Production planning is the process of deciding what the plant will build, in what quantity, and in what order — far enough ahead that materials and capacity can be secured.
The planning layers
- Demand plan — forecast plus firm orders, agreed with sales.
- Master production schedule — what you intend to build, by period.
- Material requirements planning — what to buy and make to support the MPS.
- Capacity plan — whether the load fits the available hours.
- Shop-floor schedule — the sequence for the next few days.
Cadence beats sophistication
A weekly planning meeting with the same agenda, the same reports and the same decisions being made in the same order will outperform a more advanced system with no rhythm.
Define what gets reviewed daily (exceptions and shortages), weekly (schedule and capacity) and monthly (demand and inventory policy).
Common failure modes
- An MPS that is really just a list of everything sales wants.
- No agreed time fence, so the schedule changes continuously.
- Capacity checked only after materials are committed.
- Planning done by one person with no documented method.