
It was back in the ‘70s when Toyota was one of the first manufacturers to adopt a Just-in Time (JIT) inventory management strategy and the world followed. Back then, the strategy mostly applied to manufacturing by strictly managing the arrival of raw materials just prior to the production process. JIT decreased inventory carrying costs for the manufacturer which drove improved profitability.
Today, JIT applies to all segments of product distribution, including ecommerce, and not just the manufacturing process. JIT is an assumed product management process and is rarely referenced today as a cost savings differentiator.