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Slightly expanded the article, Added hyperlinks, Proof read and Categories
A '''store''' is a place where goods are sold. While normally requiring a business license and zoning that allows businesses, smaller stores have sometimes been run out of houses, basements, etc. Stores traditionally took up space and had products that could be viewed, but changes in [[technology]] have also opened up the world of on-line stores where virtual pictures take the place of viewing physical items.
A '''store''' is a place where [[goods]] are sold.
While normally requiring a [[business]] [[license]] and [[zoning]] that allows businesses, smaller stores have sometimes been run out of houses, basements, etc. Stores traditionally took up space and had products that could be viewed, but changes in [[technology]] have also opened up the world of on-line stores where virtual pictures take the place of viewing physical items.
=="Kanban" Just in Time: Interdependent Fragility of the Store Distribution Systems==
[[Retail]] store chains of [[supply]] are lengthy and [[fragile]]. Most [[American]] and [[Europe]]an store [[business]] models are based on a "[[just in time]] delivery" or "JIT" or "Kanban" as the [[Japanese]] inventors called it in the [[1960s]]<ref>The [[Japan]]ese invented the "[[just in time]] delivery" or "JIT" inventory control system called "kanban" in Japanese.</ref>. The JIT inventory control of the [[retail]] and [[food distribution system]] is both [[interdependent]] and [[fragile]].
The world's biggest chain of stores, [[Wal-Mart]], is proof that we live in a fragile [[society]]. The kanban or "[[just in time|Just in Time]]" [[inventory]] system was developed in [[Japan]] and became popular in [[America]] starting in the 1970s. It is now ubiquitous in nearly every [[industry]]. The concept is simple: Through close coordination with subcontractors and piece part suppliers, a manufacturer can keep its parts inventory small. Kanban is a key element of lean [[manufacturing]]. Manufacturers order batches of parts only as needed, sometimes ordering as frequently as twice a week. Companies now hire Six Sigma consultants and Kaizen gurus, they buy sophisticated [[computer|data-processing]] systems, and they hire extra purchasing administrators, and these expenses actually save them [[money]] at the bottom line.
Just In Time inventory systems have several advantages: less [[warehouse]] space, less [[capital]] tied up in parts inventory, and less [[risk]] of parts obsolescence.
The downside is that lean inventories leave companies vulnerable to any disruption of [[supply]], for instance in the [[food distribution system]] or [[food production system]]. If [[transportation]] ([[UPS]], [[post office]], [[Fedex]], [[truck]]s, [[ship]]s, [[railroad]], and [[airplane]]s) gets snarled due to a [[Labor strike#Trucker Strike|trucker strike]] or bad [[weather]] or a [[disaster]], or if [[communication]]s get disrupted, or a parts vendor has a [[strike]] or a [[production]] problem, then [[assembly line]]s grind to a halt. Just one missing part means that no finished products go out the door.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Steiner/e/B001UO7HUG/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1 Christopher Steiner], ''20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better'', http://www.amazon.com/20-Per-Gallon-Inevitable-Gasoline/dp/B0046LUJCS Accessed December 15, 2014</ref>
The kanban concept has also been taken up by most of America's [[retail]]ers (with [[Wal-Mart]] leading the way), most notably its [[grocery store|grocery sellers]].
===Threats to the Store System of Distribution===
Some examples of [[threat]]s to the modern grocery store "JIT" style goods and [[food distribution system]] include:
* [[Labor strike#Trucker Strike|Trucker strike]]
* [[Labor union]] [[strike]]
* Prices of a barrel of [[crude oil]] and hence the price of [[gasoline]] and [[diesel]]
* [[Man-made disaster]]s such as [[war]] and [[terrorism]]
* [[Natural disaster]]s such as [[storm]]s, [[tornado]]s, [[hurricane]]s, [[earthquake]]s, etc.
==See Also==
* [[Food distribution system]]
* [[Food production system]]
* [[Essay:Systems of support|Systems of support]]
==External Links==
*[http://www.walmartstores.com Corporate website]
*[http://www.asda.co.uk ASDA website]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Systems of Support]]
[[Category:Agriculture]]
[[Category:Retail]]
[[Category:Retail]]
[[Category:Business]