Production Planning

While numerous researchers have proposed dierent models to forecast trial sales for new products, there is little systematic understanding about which of these models works best, and under what circumstances these ®ndings change. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive investigation of eight leading published models and three dierent parameter estimation methods. Across 19 dierent datasets encompassing a variety of consumer packaged goods, we observe several systematic patterns that link dierences in model speci®cation and estimation to forecasting accuracy. Major ®ndings include the following observations: (1) when dealing with consumer packaged goods, simple models that allow for relatively limited¯exibility (e.g. no S-shaped curves) in the calibration period provide signi®cantly better forecasts than more complex speci®cations; (2) models that explicitly accommodate heterogeneity in purchasing rates across consumers tend to oer better forecasts than those that do not; and (3) maximum likelihood estimation appears to oer more accurate and stable forecasts than nonlinear least squares. We elaborate on these and other ®ndings, and oer suggested directions for future research in this area. # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY WORDS new product forecasting; new product trial; test market

Due to increased competition, semiconductor manufacturing has received considerable research attention over the last few decades. As a result, several optimisation and heuristic solution procedures are available to solve a variety of operational planning and control ...

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions that gained acceptance in industries world over as they represent a proven, comprehensive, software backbone for achieving excellence in key business areas, have moved forward today to higher levels of innovation and technologies. The management of procurement, manufacturing, product development, finance, sales and service with various ERP modules together with complexities of operations across corporate boundaries and intense global competition have all resulted in a continuing erp discourse developed in relation to both theory and practice. This paper aims to contribute an empirical study and explore the vital process of production planning in a customized erp environment. In doing so, it takes a qualitative methodology in the form of the case of a Nordic (Northern European) log house manufacturing company. The favourable ERP implementation in the company tends to justify the customizing of applications at early phase instead of ado...

For many researchers, the subject Production and Control Planning seems to be dominated or outdated. But, when we are talking about small, or medium, manufacturing enterprises (SME's), we can see that there are a lot of things to do yet. The main research's focus on PCP, are systems. Definitions, applications and utilization. We noticed, in many cases, none attention has been spent at the formers steps in a PCP implementation, basically organization, learning and training. They come before the PCP system implementation and, usually, sources of problems. This paper focus an ideal sequence for implementation of the best practices on PCP, from PCP team project definition through the system implementation, for micro, small and medium manufacturing enterprises.

The design and management of the manufacturing network for a firm is an important factor for its competitive position. By manufacturing network we mean the plant or plants of a manufacturing firm and the relationships with external suppliers. The way that these operate together is crucial for supporting the competition of the products in the marketplace. This paper presents the results of a survey of 106 Swedish manufacturing plants. We find that the markets and supply networks of Swedish plants are global, but there is a focus on Europe. The main reason for locating a plant in Sweden is proximity to skills and knowledge, and we find no pure low-cost plants. The overall level of site competence is very high. There are many significant differences between how internal and external suppliers are selected. The choice of internal suppliers, i.e. those suppliers in the manufacturing network that belong to the same firm, is to a large extent based on a single corporate decision reflecting quality and competence, while external suppliers are chosen based on quality, price, and delivery dependability considerations. All in all, this study provides a broad analysis of the manufacturing networks in which Swedish plants operate, and the roles of these plants.

Secondary manufacturers in the forest products industry face a complex production planning process. Linear programming (LP)-based applications have addressed this production planning issue. However, most models have been developed for a specific plant configuration and cannot readily be applied to others. A relational database approach was used to create an integrated linear programming-based decision support system that can be used to analyze production planning issues in a wide variety of secondary wood product manufacturers. The flexibility of the resultant system indicated the potential to analyze production strategies in the highly dynamic environment characteristic of secondary manufacturers. D

This paper presents results from a case study in predictive maintenance at a distribution warehouse. A simulation model was built with ARENA 5.0 for integrating predictive maintenance strategies with production planning strategies, for a conveyor system. Equipment health was monitored using condition-based parameters such as temperature and vibration for mechanical and electrical components such as rollers, electrical motors, and gearboxes. This diagnostic information was then integrated with a simulation model to simulate various equipment breakdown and failure conditions. Integration of condition-based monitoring of conveying equipment with a simulation model of the distribution system has provided a useful analytical tool for management to reduce production downtime due to unplanned maintenance activities -in this instance, downtime was reduced by more than 50% and work in process inventory was reduced by more than 65%.

