Many moons ago, when I was just getting started on my lean journey, I visited a large automotive supplier to benchmark pull systems. My own factory had started a pilot kanban between two work centers and I was hoping to gain some insight from a more experienced source.

To my disappointment, when I was escorted to the factory, the aisles were crowded with pallets of kitted orders. “What is this inventory?” I asked my tour guide.

“That’s kanban,” he said.

“How so?” I asked.

“Every day the stockroom pulls stock for the floor,” he explained, emphasizing the word “pull.”

I thought to myself that this particular material looked just like traditional factory orders, launched before they were needed. The floor of this benchmark facility was more crowded with inventory than my own. Not wishing to be rude, I tactfully inquired, “Isn’t the kanban supposed to stay near to the supplying work center?”

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