How Does Kanban Work?
Imagine a factory that produces widgets. The production of this widget requires two parts being put together at the factory. Let’s call them Part A and Part B. The manufacturing process consists of three “stages”: Tthe receiving area where parts A and B are received and stored. The “assembly” area where parts A and B are put together to form the widget. And the shipping area, where the widgets are shipped off to various stores. The two parts are stored in separate bins. The completed widgets are placed on pallets. When a pallet is shipped to a store, an empty pallet is returned to the worker’s area. The factory might operate something like this: The factory worker starts by getting one of Part A and one of Part B from their respective bins. They assemble a widget. The widget is placed on a pallet. When the pallet is full it goes to the shipping area. When a store needs widgets, the pallet is shipped to the store. The pallet of completed widgets stays in the shipping area until it is sh
