Manufacturer Offers Solution Just in Time A distributorship in the Midwest supplied and warehoused cash tickets for a multi-location bank. The distributor ordered the cash tickets in quantities of 5,000 because it received better pricing from a manufacturer than on smaller quantities. Also, the bank expected just-in-time shipments to its various branches. When a teller at a branch placed an order, the distributorship pulled 2,500 cash tickets from its warehouse, shipped them to the branch, reordered 5,000 cash tickets and stored them in its warehouse. However, because of humidity in the warehouse, the bank experienced jamming problems when it placed the cash tickets in its high-speed sorting equipment. The distributor now had two concerns. If it ordered the cash tickets in quantities of 2,500, the pricing would make the business unprofitable. Also, if it didn't have at least 2,500 cash tickets in the warehouse, it would take approximately two weeks for the distributorship to deliver them to branch after the order placement. MICR Express, a manufacturer in Jeffersonville, Ind., recommended that the distributor use its just-in-time cash ticket program, which guarantees that products will be shipped from its Indiana production facility in three business days or less. The manufacturer also offered competitive pricing on 2,500 cash tickets so that the distributor maintained an acceptable profit margin. The distributor no longer stored the cash tickets in the warehouse as MICR Express met the bank's delivery requirements. Because it no longer stored the unbilled product, the distributor's cash flow improved. Have a solution? Click here to be featured as an E-Weekly Solution of the Week