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Abstract
The just-in-time (JIT) principle of waste elimination, requiring small transportation batch sizes, appears to be at odds with environmental management (EM), in general, and environmentally-conscious distribution (ECD), in particular. This paper investigates the possibilities for a symbiotic coexistence of JIT and ECD through an exploration of performance measurement and performance-enhancing initiatives for the joint JIT-ECD system. The paper concludes with an agenda for future research.
Keywords
Just-in-time (JIT), distribution, performance measurement
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1 Introduction
The just-in-time (JIT) continuous improvement manufacturing philosophy is designed for product and process excellence. Monden (1993) defines, as the basis of JIT, the goal of producing exactly the necessary number of the necessary units at the necessary time, thereby eliminating waste. Under the principle of waste elimination, the JIT philosophy holds that system-wide waste exists in many forms and should be systematically eliminated, through continuous improvement efforts. When implemented properly, JIT can increase productivity and efficiency, improve quality, reduce lead times, and improve customer service.
Environmental Management (EM) in manufacturing refers to the control exerted over all immediate and eventual effects of products and processes associated with translating raw materials into final products. Since this paper is primarily focused on the distribution process, the phrase Environmentally-Conscious Distribution (ECD), a subset of EM, will be used to describe the creation and maintenance of sustainable material transportation processes, considering all immediate and eventual effects of the product distribution process.
In the distribution process, waste includes excess inventory, excess transportation, and excess labor. However, using the broadest definition of JIT, distribution waste also includes excess (unnecessary) air pollution, noise pollution, and fuel consumption. Through an exploration of performance measurement and performance-enhancing initiatives, this paper seeks to investigate the possibilities of a symbiotic coexistence between JIT and ECD.
2 JIT versus ECD
JIT distribution requires that items to be delivered on an as-needed basis, in very small batches. This practice leads to reduced storage costs and increased available capital. However, small volume shipments (consistent with JIT) yield more frequent deliveries, which lead to increased traffic congestion and environmental degradation (noise and air pollution) [16, 13].
From the pro-ECD perspective, EM enhances business performance, since most pollution-reducing initiatives are based on more efficient uses of inputs and elimination of unnecessary...