The need for effective planning and management techniques motivates the integration between different operations management areas. These areas include the production planning and operations scheduling which is one of the most challenging tasks facing managers today. Researchers have produced extensive literature in this field in the batch process industry. The importance of this integration forces by it's directly effect on the overall performance of the system in terms of quality of services to the customer and cost to the organization. In this paper an Advanced Production Planning and Scheduling (APPS) model is constructed via the mathematical programming. The objective of minimizing the total costs, including the production costs, inventory holding costs, idle time costs and lateness costs is presented. The model addresses related production characteristics as well as scheduling characteristics by taking into consideration the minimum order quantity from each batch at each period, the inventory accumulation in each period, and setup time and processing time for each batch. The proposed model is solved using LINGO ® optimization package and verified using test models that use empirical data adjusted so that the output can be expected in advance. The APPS model successfully passed all verification tests. The detailed assumptions, formulation, advantages and contributions of the APPS model are presented, together with the testing methodology. Finally, it was implemented to a real world industrial case study.

The Capacitated Lot Sizing Problem (CLSP) consists of planning the lot sizes of multiple items over a planning horizon with the objective of minimizing setup and inventory holding costs. In each period that an item is produced a setup cost is incurred. Capacity is limited and ...

Push/pull production mode used in CIMS and its application in re"nery are mainly discussed in this paper. Firstly, we discuss about push/pull production mode used in CIMS, where manufacturing system is introduced, push/pull combined control strategy is put forward push/pull production mode is compared with MRPII and JIT. Secondly, production plan and schedule strategy of push/pull production mode is put forward, where its basic framework and overall architecture are given out, push/pull combined control method for main production plan is discussed. Then, production plan and scheduling system of re"nery CIMS is discussed, where production procedure process, basic production characters, re"nery production and administration, its activity types are introduced, a re"nery integrated production plan and schedule system is put forward, its problem solving process is discussed in detail. Next, a kind of integration framework used in re"nery is put forward and discussed. At the end of the paper, some conclusions are drawn.

Because of the booming economy, interest in China has soared in recent years. The government has decided to privatize many state-owned enterprises (SOEs), so foreigners can much more easily invest in existing firms than ever before. Is it wise to consider investing in these SOEs? Certainly, many have major problems. How sophisticated are Chinese manufacturing firms? Do they understand modern principles of manufacturing strategy and supply chain management? What is the level of installed technology, from traditional production planning systems, like MRP, to robotics? This paper attempts to answer these questions based on a survey of 100 firms in the Shanghai area. We surveyed state-owned enterprises, collective-owned enterprises and privately held firms, and we discovered some fascinating insights about their differences and their similarities.

The important practical problem of planning the production of large assemblies employing an MRP-based system is considered. The objective is to produce products on-time, with minimal cycle time and low work-in-process costs. The approach is based on the determination of accurate lead-time estimates and on the introduction and use of lead-time oOE sets in the solution methodology. An eOE ective Lead-time Evaluation and Scheduling Algorithm (LETSA) is employed that can perform detailed backward scheduling of operations belonging to a large assembly on a given facility with an objective of minimizing the cycle time. A scaling procedure is used to account for capacity sharing eOE ects by multiple products in a common facility. These scaled lead-time estimates are then employed by an MRP-based system to release work-orders on the shop-¯oor. The eOE ectiveness of these lead-times and lead-time oOE sets are evaluated by simulating production using the MRP generated order release times and verifying on-time completion of the multiple assemblies in the common facility. Numerical experiments are presented to validate the performance of the approach. Optimized batch sizes for minimal work-in-process (WIP) costs can also be obtained using LETSA. Thus, the important objectives of minimizing cycle time for on-time delivery and minimizing schedule costs can be accomplished simultaneously.

