Optimizing Pull-Based Materials Replenishment

摘要

Materials replenishment for any manufacturer is fraught with production control firefights that often disrupt the production process via shortages, kitting disconnects, and lost or late parts. The list of potential problems goes on and on. Pull based materials replenishment offers a solution to this dilemma, in that visually-generated replenishment signals, slaved to capacity ceilings, offer opportunities to increase materials availability under reduced work in process (WIP) scenarios. What is often not realized is that the kanban methodology itself also possesses an inherent inefficiency that can unnecessarily create confusion for re-supply personnel and cost companies money in terms of carrying cost expense. Pull-based materials replenishment using kanban provides material in support of production typically via a methodology that uses two bins of material. One bin at the line is gradually having material removed in order to provide components to products being built, while the other is traveling back to a re-supply area to be re-filled. This is also referred to as single card kanban, in that one bin (or card) is available on the line at any one time to support the production process.