Flow, supermarket or FIFO lane poster

Between any two processes there are three good ways to move work: continuous flow (make one, move one), a supermarket with kanban (a small fixed stock of each item that the next process pulls from) or a FIFO lane (items move in order through a lane with a fixed limit). Rother and Shook's guidelines give the order: flow wherever you can, a supermarket where flow cannot reach, and a FIFO lane where a supermarket is not practical. This poster turns that into two questions, with the map symbol for each answer.

Download the poster

The PNG is free to download now. The print-ready vector PDFs open after a short form, once.

Download PNG (300 dpi)2550 x 3300 px, prints at 8.5 x 11 in · 364 KB · no form

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The words on the poster

Flow, supermarket or FIFO?

How to link two processes. Answer in order.

Can the two steps run as one, at the same pace? Yes: Continuous flow. Make one, move one. No stock between the steps.
Can you keep a small stock of every item? Yes: Supermarket and kanban. A fixed stock of each item. Upstream makes only what was taken.
No to both? Use a FIFO lane. For custom, short-life or costly items: they move in order through a lane with a fixed limit.

On the map

Flow
Supermarket
FIFO lane

Guidelines after Rother and Shook, Learning to See (Lean Enterprise Institute, 1999).

On the floor

How to use it

Putting the Flow, supermarket or FIFO lane poster to work

1
Put it next to the value stream map when designing the future state.
2
Ask the two questions at every push arrow on the current state map.
3
Use it to explain why a supermarket fails for custom or perishable items.
4
Pair it with the free future state VSM worksheet and FIFO lane sizing sheet.

Where the poster goes and how to teach with it, in the order to try them.

Which size to print

24 x 36 in or A2: a main wall or team board, read from a few metres away.
18 x 24 in or A3: a station or notice board. The A3 file also fits 11 x 17 in paper.
Letter or A4: a clipboard, binder or handout, on any office printer.

Every PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at full size. Nothing runs to the edge of the page, so no bleed is needed.

Sources and notes

Mike Rother and John Shook, Learning to See: Value Stream Mapping to Add Value and Eliminate Muda (Lean Enterprise Institute, 1999): the map symbols, continuous flow, supermarkets and FIFO lanes.