Why is it that reducing the number of moves, delays, and storages in a manufacturing process is a good thing? can they be completely eliminated?

Moves, delays and storages cannot be completely eliminated from a manufacturing process.

They add time and cost to the manufacturing process. Time is money, so any time spent on a delay is money lost. Moving resources, materials or finished products also carry a cost (someone has to do it). Finally materials or products stored have a cost and when they are not being used or sold, they are increasing the company's cost.

The Just In Time (JIT) method focuses on reducing inventory levels, delays and unnecessary steps or processes (e. g. moving things) in the manufacturing process. It has proven to be the most successful attempt to reduce them, although it couldn't eliminate the completely.