- Japanese manufacturers operating in the United States work with their suppliers to develop lean capabilities — at least for the particular production line that serves the Japanese assembly plants.
- The Japanese transplants level their own production schedules to avoid big spikes in demand, which enables suppliers to hold less inventory.
- Japanese transplants create a disciplined system of delivery time windows during which all parts must be received at the delivery plant.
- Japanese transplants develop lean transportation systems to handle mixed-load, small-lot deliveries. In some cases, that means building a cross-dock to redistribute large loads into smaller loads.
- Japanese transplants encourage suppliers to ship only what is needed by the assembly plant at a particular time, even if this means partially filled... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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