Production planning, all about it and how to optimise it
BG Log UK - Continuous Improvement
Continous Improvement Lean Solutions
Production planning all about it and how to optimise it production process production planner supply chain operations logistics production plan kanban pull
Production planning is a key process that involves several operations to organise production resources and meet customer orders on the other hand, maximising the level of service in terms of
In a context where market conditions are changing day by day, the production planning process is becoming increasingly strategic in order to be able to meet consumer needs and to efficiently and effectively manage the steps and timing to make products available for sale.
The main activities of production planning are:
All these operations are supervised by the production manager, or production planner.
He or she plans, controls and coordinates all the activities related to production progress, optimising the use of resources. In particular, he or she must verify that the correct quantity is produced to be supplied to customers and that production operations meet budgeted costs.
The production manager is therefore responsible for integrating the areas of production, logistics and warehousing, so as to align the?supply chain?with market demand, optimising the processes and tools used on the production lines, managing procurement, changes in the order portfolio and market trends.
How to organise a production plan
The production planning process starts with the definition of when and how the company decides to satisfy its target market, i.e. the sales model.
The first phase consists of a continuous exchange of information that allows the transfer of any perceived market needs from the Sales area to Operations, which will turn them into specific actions involving the entire Supply Chain.
In fact, the objective of production is precisely to serve consumers, and companies that have problems meeting delivery times must start by planning the production process and procurement in the best possible way.
The structuring of a production plan therefore starts with an analysis of the criteria, tools and sales methods, in terms of product or service and delivery time.
This analysis requires the involvement of the sales function to be able to define the sales model.
Once the sales model has been defined, it must be verified whether or not the production and planning system is actually able to meet it.
Here, the technical area or production manager, based on the analysis of customer demand, proceeds with the evaluation of the necessary resources to be produced and elaborates a feasible and realistic production strategy according to the available resources.
This is done using production schedules developed for a single article or product family, which the plan schedules into production indicating the resources to be involved and the timeframe within which the various production operations are to be carried out.
An efficient production plan enables companies to achieve the following objectives:
How to monitor and optimise production planning
Production planning must therefore be complete, feasible, stable and flexible.
This is the only way to satisfy the customer and make efficient use of resources.
Some tricks to optimise and make the production plan efficient are:
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1 – Improving resource management
Operators and machinery must be able to work efficiently and effectively.
Analysing bottlenecks along production lines and reducing them is essential in this sense. By identifying areas for improvement, planners can optimise the entire production process and eliminate activities that do not add value.
Analysing bottlenecks enables the production manager to:
2 – Improve materials management
Scheduling supplies so that the correct quantities are available at the correct times and reducing stock.
One tool that can be adopted here is?Kanban. From a simple tag to an electronic system, it helps to organise the flow of materials in a facility. Kanban helps to visualise the progress of materials, helping to eliminate some of the main wastage, such as:
3 – Improve order and project management
This means defining reliable delivery dates and controlling time compliance in the execution of production steps.
Excellent production planning relies on two fundamental levers:
Sharing of information between the commercial area and production, in order to be able to deal with new market requirements, guaranteeing optimum service for the end customer:
Alignment and coordination of the entire supply chain to market demand. Every process within production planning must be matched: from material procurement to final delivery, via internal production departments and third-party suppliers.
In this respect, it is increasingly necessary to define objectives that are SMART, in order to be able to plan in the right way and make production management more effective.
Specifically, a SMART objective must be: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-specific.
In the case of production planning, the entire process is in fact guided by a date, that is, when the customer expects to receive the requested product or service. It therefore becomes the guideline for the entire production planning process, from the procurement of raw materials and assembly to the fulfilment of the order.
Conclusions
Production planning is an articulated and complex process, which cannot be managed in an improvised or approximate manner. Product personalisation, portfolio expansion, supplier articulation, and the complexity of production lines are just some of the challenges that companies face today in order to compete in the markets.
A production plan must include:
Sources
Da sempre interessato agli aspetti organizzativi delle imprese, ho fondato Bg Log nel 2003, un’azienda che si occupa di Lean Manufacturing e Lean Logistics.
2 年Andy Coles Alan Hargreaves