JTT (Just in time). This is a concept connected with manufacturing or purchasing goods for manufacture or sale and distribution.
In its modern form, JIT has been developed by Japanese manufacturers. The Japanese JIT principles (called “Kanban” in Japan) have become so sophisticated that they are emulated in other parts of the world and in other businesses. The main objective of the JET system is to reduce the quantity of stock (or inventory”) and thus the money capital tied up in stock that is not being manufactured or sold. The space required for storage of stock is also reduced. Goods are produced only when sales contracts are entered into. This also reduces the uncertainty of producing goods merely on the basis of market forecasts. The success of lIT depends on good physical distribution management (PDM). ITT requires not merely speedy, fast transport services but, more importantly, precisely punctual and reliable transport services. (See also Logistics.) PDM in international trade itself depends on movement of the goods, whether these are the raw materials being transported for manufacture or the manufactured or processed goods. Therefore concepts of containerisation, through transport, intermodalism, multimodalism and electronic data interchange, become relevant. Goods are no longer being merely transported but distributed. This introduces many other ideas such as stocks, inventory costs, warehousing, insurance, and, of course, also transport and relates distribution to manufacturing and marketing.
