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

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

From Reuters • Sep. 18, 2023

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

From Reuters • Aug. 30, 2023

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 • Aug. 30, 2023

Even in the normal Plan view, you can click a button and immediately hide all of your work events or click another and compress the view back into something like a kanban board.

From The Verge • Aug. 2, 2022

The calendar looked more like a Trello-style kanban board of time than a grid of hours.

From The Verge • Aug. 2, 2022