This paper reports results of research into the definition of requirements for new consumer products––specifically, electro-mechanical products. The research dealt with the derivation of design requirements that are demonstrably aligned with stakeholder needs. The paper describes a comprehensive process that can enable product development teams to deal with statements of product requirements, as originally collected through market research activities, in a systematic and traceable manner from the early, fuzzy front end, stages of the design process. The process described has been based on principles of systems engineering. A case study from its application and evaluation drawn from the power sector is described in this paper. The case study demonstrates how the process can significantly improve product quality planning practices through revision of captured product requirements, analysis of stakeholder requirements and derivation of design requirements. The paper discusses benefits and issues from the use of the process by product development teams, and identifies areas for further research. Finally, the conclusions drawn from the reported research are presented.

Purpose -The main purpose of this paper is to address the impact of product design changes on supply chain risk, and to identify the supply chain risk dimensions in the Chinese special-purpose vehicle (SPV) industry in the context of product design change. Design/methodology/approach -Case study methodology is adopted to describe the current situation of supply chain risk management in the Chinese SPV industry. Data are mainly collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews, and a cause-effect diagram is used to identify and summarize the internal and external risk dimensions of supply chain risk.

Background and justification Dessert banana and plantain (Musa sp.) are the fourth most important staple food crops in the world after rice, wheat and maize [1]. Dessert banana in particular is a commercially important crop in the global trade, both by volume and value, as a leading fruit [1]. In 2010, world commerce in banana was valued at US 8.05 billion and the total world production of banana is about 106,541,709.00 tons [FAOSTAT, 2012]. For many African, Asian and Latin American countries, banana is as well one of the most important fruit for foreign exchange earnings [FAOSTAT, 2012]. Dessert banana is also the major fruit crop that is most widely grown and consumed in Ethiopia. It is cultivated in several parts where the growing conditions are favorable. Especially in the south and southwestern parts of the country, it is of great socioeconomic importance contributing significantly to the overall wellbeing of the rural communities including food security, income generation and job creation [2]. Currently banana in Ethiopia covers about 59.64% (53,956.13 hectares) of the total fruit area, about 68% (478,251.04 ton) of the total fruit produced, and about 38.3% (2,574.035) of the total fruit producing farmers. On the other hand, about 68.72% (37,076.83 hectares) of land covered by banana, about 77.52% (370,784.17 ton) of the banana production, and 22.38% (1,504,207) of the banana producers in Ethiopia are found in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS) [25]. Gamo Gofa, Bench Maji, and Sheka zones are among the major banana producing zones of the SNNPRS [3]. Objectives of the review General objective: • To review the production and marketing of banana in Ethiopia. Specific objectives: • To review the overall status of banana production in the Ethiopia.

Implementation of Human-centred Design methods in the Fuzzy Front-End is not likely to lead to diversification in educational product planning exercises, where time lines are short and executors lack experience. Companies, interested to collaborate with M.Sc. students on strategic design projects, should have realistic ambitions with respect to innovation and value creation. Moreover, diversification is not the only generic growth strategy to gain competitive advantage. Value can also be created from developing new products for existing markets, or creating new markets for existing products. On the contrary, companies who aim for diversification in their generic growth strategies, may not always end up with a complementary "high valued" design outcome. From a learning perspective, the understanding of HCD methods created awareness among students and companies that respect and empathy for the end-user are important for enriching their design processes, as such increasing the chances for diversification in subsequent projects with clients.

