Kanban System: how to choose

Kanban is a method for managing replenishment based on the pull principle: you produce or replenish only what has been consumed. The signal is the card: it travels with the full container and, when the container is empty, it goes back and becomes the reorder. On the kanban board the cards are sorted by item code and show at a glance what needs replenishing and how urgently.

Start from three numbers: average consumption (pieces per day), replenishment lead time (days from the signal to the arrival of the material) and quantity per container. The number of cards is consumption × replenishment lead time, plus safety stock, divided by the quantity per container, rounded up. Example: 200 pieces per day, 3 days, 20% safety and 100 pieces per container give 200 × 3 × 1.2 / 100 = 7.2, i.e. 8 cards. After a few weeks, adjust the number by looking at the board: if the cards always stay in the green, you can remove one.

The withdrawal kanban authorises moving material from the warehouse or supermarket to the line. The production kanban authorises the upstream department to produce the quantity shown on the card. With the supplier kanban, the card becomes the order to the external supplier. Card holders, mailboxes and boards are the same: only the text and colour of the card change, so each loop is recognised immediately.

The kanban traffic light board collects the cards by item code: in the yellow you decide whether to reorder, in the red you produce immediately. The heijunka board distributes orders on a time grid, for example 30-minute slots, and levels the load of upstream departments. The lot size kanban collects cards until the set batch is reached and only then releases the order. All of them are built with Systembox or Cardplan®: tell us how you work and we will propose the layout.

With Systembox each card has its own box: columns grow one position at a time and the traffic light is visible even from a distance, thanks to the 8 colours. It is the best choice when all cards have the same format, up to 118 × 190 mm. Cardplan® has overlapping pockets in which only the edge remains visible: more cards fit in the same space, even in different formats, from DIN A8 to A4. It is the choice for heijunka, orders and visual management. To get started without choosing the components, there is the Kanban Starter Set.

Look at the container first. If it has a label holder slot, like KLTs and Euroboxes, use a sleeve: KAN-Label or KLT-Snapper. If it does not, choose a Kanban-Cover: hanging for edges up to 17 mm, magnetic on metal, adhesive on plastic and other surfaces. For stacked cartons and packages there is the angled Kanban-Cover, for bulk material the Mega. On machines and curved metal surfaces, the KAN-Label Magnetic.

On two levels, without mixing them. On the container, the sleeve colour indicates the loop: one colour per department, line, supplier or kanban type. On the board, the colour marks urgency: green normal stock, yellow plan, red produce or replenish immediately. Write the colour rule on a sign next to the board, so it applies to all shifts.

Yes. Print the item’s barcode or QR code on the card: sleeves and Kanban-Covers can be read with a scanner without removing the card. This way the reorder is also triggered in the ERP, while the card remains the visual signal on the shop floor and on the board. You print the cards in the office on pre-cut card stock, with the Word and Excel templates.

In EPA areas, use dissipative or low-charge card holders and accessories. On our website you will find the hanging ESD Kanban-Cover, made of IDP film that meets the requirements of DIN EN 61340-5-1, the KAN-Label ESD and KLT-Snapper ESD sleeves in 0.25 mm dissipative IDP film, the ESD Systembox and the ESD kanban mailbox in low-charge ABS. They come in the same formats as the standard versions, and the sleeves use the same cards.

With a pilot area: one line or one supermarket, with a few part numbers that have steady consumption. You calculate the cards for each part number, choose holders that fit the containers, a mailbox where the cards are removed and a board sized with room for the part numbers you will add. We help you choose products, formats and quantities and supply everything, also as a Kanban Starter Set; once the loop works, you extend it to other departments.