Yea, it always struck me as STUPID, and hopefully that wonderful system will end. We have TONS OF ROOM for warehouses here in Texas and while they do cost money to operate, they also have advantages, such as allowing bulk purchases.
Also, the idea that car companies could fall flat on their faces over COMPUTER CHIPS, of all things. One could probably fit all the chips used by Toyota in a year in a single Home Depot, as they’re not exactly hogs when it comes to storage volume. No excuse for that. Tires, seats, fuel tanks, yea...they do take up room. Not chips.
Remember when every small automotive shop had an array of V=belts and serpanitine belts hanging high on a wall fetched down by an extension pole?
They weren’t depending on the local NAPA doing JIT!