Just-in-Time supermarkets for part supply in the automobile industry

In the automotive industry, a supermarket is a decentralized in-house logistics area for intermediately storing parts in direct vicinity of the assembly line consuming these parts. In a supermarket, tow trains—consisting of a small towing vehicle and a few waggons—are loaded with parts, which then successively visit the stations of the line according to a periodical schedule exchanging empty with filled part bins. This emerging logistics concept enables a reliable and flexible small-lot delivery of parts in line with the basic Just-in-Time (JIT) philosophy. This paper describes the supermarket concept in detail and surveys the literature on the elementary decision problems arising when implementing the supermarket concept. Finally, interfaces with other basic business functions are characterized. Copyright Springer Verlag 2013