Production & Materials Planning
Every production planner has the challenging job of managing a complex set of conflicting priorities – meeting customer requested ship dates and new product trials, supporting manufacturing and logistics performance objectives, and addressing finance’s objectives as it relates to inventory levels and cash flow. Almost every plant manager or production planner believes their customers and sales organizations throw large orders over the wall with unrealistic due dates.
How Do You Benefit from Production & Materials Planning?
Sales & Marketing
Sales and Marketing leaders will gain high levels of service for their customers with on-time-in-full (OTIF) levels in the high 90’s, shorter lead-times, and high ratings on customer scorecards. They also will gain improved levels of responsiveness to customer needs and confidence in new product rollouts.
Engineering
For engineer-to-order (ETO) and configure-to-order (CTO) businesses, Engineering leaders will gain visibility into workload requirements to support drawings, customer approvals, and bill of material designs. They will be able to plan for the appropriate level of engineering capacity and capabilities.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing leaders will gain visibility into work center, machine, equipment, tooling, maintenance, staffing, and training requirements so that they can plan accordingly. They will also gain visibility into the master production schedule so that they can optimize run sizes with changeovers and costs.
Purchasing
Purchasing leaders will gain visibility into raw material, component, ingredient, and outside processing requirements so that they can work with suppliers to set up the appropriate programs and contracts to meet customer requirements. Suppliers will have visibility to capacity and scorecards.
Logistics
Logistics leaders will gain visibility into storage, warehousing, handling, picking, packing, shipping, transportation, returns, and equipment requirements so that they can plan accordingly. As gaps arise, service and cost options can be analyzed to expand capacity or capabilities as needed to support customers.
Finance
Finance leaders will gain visibility into sales forecasts, engineering and manufacturing plans, capital expenditure needs, purchase forecasts, staffing and support resource requirements, logistics forecasts, and inventory projections. Thus, they will have revenue, cost, profitability, and cash flow projections.
Planning
Planning leaders will gain visibility into the demand plan, sales orders, quotes, replenishment orders, and work order status so that they can develop the best master production schedule (MPS) to optimize customer service, operational efficiency and working capital. They will gain high service levels and increased margins.
Blog posts for Production & Materials Planning
Every CFO seems to wonder why they spend millions on ERP upgrades yet critical decisions seem to boil down to spreadsheets.
Fulfilling customer demand successfully is not as easy as it was prior to this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. As supply chain disruptions continue to rage, planners jump through hoops, expedite, and are a bit frazzled trying to support customer requirements while meeting operational objectives, pushing back when needed on sales commitments, and addressing cost concerns.
Disruptions abound no matter the supply chain. Aerospace has been particularly hard hit. Boeing’s issues have plagued them the entire year.