This paper presents a review of mathematical programming models for supply chain production and transport planning. The purpose of this review is to identify current and future research in this field and to propose a taxonomy framework based on the following elements: supply chain structure, decision level, modeling approach, purpose, shared information, limitations, novelty and application. The research objective is to provide readers with a starting point for mathematical modeling problems in supply chain production and transport planning aimed at production management researchers.

While data mining has been widely used in many fields, little research has been done on its applications to sizing systems for the manufacturing of garments. The goal of this study was to establish systems for using a decision tree technique to determine the pants sizes of army soldiers. We first defined the subject and constructed a large anthropometric database. Second, we prepared and analyzed data, performed factor analyses, and then extracted important sizing variables. Third, we used the decision tree technique to mine data in an effort to identify and classify significant patterns in the body shapes of soldiers. The use of decision tree-based data mining to establish sizing systems is advantageous because it can (1) allow for a wider coverage of body shapes with a fewer number of sizes, (2) generate regular sizing patterns and rules, and (3) provide manufacturers with reference points to facilitate production. The newly developed sizing system can provide garment manufacturers with size specifications, design development, pattern grading, and market analysis. Moreover, when production plans can be made more realistic, inventory costs due to mismatches can be minimized.

The management of food distribution networks is receiving more and more attention, both in practice and in the scientific literature. In this paper, we review quantitative operations management approaches to food distribution management, and relate this to challenges faced by the industry. Here, our main focus is on three aspects: food quality, food safety, and sustainability. We discuss the literature on three decision levels: strategic network design, tactical network planning, and operational transportation planning. For each of these, we survey the research contributions, discuss the state of the art, and identify challenges for future research.

The present paper aims to propose an integrated framework, based on two levels, able to characterise collaborative relation between two or more partners in a Supply Chain, evaluating their related performances. In the first level, related to the context point of view, the most common parameters, identified from a literature review, characterising a relationship between two partners, have been used to built an integrated analysis framework. The second level is related to the performance side and has been achieved through two main attributes: the perceived satisfaction of the relation and its perceived effectiveness. The implementation of the approach has been achieved through a survey of different companies, so as to propose a first analysis on how the characteristics of a relation impact its performance. A new dashboard is proposed as an operative tool of the proposed approach, which allows to follow all the attributes which best characterise each relation type, as well as the sensitivity of the perceived performance for each attribute.

Prototyping of embedded hardware/software systems is important, because it shortens the path from specification to the final product. Prototypes play a major role in decision making, concept and design validation, feature and limit exploration, as well as design verification in every phase of the product development cycle, including product planning, requirement engineering, and product development. This overview discusses the motivation for building prototypes, provides the key areas for research and explains how prototypes can assist in product planning and throughout all steps of the engineering process. Special attention is given to prototyping in the industry to support the design and testing of multimodal and multifunctional embedded systems.

The resource-constrained production planning problem in semicontinuous multiproduct food industries is addressed. In particular, the case of yogurt production, a representative food process, in a real-life dairy facility is studied in detail. The problem in question is mainly focused on the packing stage, whereas timing and capacity constraints are imposed with respect to the batch stage to ensure the generation of feasible production plans. A novel mixed discrete/continuous-time mixed-integer linear programming model, based on the definition of families of products, is proposed. Timing and sequencing decisions are taken for product families rather than for products; thus, reducing significantly the model size. Additionally, material balances are realized for every particular product, permitting the detailed optimization of inventory and operating costs. Packing units operate in parallel and share resources. Qualitative as well as quantitative objectives are considered. Several industrial case studies, including also some unexpected events scenarios, have been solved to optimality.

A medium sized UK based academic publishers own a subsidiary printing business. Presently the Academic Printers (AP) is experiencing productions line flow problems reducing the efficiency of the operation. Most of the problems are generated by the imbalanced workflow through the system. By implementing a JIT production planning system it is hoped that some of the production problems can be resolved. Using the simulation software a model was created to investigate the performance of the AP under a variety of operating conditions. Results showed that operating the system with JIT control would not produce economic performance improvements due to constraints applied by the printing process.

