PLANNING & SCHEDULING

The goal of manufacturing planning and scheduling process is define what, how many and when to produce and buy.

According to the organizational point of view, the primary role of planning and scheduling is like a "Clearing-House" where customer's needs and available manufacturing resources are matched.

Key information result from the planning and scheduling process to:

Sales Management, about actual and future finish good availability (what they can ship/sell)
Manufacturing, about Work Orders and Manufacturing Capacity Planning
Procurement, about Purchase Orders

INEFFECTIVE PROCESS SIGNS

Frequently manufacturing planning and scheduling process results don't satisfy business needs.

One of the signs is that you can rely on information resulting from process. This stirs up another planning and scheduling system, more or less formalized, into any business function. The main peculiarity of these parallel systems is the lack of integration and synchronization between themselves: sales plan cannot match production and procurement ones.

Also, different plans updating frequency may not be sinchronized to demand or manufacturing/supplying capacity changes.

Other signs, not to impute completely to this process, are:

Overstocks
Stockout (shortage)
Overstocks not request that result in obsolete materials

PRAGMATA's ACTIVITY

PRAGMATA has ripened a long experience in manufacturing planning and scheduling and is able to offer an excellent and skilled consulting service that include both project plan and achievement. In particular PRAGMATA:

defines a reference model (structure, levels and objects) of Production Plan and Master Production Schedule;
defines planning procedures and parameters for every items (lot sizing, safety stock, ...). This activity is completely carried out with a technology solution developed by PRAGMATA;
defines standards and procedures to apply finite capacity and finite scheduling techniques.

Moreover, PRAGMATA carries out the organizational part of the project that includes: proper frame of the planning function within the company organization, redesign of internal responsibilities and planning and scheduling procedures optimization.

At last, the information requirement is defined, with reference to the planning software tools available for operations management.

THE VALUE DELIVERED BY PRAGMATA

PRAGMATA has been ripening many experiences in these fields and, through the application of effective methodologies, quickly achieves excellent results thanks to solutions that are coherent with goals defined by high management.

Also, main peculiarities of PRAGMATA's offer in these consulting services are:

staff training, through special courses, to make process effective and efficient;
great competence in these subjects, in particular in the most innovative models
awareness of the most renowned technology solutions supporting these activities.