Flow) or supermarket production mode (supermarket
Production) is a mode of production promoted by Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan in 1960s. After 1973, this model played a prominent role in Toyota's first energy crisis, and then attracted the attention of manufacturers in other countries, and was gradually implemented in Japanese-funded enterprises and European and American local enterprises. Now this model, together with other production and circulation models originated in Japan, is called "Japanese model" by western enterprises. Kanban is a kind of card, which indicates when and how much a certain material is needed in a certain process. It is also called calling card, and it is a tool to transmit signals. There are two kinds of kanban, namely conveying kanban and production kanban. The conveying kanban is used to guide the parts to move between the first and second processes. When the container where the parts are placed is transported from the export warehouse of the previous process to the import warehouse of the next process, the transport kanban is attached to the container. When the next process starts to use the parts in the container in its entrance warehouse, the transfer kanban is removed and placed in the kanban box. When parts need to be supplemented in the next process, the conveying kanban is sent to the corresponding container in the export storage place of the previous process, and the production kanban on the container is removed and put into the production kanban box.