The firm’s on-line parts ordering system is now also global, but it is not yet on a 24-hour basis. Furthermore, TMC still uses batch-processing for parts ordering once the production schedule it set. In Japan, this ordering is done daily, whereas internationally it is done weekly; so TMC must carry some inventory as a result. The way the system works is that the parts’ orders for tomorrow’s production are set. That is, the central computer specifies the car ID numbers that are going to be produced.