A mathematical programming model is constructed to tackle the just-in-time material replenishment problem in mixed-model assembly lines with the just-in-sequence supply policy. The bin and the departure time of each delivery have to be determined to minimize the line-side material inventory cost. Subsequently, the property is analyzed to convert this composite optimization problem to the discrete combinational optimization one, aiming to determine the optimal bin delivery sequence. A backwards dynamic programming algorithm is presented to solve the problem optimally, which is proved to be exponential-time complexity. Meanwhile, a modified artificial bee colony metaheuristic is established to cope with the medium-and large-scale instances. Based on the estimation of distribution method, a novel individuals update rule is developed to enhance the performance of the original metaheuristic. Finally, smulation results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods.