Kanban is a method of managing the supply chain and logistics division of any organization. It works on the principles of demand driven supply and thus it helps reduce wastage and increases efficiency. It was invented by Toyota, the Japanese automotive giant. Its R&D team studied the supermarkets and realized that it was better to produce items for consumption based on the demand of those products. In order to have the best achievement Team Kanaban Practitioner Training was being introduced.
Demands of the Customers
The customers go to the supermarket and get only what they need – neither more nor less – as they are guaranteed a sustained supply. Thus the stock of that product is kept on the level of the demand. And the store re-orders the product only after its stock has reduced by a certain preset value. This reduces the wastage of extra effort on the part of the manufacturers and storage space on the part of the stockists. Plus it reduces the risk of the product not being sold on account of its becoming obsolete due to modern advancements.
How Does Kanban Help
Kanban helps in maintaining the stock levels by structuring them according to the levels of demand of that particular product. Kanban cards are the key components of Kanban. They are essentially messages that signal the depletion of a component or a product and signals for the commencement of the next batch of that component or product. Lean management believes that a demand induced supply chain is more effective as it reduces turnaround times and lowers the inventory levels, making the organization more effective and competitive. The most effective and simple means of implementing the Kanban system is the use of three-bin system. One bin is on the factory floor, one in the factory floor and one at the supplier’s floor. When the factory bin is empty, the empty bin along with its Kanban card is sent to the store to be refilled. The store fills up the floor bin and replaces the card. Then it sends its own emptied bin and card to the supplier, who returns a filled bin. Thus the process never runs out of products and can be termed as a closed loop.
Improvement with the Process of Kanban
Team Kanban Practitioner Course Oslo is used by agile teams to improve their work processes. This method is especially used by Systems Teams, Maintenance teams and DevOps teams. It is a great tool for managers who are going to work in the supply chain and logistics departments of any organization. Though it is specially suited for the supply chain and logistics division, managers of other departments can also use the system to streamline their own processes. It helps keep an efficient check on resources and eliminates wastage. Team leaders find Kanban very useful in maintaining the stock levels and reducing the WIPs. This increases the overall efficiency and also helps in estimating the work that needs to be done and calculating the delivery periods for the finished products.
The knowledge of Kanban is a very useful asset and increases the overall efficiency of any employee. It is a very simple concept that can be applied to complicated markets to streamline the work done and optimize the delivery systems by reducing the unnecessary wastage.