Mudball
Assistant Pro
This is true…but the best tightrope walkers avoid doing so where the wind is likely to suddenly change and subject the walker to strong gusts…they mitigate the risk and either choose to walk elsewhere or ensure they have a net or safety harness.
And so for fuel, if JIT means walking a tightrope then one obvious mitigation would be to ensure that there are sufficient drivers and tankers immediately available to support a sudden increase in demand. And clearly these last couple of weeks tell us that that is not currently the case. The industry and JIT in respect of fuel, essentially requires supernumeracy…and that will cost us all at the pump unless we can tap into a ready supply that is not paid by UK business to be on stand-bye.
JIT has been part of supply chains for decades now. In fact it would have fine tuned over the years to cope with a level of unexpected or seasonal demand eg. If heavy snow is predicted in a region, they might ensure more diesel etc. A run on a petrol station is not a normal event and is not baked into the thresholds. They may do desktop scenario planning. Last week unfortunately, it happened and it was coupled with other factors like panic buying, lack of drivers etc, the system did not have time to react. I am not assuming it will change the JIT models, they may fine tune how much is available before replenishing. Also scenario planning will incorporate new elements around lack of drivers, media frenzy, incompetence of those who lead us etc.