Answered step by step
Verified Expert Solution
Link Copied!

Question

1 Approved Answer

Putting the Brakes on JIT Toyota is stockpiling four months of some parts. Volkswagen is building six factories so it can get its own batteries.

Putting the Brakes on JIT
Toyota is stockpiling four months of some parts. Volkswagen is building six factories so it can get its own batteries. And Tesla is trying to lock up access to raw materials.
Part 2
The hyper efficient auto supply chain symbolized by "just in time" is undergoing its biggest transformation in half a century, accelerated by the troubles car makers have suffered during the pandemic. After sudden swings in demand, freak weather, and a series of accidents, they are reassessing their basic assumption that they could always get the parts they needed when they needed them.
Part 3
"The JIT model is designed for supply-chain efficiencies and economies of scale," says Nissan's CEO. "The repercussions of an unprecedented crisis like Covid highlight the fragility of our supply-chain model."
The basic idea of JIT, as explained in Chapter16, is avoiding waste. By having suppliers deliver parts to the assembly line shortly before they go into a vehicle, auto makers don't pay for what they don't use. They save on warehouses and the people to manage them. But as supply chains further globalize the system has grown brittle. The crises are more frequent.
Part 4
Auto makers don't want to replace JIT entirely, because the savings are too great. But they are moving to undo it to some degree, focusing on areas of greatest vulnerability such as irreplaceable semiconductors. Ironically, Toyota now asks its suppliers to stockpile parts, the antithesis of JIT. After the 2011 earthquake in Japan hit many Toyota suppliers, the company pushed them to disclose who sells them their components. Over time, Toyota built a database that covers400,000 items and reaches as far as 10 tiers down.
Part 5
A sister idea to JIT was the use of single suppliers for many parts. These suppliers could master the daily dance of deliveries, cut costs through volume and service the global factory networks that the top car makers operate. Chrysler buys about400,000 parts for the 100 models in its lineup of brandsand 95% of those parts come from a single source.
Source: The Wall Street Journal(May 4,2021).
Part 6
Critical Thinking Questions
1. The just-in-time model is
A.
hyper efficient during times of no disruption.
B.
intended to force suppliers to deliver parts hourly.
C.
is unrelated to the concept of using single suppliers for parts.
D.
exhibiting weaknesses resulting from COVID issues.
E.
as secure as it was a half century ago.
Part 7
2. Auto makers are
A.
replacing JIT entirely.
B.
becoming more brittle and drowning in losses
C.
cooperating with each other to "lend" each other suppliers during disruptions.
D.
asking suppliers to ignore JIT basics and stockpile parts.
E.
building more manufacturing plants to increase output of gas-powered cars.

Step by Step Solution

There are 3 Steps involved in it

Step: 1

blur-text-image

Get Instant Access to Expert-Tailored Solutions

See step-by-step solutions with expert insights and AI powered tools for academic success

Step: 2

blur-text-image

Step: 3

blur-text-image

Ace Your Homework with AI

Get the answers you need in no time with our AI-driven, step-by-step assistance

Get Started

Recommended Textbook for

Becoming A Top Manager Tools And Lessons In Transitioning To General Management

Authors: Kevin Kaiser, Michael Pich, I. J. Schecter

1st Edition

1118858573, 978-1118858578

More Books

Students also viewed these General Management questions