kanban

American  

[kahn-bahn] / ˈkɑnˈbɑn /

noun

1. a just-in-time method of inventory control, originally developed in Japanese automobile factories.

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kanban British  

/ ˈkænbæn /

noun

1. a just-in-time manufacturing process in which the movements of materials through a process are recorded on specially designed cards

2. any of the cards used for ordering materials in such a system

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Etymology

Origin of kanban

From Japanese kamban literally, “signboard, shopkeeper's in-business sign,” probably alluding to the shop or tavern keeper's final call for orders before taking the sign down, hence '“ast-minute, just in time” in the context of inventory control, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese kàn “look” + bǎn “printing block”

Example Sentences

Anastasia Alt, 35, uses Kanban boards — a visual tracking system where tasks progress from left to right — in Trello, a project management tool, for “literally everything.”

From New York Times

Toyota revolutionised modern manufacturing with its system of lean production, just-in-time delivery and "kanban" workflow organisation.

From Reuters

Toyota essentially invented modern auto assembly with its "kanban" system for notifying suppliers of what parts are needed where and when to minimize inventory.

From Reuters

"Kanban" means signboard in Japanese, and the Toyota engineer and later executive, Taichi Ono, who developed the system drew inspiration from watching an American supermarket chain, Piggly Wiggly, manage its shelve stock on a trip to the United States in the 1950s.

From Reuters

Toyota's kanban system, which relies on simple visual cues to organise workflow, has been adopted for other industries, including software development.

From Reuters