Main benefits obtained from a successful JIT implementation

Abstract

Literature has reported 31 benefits obtained by companies after a successful JIT implementation. However, this research reduces the list by means of a data reduction technique to identify those essential benefits that must be pursued. The 31 benefits are integrated in a questionnaire that is administered to 144 production managers in maquiladoras in Mexico to measure the extent to which they are obtained according to respondents. One the one hand, a validation process and descriptive analysis are carried out for every benefit by considering their median values as a measure of central tendency and interquartile range values as a measure of dispersion. On the other hand, data reduction was achieved by means of a factor analysis based on principal components and varimax rotation. Four main factors related to JIT benefits are identified after the factor analysis, which explain 67.27 % of total variance of data. Identified factors concern inventory management, production process, human resources, and economic benefits.