A comparative study of US manufacturing firms at various stages of just-in-time implementation

Abstract This study explores whether there are differences among the companies at various stages of just-in-time (JIT) implementation based on factors which were considered relevant in the literature. The factors are categorized as internal and external. Internal factors relate to questions involving product, equipment and process, work-force and top management commitment. External factors deal with supplier and customer issues. Responding firms were categorized into five groups based on their status of JIT implementation, ranging from totally non-JIT to partial and full implementation. The findings of this study suggest that some of the issues such as supplier proximity and the lead-time of the supplier, which have been traditionally considered to be important, are not major impediments to JIT implementation. However, there are some issues such as top management commitment which may facilitate or inhibit the move toward JIT implementation.