All Posts Tagged "capacity"...
Double-CIick to Schedule
Schedulers have been a part of enterprise resources planning (ERP) and manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) software systems for many years. Recently, new technology is offering increasingly sophisticated systems that apply advanced logic to the scheduling process. However, many companies still find their systems are unable to come up with a schedule that maximizes use and efficiency while ensuring that all work is completed on time.
A Time-Tested Technique
Material requirements planning (MRP) is the calculation of potential shortages and replenishment activity from the master schedule using the bill of material and inventory availability data. Developed in the early 1950s, the basic approach still is at the center of every enterprise resources planning (ERP) system more than half a century later.
Just because you can … doesn’t mean you should
May 2012.
Technology gives us new capabilities all the time and many of them are vital tools for gaining and maintaining a competitive edge. But tools must be viewed and applied in context to be of benefit.
Logistics, supply-chain mastery play key roles in achieving success
Two of the largest and most successful companies in the world achieved and maintain their success by mastering the supply chain. Wal-Mart took logistics to new heights, bringing big city, low prices and convenience to rural areas. Apple dominates its chosen markets through innovation but also benefits greatly from a single-minded focus on operational excellence.
December Schedules
December 2011.
Advice and Assistance for Manufacturers.
December is often a rather strange month in the life of the manufacturing plant. There may be some seasonal demand effects to deal with (lower actual demand and lower production objectives in many cases) and there are often schedule reductions to be accommodated due to holiday shut-downs and the policy in many companies of encouraging employees to use vacation time before the end of the year.
Your Shore or Mine?
Several years ago, it was almost fashionable to outsource to low-wage areas of the world to reduce costs. Business leaders developed the mind-set of “off shoring is always cheaper:’ and they scarcely looked beyond unit cost plus transportation.
Sometimes the Best Sale is the One You Don’t Make
Reprinted from Portsmouth Herald / Seacoastonline.com – December 27, 2010
At this time of year, most businesses are working on plans and budgets for the coming new year. Budgeting has to start with a forecast, whether a formal process of projecting sales month-by-month or a very informal “wild guess” approach. In fact, many companies don’t even realize they are making a forecast when they think “next year will be the same as this year,” or perhaps “this year plus a few percent.” That is, in fact, a forecast.
2010 APICS International Conference & Expo
The 2010 APICS International Conference & Expo is being held this week, October 18-20 at the Wynn in Las Vegas, NV. The General Session on Monday featured LT. General Russel L. Honoré who spoke about leadership in an uncertain time.
A Capacity for Action
While this doesn’t seem logical, the “plan materials first, then check capacity” process has been with us since the 1960s, when MRP first was defined and computer resources were scarce and expensive. Today, the computing power necessary to plan material