Production engineers are urged to take ergonomic considerations into account when planning for production. However, the means to do so are often inadequate with respect to training as well as support. There is a lack of methods to predict, at a reasonable cost, biomechanical load on an operator performing a task not yet observable on a product and in a workplace not yet existing. The purpose of this study was to develop an ergonomic complement to a modern MTM system called SAM that gives the production engineer a first insight into the future ergonomic quality of a planned production. A method was developed that requests the engineer to supply two additional pieces of information to the analysis: the zone relative to the operator's body in which the movement takes place or ends, and the weight or force involved in the operation. As method of comparison for validation purposes was selected the operator selfevaluation method VIDAR. The method was tested at the Torslanda final assembly plant of Volvo Car Corporation and at the ITT Flygt plant for large submersible pumps at three different balances and compared with two different methods of assessing biomechanical load. The results show that the method identifies the events causing high biomechanical load on the operator so that they can be redesigned. The suggested method has proven to be a useful tool and is being introduced at Volvo Car Corporation.

Engineer-to-order (ETO) companies, operating in the machinery-building industry. The study investigates the needs and requirements of such companies in terms of software support for governing the businesses, with particular emphasis on production planning and control (PPC) processes. An empirical analysis investigated two main aspects: (i) the set of business activities performed by the companies in the analysed industry, and (ii) the relevant, high-level software functionalities required for the execution of such activities. As an answer to the observed compelling need for reviewing the general approaches to PPC in machinery-building companies, we develop an empirical, high-level production planning and scheduling reference framework, encompassing all the activities involved in the order fulfilment process.

In facing the problem of building a complex yet fast and resource efficient Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Extended Resource Planning (XRP) system the first obstacle is the creation of a Bill of Materials (BoM) algorithm, which is used to calculate material needs according to the production plan. Taking into consideration different possibilities of BoM implementation, we compared linked lists, tree structure and matrix implementation in relation to algorithm complexity. As we came to the conclusion that none of them suits the needs of modern systems, we proposed a new BoM algorithm called multiple linked list implementation. It combines the advantages of other implementations with a new approach based on two complex data structures used to represent both the data and relationships between products, parts or components used in production.

Organisations willing to succeed in global competition have to integrate their internal and external processes. This especially includes planning and production control (PPC) processes. Optimised allocation of the production resources and quick response to demand changes result in lower cost and improvement of production performance. Practitioners and researchers have been trying to achieve these goals using production planning techniques. Although the results are significant, it seems necessary to integrate production operations in order to improve the production performance. The goals, information and decisions taken in production planning and control and process planning are often very different and difficult to integrate in Cellular Manufacturing (CM) environments. Designing an efficient PPC system and integrating it with process planning in a cellular environment is of the same importance. The following paper proposes first a comprehensive framework of integrated process planning and production planning and control in CM. Then, with respect to this framework and utilising the domain knowledge in the area of CM systems, an integrated model based on Integrated Definition Modeling Language is developed. The application of the models has been considered as a case study for a production system in electronics and telecommunication sector in a plant in Iran. The validity and completeness of the proposed model is tested by a panel of experts in the areas of production planning and control in CM environments.

The purpose of this paper is to ask the questiondoes mass customization really hold the key to customer value? It is argued that while mass customization can, and often does, increase the value of an offering, it is not always the case. In other words, mass customization does not represent the best strategy for all firms in all cases. It is critical that manufacturing firms understand whether their customers (existing and potential) really do value customization. The paper introduces the responsive agility tool that may provide the basis for an informed decision. The tool differentiates a number of value criteria and a method of selecting between them. Further, the tool identifies four levels of customization distinguished by secondary value criteria. We provide a case study demonstrating how the tool may operate in practice. The case study suggests that the tool may effectively differentiate customer types according to their value criteria. Finally the paper proposes that a value judgement is dependent on the negotiated process between a manufacturer and customer.

