/kahn"bahn"/ , n.
a method of inventory control, originally developed in Japanese automobile factories, that keeps inventories low by scheduling needed goods and equipment to arrive a short time before a production run begins.
[ kamban lit., signboard, shopkeeper's in-business sign, prob. alluding to the shop or tavern keeper's final call for orders before taking the sign down, hence "last-minute, just in time" in the context of inventory control kàn look + ban printing block ]