# Supermarket

**URL:** https://kaizumi.com/dictionary/supermarket

**Description:** A supermarket is a controlled inventory location where products are stored for downstream pull, similar to retail supermarket shelves.

**Category:** lean-tools

**Tags:** flow

## Definition

A supermarket in lean manufacturing is a controlled inventory location where products or components are stored until needed by a downstream process, analogous to a retail supermarket shelf. When items are consumed from the supermarket, a kanban signal triggers upstream replenishment. Supermarkets are used between processes that cannot be directly linked in continuous flow—perhaps due to different cycle times, distance, or process constraints. The supermarket provides a buffer that enables pull while keeping inventory controlled and visible. Walk an aisle of a plant supermarket — shelf addresses, pick lights, and kit carts — in the [interactive Toyota assembly guide](/guides/toyota-assembly).

## Examples

### Manufacturing

> A fabrication area feeds multiple assembly lines with different demands. A supermarket holds standard components in designated locations. When assembly consumes parts, kanban cards return to fabrication, triggering replenishment. The supermarket decouples fabrication from assembly while maintaining pull.

### Healthcare

> A supply supermarket on a nursing unit holds commonly used items in defined locations with par levels. When nurses draw supplies, consumption triggers central supply replenishment. The supermarket ensures availability while controlling inventory.

### Administrative

> A document supermarket holds processed forms ready for the next step. When downstream pulls a form, the empty slot triggers the previous step to process another. The supermarket enables asynchronous work while maintaining flow.

## Key Points

- Supermarkets enable pull systems where continuous flow isn't possible
- Each location has a designated part, quantity, and visual control
- Consumption triggers replenishment through kanban signals
- Supermarkets control inventory while ensuring availability

## Common Misconceptions

**Supermarkets are just organized storage.** Supermarkets are linked to pull signals—consumption automatically triggers replenishment. Without this link, they're just warehouses.

**Supermarkets should be minimized everywhere.** Supermarkets are strategic inventory locations that enable pull. The goal isn't eliminating supermarkets but right-sizing them for their decoupling function.

## Watch It Happen

What separates a supermarket from a pile is the address. In the factory simulation the market holds a small fixed amount of each part in a named location — A-01, B-01, C-01 — and is replenished only as it is consumed. Anyone can find, count and refill it without asking a scheduler, which is the whole point.

<!--SIM:supermarket-->

## See Also

- [Kanban](/dictionary/kanban) - The signal system that operates supermarkets

Source: https://kaizumi.com/dictionary/supermarket
Licence: free to quote and cite with attribution to Kaizumi.