Due to the wide array of factors that must be managed – team members, raw materials, workstations, processes and supplies - Production Planning & Scheduling in manufacturing is especially challenging. Without a solid and reliable plan to manage and schedule orders, even the simplest manufacturing business can lose money. In order to avoid the pitfalls of unreliable order management, manufacturers need a solid planning process supported by the right technology.
Technology solutions for Production Planning & Scheduling help ensure that the manufacturing process flows with maximum efficiency. They make sure your orders are fulfilled in the most efficient way, without interruptions, delay or resources wasted. They drive lean manufacturing, because they synchronize the optimum utilization of all your resources and equipment to ensure that each order is produced on time, within budget and meeting all quality standards.
Different types of production methods, such as single item manufacturing, batch production, mass production, continuous production, etc., have their own type of production planning. A production plan can be made periodically for a specific time period, called the planning horizon (short-term, medium-term, long-term, etc.).
A critical factor in production planning is the accurate estimation of the productive capacity of available resources. Production planning should always take into account material availability, resource availability and knowledge of future demand. Production plans must also be flexible and react quickly to the changes and fluctuations of the markets and the needs of the business.
Digital production planning solutions can be, but rarely are, standalone systems. Often, they are integrated with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to better control order execution and with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to ensure continuous alignment with customer demand and sales.
