Introduction
One of the challenges for the operations manager in any business is the scheduling of key production activities. There are numerous variables that need to be considered in this planning process. These factors include production capacity, customer demand, supplier performance, design completion, cash flow, and staffing (Heizer, 2011). All these factors come together to create a production plan that can fluctuate based on many external forces. The idea of the master production schedule and the sales and operations plan is to help forecast and meet the required production levels. The goal is to maximize efficiency and profitability through anticipating demand and adjusting production schedules accordingly. The Sales and Operations Plan (S&OP) and the Master Production Schedule (MPS) are two tools used in operations management to assist in the scheduling process.
Master Production Schedule (MPS)
The MPS is the overall timetable that outlines exactly what is to be made and when. The schedule follows the production plan which sets the overall level of output in broad terms. The MPS breaks down the more generic production plan and provides the specifics regarding exactly what is getting produced (Heizer, 2011). The production plan is derived from all the elements of the planning process and MPS must satisfy this production plan. One company that markets MPS solutions identifies inputs to MPS as forecast demand, production costs, inventory costs, customer orders, inventory levels, supply, lot size, production lead time and capacity. This translates to MPS outputs of amounts to be produced, staffing levels, quantity available to promise and projected available balance (Inventory Solution Logistics ...
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...roducts that are expensive to hold in inventory and it is not expensive to change production levels. The final approach to production planning is a mix of the level and chasing methods. Many businesses will use elements from both to create the optimal balance of production and inventory on hand (Heizer, 2011).
Works Cited
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Operations management is essential for the survival and success of any organization. According to Heizer & Render (2011), operations management (OM) is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. Operations managers today contend with competition, globalization, inflation, consumer demand, and consistent change in technology. Managers must focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes such as cost, dependability, distribution, flexibility, and speed. The intent of this paper is to discuss the processes and operations management of the Kroger Company.
Operations management is that part of a business organization responsible for planning and coordinating the use of the organization’s resources to convert inputs into outputs. The operations function is one of three primary functions of business organizations; the other two are marketing and finance. The operations function is present in both service-oriented and product-oriented organizations. Operations decisions involve design decisions and operating decisions. Design decisions relate to capacity planning, product design, process design, layout of facilities, and selecting locations for facilities. Operating decisions relate to quality ass...
Operations Management Process is the central arteries within the organization because it produces the planning process for goods and services, which are its reason for existent. Operations management is linked to all organizations as every organization is producing either a product or a service. However, it cannot be said to be the most important function since there are other functional areas and boundaries within an organization. In today's fast changing world, organizations have to have a tendency towards being efficient, effective and innovative to the changing environment to succeed. Operations Management has to use metrics in order for them to accomplish their task and be successful with minimal interruptions within the organization.
The search began as operations management at the company recognized the potential for improving production performance at one of their major plants in Hyderabad, called FTO3, based on rated capacities and actual outputs. They were looking for help in exploring ways to address performance more effectively. The production scheduling process, a complex and difficult exercise involving many products and machines in the factory, was carried out manually on Excel sheets with no real-time integrity of their business master and transaction data. Moreover, manual scheduling found it difficult to reap production scheduling efficiencies, while adhering to the rules particular to the pharmaceutical industry, which are mandated and monitored by agencies, such as the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administra...
Target Corporation needs to increase product availability based on the customer needs using a forecasting and supply chain
The allocation, in regards to manufacturing production, is a particular based on the forecasts we make based on the past trends. Referring back to the discussion of long lead times, it was clear with shorter lead times, we as a supply chain team, can meet the demands just as expected. We would need to ensure that we don’t over produce nor under produce, however, it took a while for us to grasp this concept.
Once plans have been developed, an organization must address how management will be accomplishing be those plans. This involves operational plans that must flow from strategy; specify resource, time issues, and commitment of human resources. Operational plans at the lower - levels of the organization, have a shorter time horizon, and are narrower in scope (Bateman, Snell 2003 p.113). A good example of this is Wal-Mart's main strategic goal. It is to provide quality merchandise at an affordable low cost to consumers. Its operational goals focus on efficient logistics requiring technology and inventory management systems to help reduce costs so it can be passed on to the customer. Operational plans are derived from a tactical plan and are aimed at achieving one or more operational goals (Bateman, Snell 2003 p.113).
This is the activity carried out by organizations that own production sites, and their performance has a major impact on product cost, quality, speed of delivery and delivery reliability, and flexibility [8]. As it is quite an important part of the supply chain, production needs to be measured and continuously improved. Suitable metrics for the production level are as follows. Order lead-time, the total order cycle time, called order to delivery cycle time, refers to the time elapsed in between the receipt of customer order until the delivery of finished goods to the customer. The reduction in order cycle time leads to reduction in supply chain response time, and as such is an important performance measure and source of competitive advantage [9]. It directly interacts with customer service in determining competitiveness. Range of product and services: According to [8] a plant that manufactures a broad product range is likely to introduce new products more slowly than plants with a narrow product range. Plants that can manufacture a wide range of products are likely to perform less well in the areas of value added per employee, speed and delivery reliability. This clearly suggests that product range affects supply chain performance. Effectiveness of scheduling techniques is another important measure of supply chain effectiveness. Scheduling refers to the time or date on or by which
Operations – To work out the right layout and work flow process in the company. The manpower resource allocation is also critical in the situation on the right balance of resource to handle the production. If possible, adopt a hybrid model to handle the flexibility in the product nature, make both the production line being able to configure standard and customized so to reduce setup and changeover time and cope with the demands.
Studying pre-existing models of operations management may be a smart approach to truly understand this field. But since technology is advancing by the minute, new concepts, and tools should be adapted for operations management. The book titled Operations Management strategically explains the different concepts, divisions, and approaches to operations management. References Encarta (2005) Definitions of Operations Management. Retrieved September 15, 2005.
At present, every organization believes that operations management plays a pivotal role in establishing and maintaining global leadership, and is a part of the overall organizational strategy. The strategic part that operations management plays in hierarchical execution can be seen as more companies are moving towards dealing with their operations from a value chain viewpoint. There are many reasons that support, operations management an important element for the success of the business. It encompasses manufacturing and services, and its essential in adequately and effectively dealing with the productivity as every company ought to have high productivity which can prompt economic growth and development and help the company’s work force in getting high wages, as well as lead to a rise in organization's profit. Operations management is likewise imperative as it plays a major role in any company’s
Slack, N., Johnston, R. and Brandon-Jones, A. (2011).Essentials of operations management. 1st ed. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
University of Phoenix(Ed.).(2003) Operations management for competitive advantage[University of Phoenix custom edition e-text]. New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved February 01, 2005, from university of phoenix, Resource, MGT554- operations management website: https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp
According to Slack et. al. (2001) the best mechanism for running a business is to match level of demand (goods, services that customers need) with supply of capacity (recourses, labor force that the business inputs in the production process). They also define capacity as “the maximum level of value –added activity over a period of time”. Thus three main factors come into force here – the capacity of resources and labor force, the process operation which itself leads to satisfying customers through matching demand. It is very important to plan and coordinate all 3 factors very effectively because a difference in capacity and performance easily affects: costs, revenues, working capital, flexibility, quality of goods, speed of response and others.