Japanese word for card or ticket. It is essentially a Japanese information system for coordinating production orders and withdrawals from in-process inventory to realize just-in-time production. Originated from the use of cards to indicate a work station's need for additional parts. A basic kanban system includes a withdrawal kanban that states the quantity that a later process should withdraw from its predecessor, a production kanban that states the output of the preceding process, and a vendor kanban that tells a vendor what, how much, where, and when to deliver.