It’s a procedure of pick-up which aims to optimize material undergoing manufacturing by guaranteeing the appropriate line supply. It bases its functioning on the possibility to have at disposal material containers with a specific quantity of the product and furnished with KANBAN. When the container empties the kanban is sent to the warehouse to exchange it with a full container. We could also call it ” empty VS full”. The great innovation of Si5 is that physical movements of kanbans are replaced with communications within the system.
It’s similar to reorder point because the number of issued kanbans and as a consequence the volume of materials undergoing manufacturing is strictly connected to consumption and time of replenishment from the warehouse.