Kanban control: what's behind it?

The word "Kanban" originating from Japan means something like "card". Originally, Kanban was applied in the manufacturing of car parts with the goal of making processes more efficient and having an advantage over competitors.

How exactly does Kanban control work?

The Kanban principles find their place today not only in production, but also in the software industry and in project management. Originally, however, Kanban was used exclusively in the production of cars as a decentralized method for material flow control.

• In Kanban control, the flow of production parts between two production stages is controlled via a card that contains all the necessary information.
• An essential role is played by the buffer stock, which stocks production parts.
• This ensures that production always runs smoothly and it never comes to bottlenecks or failures in the production process.
• Prerequisites for the use of Kanban control are standardized production parts, a trained staff, a flow production and a high continuity in the consumption of parts.

Kanban in project management

While Kanban originated in automotive production, today many companies also use the method in agile project management. Sowohl in Kanban als auch Scrum arbeiten Teams nach dem Pull-Prinzip und in selbstständiger Organisation miteinander.