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Examines Just‐in‐Time (JIT) from its evolution as a Japanese concept through to a review of its philosophy and implementation. Cites several techniques of implementation. Includes a review of the early work of various researchers and practitioners. Concludes that JIT is a very effective manufacturing philosophy which is universal in nature encompassing all aspects of manufacturing. Suggests a few deficiencies in current literature.

Increasing competitive pressure over the past 20 years has forced many companies to re‐evaluate their value‐added systems. This re‐evaluation has greatly amplified the managerial attention focused on purchasing. Indeed, many firms have begun to emphasize purchasing in their attempts to improve their competitive positions. Two advanced sourcing practices have been particularly important: global and JIT sourcing. This paper: 1) reviews the literature pertaining to these two sourcing practices, 2) considers potential competitive impact, 3) explores issues of compatibility, and 4) presents future research directions.

As more and more companies embark on the never‐ending journey of continuous improvement and world‐class manufacturing, their success will depend to a great extent on their ability to win the purchasing battle. It is common knowledge that it is purchasing′s charge to oversee the acquisition and delivery of inventoried materials in a company. In a Just‐in‐Time (JIT) environment this traditional role of purchasing is continually changing to support production and service. Purchasing now emphasizes on‐time delivery of the right amount of competitively priced, high quality products to the right place. Any variation in this doctrine is considered wasteful under JIT. Discusses the strategic roles of JIT purchasing by examining the responsibilities, functions, and methods currently used by purchasing in the areas of vendor sourcing, transport, and product development. Further identifies purchasing as one of the key elements to a company′s competitiveness.

Companies have traditionally relied on taking advantage of price‐quantity discount (PQD) on large purchases. With the adoption of just‐in‐time (JIT) philosophy companies are encouraged to purchase materials in small lots to synchronize production with deliveries. This raised a question whether PQD is applicable in a JIT purchasing environment. Argues that though seemingly inconsistent, JIT and PQD can coexist. Develops an integrated JIT‐PQD model to allow a buyer to decide how much to purchase and how many shipments be placed per order.

This empirical study aims to explore the link between lean manufacturing practices (total quality management, just-in-time production, just-in-time purchasing, total productive/preventive maintenance), agile manufacturing, and operational and financial performance.

Data were collected from 205 Tunisian manufacturing firms, and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results indicate that (1) lean manufacturing practices have a direct positive relationship with agile manufacturing except for just-in-time production, (2) agile manufacturing has a positive impact on operational performance and (3) lean manufacturing practices did not seem to contribute directly to operational performance. However, this relationship is significant when it is mediated through agile manufacturing.

This paper shows practitioners the importance of lean manufacturing practices to support agile manufacturing and the key role of agile manufacturing to ensure operational performance.

This paper presents an innovative approach since it studies simultaneously the three dimensions of lean manufacturing and their relationship with agile manufacturing and organizational performance.

Presents a mathematical model to assist companies in their decision to switch from the economic order quantity (EOQ) to the just‐in‐time (JIT) purchasing policy. Determines an upper limit for the JIT purchase price of an item below which the manufacturer will be better off using JIT purchasing. Also determines the annual demand level at which the costs of EOQ and JIT purchasing will be equal (the indifference point). For demand levels above this indifference point EOQ is the less costly method while JIT is preferable for demand levels below this point. The model also predicts that JIT will be preferred for inventory items with higher purchase price, holding costs, or ordering cost.

As the importance of the purchasing function in corporations increases, there has been a concurrent increase in the importance of ethics in the purchasing environment. The purchasing linkage is critical to effective operation of corporations as high‐quality raw materials and supplies available on a timely basis are required for global competitive success. Bottom‐line productivity and profitability, as well as long‐term viability, are directly dependent on effective functioning in the purchasing arena. The traditional organisational structure of the purchasing function has the potential to encourage unethical employee practices. Viewing the relationship between an organisation and its suppliers as adversarial creates conflict as well as inherent ethical dilemmas in the purchasing function. This article discusses various categories of unethical purchasing situations and illustrates ways to lessen or avoid these dilemmas through the introduction of just‐in‐time (JIT) inventory control procedures. The internal co‐operation necessary in the purchasing/operations interface under JIT facilitates development of a corporate culture supportive of ethical behaviour. Moreover, since in JIT the supplier is considered part of the team – the “person at the previous work station” – these concepts can reinforce intraorganisational ethics as well.

Many manufacturers are considering the just‐in‐time (JIT) philosophy in order to become more competitive in global markets. An important element of the JIT strategy is the purchasing function. The procurement of parts and materials plays a key role in the successful implementation of a JIT strategy because it has a direct impact on increased productivity, reduced costs and improved quality. Experts agree that supplier selection is one of the most important activities of purchasing. Three popular methods for supplier performance evaluation appear in the literature: categorical, weighted point and cost ratio. However, these techniques have disadvantages associated with them and an alternative approach is suggested which applies dimensional analysis to selecting prospective suppliers. An international purchasing office (IPO), located in Hong Kong, has been applying the dimensional analysis approach to assessing suppliers. Using the IPO as a case study, the benefits of this approach over the traditional assessment methods are discussed, both as a means of measuring not only supplier performance, but also the contribution to the purchasing relationship from the buyer organisation.

To examine the changes in just‐in‐time (JIT) purchasing practices over time.

The evaluation of changes in JIT purchasing practices was done through a longitudinal study. The first study was performed in 1989. The second study was performed almost a decade later. The empirical studies measured the managerial perceptions of the importance of nine different areas of JIT purchasing activities. Regression and bootstrapping were used for comparison between time periods.

The study found similar results from a decade earlier on all but 17 out of a total of 103 JIT purchasing practices. The only significantly more important item was the contract provision for delivery frequency. It appears that purchasing professionals have learned and are more familiar with JIT purchasing practices. As a result four problem areas were significantly lower and 12 other practices deemed less important.

Sample size is a limitation for the study. The analysis suggested certain influences of SCM on JIT practices. More rigorous measurement of SCM needs to be undertaken to explore the degree of integration of JIT with SCM philosophy.

The study identifies best JIT practices from a decade of practice.

This is a longitudinal study. It tracks the changes in practices and identifies best practices for managers.

To develop just‐in‐time (JIT) purchasing threshold value (JPTV) models for ready mixed concrete (RMC) suppliers to decide whether or not to switch from an economic order quantity (EOQ) approach to a JIT purchasing approach for the purchase of their raw materials, when a price discount is offered.

The existing economic order quantity (EOQ) with a price discount versus the JIT purchasing cost comparative models neglect some important cost components under the inventory management systems, for example, the out‐of‐stock costs and the impact of inventory policy on product quality and production flexibility. In addition, these models do not empirically study the capability of an inventory facility to hold the EOQ‐JIT cost indifference point's amount of inventory. These models suggest that the JIT purchasing approach is always preferred to the EOQ approach when the JIT purchasing approach can capitalize on physical plant space reduction. The JPTV models developed in this study overcome the two limitations of the existing EOQ and JIT purchasing cost comparative models.

By developing the JPTV models, this study suggests that the theoretical advantages of JIT purchasing may have been overstated.

The field studies conducted in the RMC industries in Chongqing, China and Singapore supported the propositions in this study. The JPTV models, if adopted, would help to enhance performance in the RMC industries in other cities as well.