PROBLEMS IMPLEMENTING JIT IN MAPLE PHARMACEUTICALS

Abstract

Abstract The title of my project is "PROBLEMS IMPLEMENTING JIT IN MAPLE PHARMACEUTICALS." JIT or Just In Time is an inventory method in, which the objective is to produce goods just-in-time for use or sale. It is a Japanese manufacturing management method developed in the 1970's. Since then non-Japanese organizations have started implementing it. Initially it was developed for a defect free process, but overtime it came to incorporate the concept of having just enough inventories to get the work done. My project is about identifying problems that are causing difficulty in implementing JIT in Maple Pharmaceuticals because JIT can give them a competitive advantage.Based on the literature reviews I found the two main problems with JIT implementation are suppliers and human resources. The hypothesis for my final project is H0: Non-supplier participation results in no long-term relationship with a vendor, H1: Long-term vendor relationship is not possible because there is a lack of reliable suppliers & H3: JIT not a priority for some pharmaceuticals due to lack of knowledge / training of management vis-a-vis workers. The populations I have chosen for my research project are the pharmaceutical organizations in the city of Karachi. These organizations have the resources to implement JIT. I have chosen around 5 organizations capable of implementing JIT. The population comes to around 1500. For my research project I used convenience sampling. Chi-Square testing was also used. Questionnaires were sent to the Supply Chain, Inventory, Purchasing and Production departments. 150 completed questionnaires in total were obtained on, which data analysis was performed.The first and second hypotheses were accepted because the variables under discussion are independent of each other, which mean the null hypotheses were accepted. The third hypothesis was broken into management and workers. The management part of the hypothesis was not accepted because the variables under discussion were dependent on each other, which means the null hypothesis was rejected. The workers part of the hypothesis was accepted because the variables under discussion are independent of each other, which mean the null hypotheses were accepted.My results were consistent with my initial hypotheses except for the management part of the third hypothesis, in which the null hypothesis was rejected. I can assume that management has the skills for JIT and it is a priority for them. So in conclusion the first & second hypotheses were accepted, which means supplier participation is vital for JIT implementation. Without their cooperation JIT is not possible. The third hypothesis was broken down to two parts. One was for management and the other for the workers. The management hypothesis testing was not accepted indicating that management does not need that much training for JIT implementation. However the worker hypothesis was accepted indicating worker training is required for JIT implementation. This helped Maple Pharmaceuticals recognize two main problems, which can be solved based on their skill set. It must be solved in stages and will require patience, compromise and attrition.