Impact of justintime inventory systems on OEM suppliers

• Published in: Industrial management + data systems Vol. 106; no. 2; pp. 224 - 241
• Main Authors: Kros, John F., Falasca, Mauro, Nadler, S. Scott
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.02.2006
• Subjects: Aircraft industry; Analysis of variance; Automotive industry; Electronics industry; Inventory management; Just in time
• ISSN: 0263-5577
• DOI: 10.1108/02635570610649871

Purpose To analyze the impact of the adoption of justintime JIT production systems by different equipment manufacturers OEMs on the inventory profiles of their suppliers. Designmethodologyapproach The research is designed to examine five financial measures of inventory management performance over the years 19942004. Three specific industry sectors where OEMs have adopted and implemented JIT principles are studied. These sectors include the automotive, electronics, and aircraft industries. A one factor analysis of variance is employed to the five hypotheses and Tukey's posthoc test is used to interpret statistical pairwise differences between level means. Findings Overall, the research finds that OEM suppliers in the automotive, electronics, and aircraft sectors have shown mixed results in the impact JIT implementation has had on inventory performance measures. Research limitationsimplications The research focuses on three industrial sectors over approximately a ten year time frame that may limit its generalizability. Practical implications The processes that influence the reduction in inventory levels may be in fact more complex and strategic in nature than an OEM adopting a JIT inventory policy. In general, strategic changes within the supplier organization would have to drive process improvements that lead to inventory reductions. Originalityvalue The paper provides focused research in an area that has received little attention in the current literature and is very topical to all academics and business professionals interested or involved in the area of JIT systems.