Computer simulations are used to represent the essential features of a real system so that analyzers can test their design skills in a convenient and safe environment. Organizations throughout the world are quickly moving to adopt process modelling and simulation as an integral part of their business decision-making and continuous improvement initiatives, due to their significant role in the design of a cost-effective system. ARENA fulfils these needs by mapping processes and simulating discrete and continuous systems. The properties of ARENA software engine involved in its ease of use and rapid mastery, power of complex system modelling, and open architecture to support user applications. This paper outlines how ARENA is applied to model, simulate and analyze the basic production processes. The case study is the bakery's production processes, at which the model creation is explained in detail and the simulation results are analyzed. This study gives a real-life example of how to use ARENA to model a complete production line in an efficient way.

The world needs to reduce its dependency on fossil fuel (non-renewable energy) as it is fast depleting and due to the harmful impact to the environment – most notably ‘Climate Change’. Therefore, Green Technology now becomes an even greater significance. We expect that academic scientists, leading engineers, industry researchers and scholar students would exchange and share their experiences and discuss research results on how we can survive and sustain in the future with green technology. The issues are not only about developing technologies, but also how to manage them properly in order to gain maximum benefit for the societies.

This volume contains papers accepted to The 3rd International Conference on Technology and Operations Management (ICTOM 2012) which themed Sustaining Competitiveness through Green Technology Management. The conference was held in East Hall – ITB and SBM-ITB (School of Business and Management – ITB) on July 4-6, 2012.

Nowadays, the entire world is experiencing very complex and chaotic economic situations. Despite the global economic slowdown, it is very encouraging for us to receive over than one hundred submissions from various countries, and accept less than three-fourth submitted papers written by one hundred forty-eight authors for oral presentation to share their knowledges. We are also very grateful for the acceptance of keynote speakerships by well-known senior researchers and international as well as regional practicioners in Technology and Operations Management discipline specifically in Green Technology Management area.

ICTOM 2012 was organized by SBM-ITB, especially Operations and Performance Management (OPM) Interest Group. This conference shows our third collaboration with the esteemed College of Business – Universiti Utara Malaysia. We have been successfully organized the previous conferences at West Hall ITB in 2006 and at Langkawi, Malaysia in 2010.

We hope that this 3rd scientific meeting forum could contribute to introduce and promote Technology and Operations Management especially in Indonesia, to open the way for possible collaboration between local and international academicians and practitioners to promote ITB, in particular SBM-ITB, as a world class university and as the leading higher institution in the field of technology and operations management.

On this occasion, we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped in organizing this international conference and the preparation of proceedings. We also apologize for any shortcomings, both in the organizing of the conference and in the preparation of conference proceedings.

We look forward for your continuing supports and active participations in the next International Conference on Technology and Operations Management.

Production monitoring is an important task for proper production planning. For this task the information that a system of this nature can possibly gather assumes significant importance. Among all the information available during production, the detection of faults assumes a crucial role since it directly affects the quality and productivity. This paper presents a system which was developed with the purpose of performing the analysis in real time of the knitting process, supplying the parameters of major concern for production and furthermore, allowing the detection, identification and location of faults.

This paper presents a case study of an implementation of a new method for Production Leveling designed for batch production. It includes prioritizing criteria of products and level production plan. Moreover, it was applied on a subsidiary of a multinational enterprise located on Brazil, which manufacturing processes comprise batch production in a make-to-stock policy. Regarding a qualitative assessment, evidences show that the company had deficient practices related to Operations Planning. Thus, based on a case study approach, proposed method was applied as well empirical data were analyzed. Results were measured before and after this implementation by performance indicators of Costs (inventory), Speed (lead time), Mix flexibility (monthly set up operations) and Reliability (service level). Evidences confirm improvements in operational efficiency as expected. Researchers and practitioners can evaluate general applicability of this method by applying it in different companies that share similarities related to batch processing operations.