Just-in-Time (JIT)

Just-in-time inventory systems, also called lean production systems, are inventory systems that minimize inventories by arranging for materials and sub-components to arrive just as they are needed and for goods to be made just in time to be shipped to customers. It is based on a "pull" approach, in which an item is produced only when it is requested further downstream in the production cycle. Raw materials are purchased in small quantities, enough only to meet immediate production demands.