Within manual Kanban systems the information (the signal) about the demand at a consumption source is passed on by card, container or other means. This signal is passed on manually from the customer to the supplier.
In an electronic Kanban system this signal is passed on electronically. Each possible state of the signal (e.g. full, empty, in transport, etc) gets recorded and stored by the electronic Kanban system. The recording of different states happens either manually by a user entering the data via keyboard or automatically via a barcode reader or RFID chips.
By using an electronic Kanban system the users will not automatically substitute the Kanban cards and all other existing processes. In the first step the existing Kanban system will be supported through the software technology, but then in the 2nd step it opens the gate to establish much faster and more efficient kanban processes.
An electronic Kanban system follows primarily the following goals
- Kanban data management
- Cut down on information delivery time
- Creation of a higher transparency
- Support of existing Kanban processes
- Continuous improvement of the Kanban system
The following table shows the advantages of an electronic Kanban system vs. a manual Kanban system:
