:

• Store packing materials in above-door racks to free up floor space in the dock area
• Add a mezzanine, which creates an elevated storage platform for additional storage and the floor space below is fully accessible for additional storage
• Optimize pick faces by storing similar SKUs in the same pallet rack so workers don’t have to search for products
• Speed picking with tilted storage units that follow the FIFO methodology

When a new facility is not in your budget and there is no room for expansion, using Span-Track can improve space utilization by up to 20 to 50%. Using the existing space in your warehouse more efficiently can speed throughput, while keeping costs low.

Contact UNEX Pickologists today to find space within your existing warehouse. After all, bigger isn’t always better.

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source http://www.unex.com/warehouse-space-when-bigger-isnt-always-better/

A Mother’s Day Supply Chain

This weekend is Mother’s Day, a world-wide tradition of honoring mothers on the second Sunday of May with flowers, cards and other gifts.

Here are some Mother’s Day statistics of interest:

• Total number of moms in the U.S.: 85.4 million
• Total amount of money spent on Mother’s Day Cards annually: $671 million
• Total amount of money that will be spent for mothers on Mother’s Day: $20.7 billion
• Total amount of money spent on flowers for their mothers on Mother’s Day: $1.9 billion
• The average amount American consumers will spend on mom for Mother’s Day: $168.94
• Percent of Mother’s Day gifts bought online: 28.5 %

No matter what you get your mother for Mother’s Day, whether it’s a card or flowers or candy, stores have had to gear up their inventory levels to avoid any stock-outs of products. Plus, companies that deliver flowers, or other gifts, have to be ready for the increased number of orders and tight delivery windows.

How do retailers know how much inventory to carry or how much inventory to store in safety stock? Using historical data, retailers can uncover peak demands and better understand seasonality. The goal is to have the right amount of inventory at the right location at the right time so that you don’t have any left over or excess inventory that you will need to put on sale.

The next big problem with seasonality is the need for storage space in the warehouse, or storefront, where you will fulfill orders from. Renting more warehouse space can be expensive – especially when you can use products like UNEX Span-Track to consolidate SKUs and reduce storage space by up to 20%.

UNEX will work with you to evaluate your current storage capabilities and uncover ways to improve space utilization, freeing up valuable space to store seasonal products. Using our carton flow solutions, you will use your available space as efficiently as possible.

UNEX is a one-stop shop for all your order picking and storage needs, offering solutions that maximize space for optimal storage. Our Pickologists will help you get better organized so you can keep up with seasonal demand.

Happy Mother’s Day!

The post A Mother’s Day Supply Chain appeared first on Unex.

source http://www.unex.com/mothers-day-supply-chain