Disadvantages of JIT

Some of the main problems with JIT are

• Its inability to deal with unforeseen circumstances
• Reliance on perfect quality of materials from suppliers
• Reduced flexibility to meet specific or changing customer demands
• Difficulty of reducing set up times and associated costs
• Lack of commitment within the organization
• Problems of linking JIT to the other information systems such as accounts
• Need for suitable production when demand is highly variable and seasonal
• Inability of suppliers to adopt to JIT methods
• Accidents or breakdowns can interrupt suppliers and cause problems in the supply chain
• Cogs working with JIT felt the effects immediately their materials were not delivered, while those with higher stock kept working normally
• JIT requires the problems of the necessary systems and methods of communication between purchasers and suppliers, problems will arise if there is inadequate communication both internally and from production to purchasing and externally from
  purchasing to suppliers
• Organizations with ideally no safety stocks are highly vulnerable to supply failures
• Purely stockless buying is fallacy, lack of how low-cost C class items can halt a production line as easily as a failure in the delivery of highly priced class A items
• The advantages of buying in bulk at lower prices may outweigh the savings negotiated for JIT contracts since suppliers may increase their prices to cover costs of delivery, paperwork and storage
• JIT is more suitable for flow than batch production and may require a change from batch to flow methods with consequent changes in systems required to support the new methods
• Even mass production manufacturers produce a substantial percentage of components by number not value or batches as well as a small number of high value components on dedicated flow lines
• JIT requires a total involvement of people from all disciplines and the breakdown of traditional barriers between function within an organization. This may involve a substantial investment in organizational development training
• Inability of some people to accept devolved responsibility
• Increased stress in workforce.