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The problem of supplying JIT assembly workstations from a central depot with a goal of minimizing inventory and vehicle requirements is the focus of this paper. To minimize work-in-process inventory, the quantity of component parts delivered to each workstation must be just enough to satisfy production until the next delivery of components. To minimize vehicle requirements, there should be no vehicle idle time. The problem is modeled as a vehicle routing problem with a nonlinear capacity constraint. A heuristic solution procedure is outlined and a relaxed formulation is given to provide a lower bound on the number of vehicles required.

This paper reports the results of a research study to identify and analyze the types of problems faced by just-in-time (JIT) automotive suppliers in Alabama. A 1998 survey of Alabama JIT automotive suppliers focused on twenty major JIT-related problems and one hundred company characteristics related to customers, employees, extent of JIT implementation, work environment, carriers, and other issues. The analysis of the survey results included statistics to evaluate how closely Alabamabased JIT companies resembled JIT companies located elsewhere. In addition, hypotheses were tested to identify possible relationships between company characteristics and specific JIT-related problems. The analysis provided insight into the demographics, common problems, and most troublesome issues related to JIT implementation in the state’s automotive industry.