Just in time (JIT)-a customer perception

The author describes how a particular business unit within the Abbott diagnostics division implemented various just-in-time (JIT) techniques inside the factory and promoted these techniques to outside suppliers. The focus is on how the internal manufacturing layout was modified to support a true pull system, and various supplier delivery methods that were integrated into Abbott´s manufacturing process are discussed. Teams investigated traditional methods and what it would take to change these traditional ways of doing things into JIT ways. A comparison of these two methods is included