Just-in-time inventory gets blamed for every empty shelf, but the real culprit is often poor demand forecasting, not the system itself. I've worked in warehouse operations for seven years, and we used to keep three weeks of safety stock on everything, which tied up cash and still ran out during unexpected spikes. Switching to a hybrid model cut our holding costs by 18%, but I'll admit it requires better data than most small suppliers have. Is JIT truly outdated, or are we just using it wrong?