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Kanban: What Is It?

Kanban is the Japanese term for “Signboard”.  It is a way of signalling that gives authorisation and instructions for the production of items in a Pull System.

The most common form of Kanban is a card that holds the relevant information on it, telling an upstream process the type and quantity of products to make for a downstream process when the demand arises.

Kanban is therefore an important part of a Pull System, where items are produced at the demand of the downstream process or customer.  It also works well with a Supermarket, where a small inventory is kept and a Kanban is sent when the inventory is running low or emptied.

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