Using Kansei Engineering with new JIT to accomplish cost advantage

In the present unstable and highly competitive global environment, trying to find a way to stay in business and grow is not always simple. With the shift from a 'product-out' to a 'market-in' approach, the demands of today’s consumer for high quality goods and service, has forced producers and service providers to apply quality management practice throughout industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore the new opportunities for the companies to maintain a competitive edge in a market by taking into account psychological and emotional needs of the consumers who are making the purchasing decision based on their psychological and emotional needs called “Kansei” in Japanese. We explore how Kansei Engineering can be used along with New JIT, employed by Toyota, to gain a manufacturing cost advantage. The effect of our approach and cost advantages are demonstrated through a simulated experiment.