Planning and control of production processes

Production Planning & Scheduling

Enhancing Performance and Flexibility in Production through Optimised (and adapted) Planning and Scheduling

The increasing variety of products, rising customer demands regarding OTIF (On-Time-In-Full), and growing competition and cost pressures are forcing manufacturing companies to adopt increasingly flexible and adaptable planning concepts.

Traditional production planning – with its focus on maximising equipment utilisation through large batch sizes – has long since reached its limits. It is no longer capable of responding to dynamic market changes in a timely and customer-oriented manner. The consequences are high inventory levels at the wrong time, excessive capital and space utilisation, and interruptions in production and order processing caused by internal delays – all leading to long delivery times.

ebp-consulting understands these challenges and is your partner when it comes to optimising your production planning and scheduling.

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Today's partly conflicting objectives – such as simultaneously reducing lead times and costs while managing increasing product variety and the growing difficulty of forecasting market demand – create significant tensions. These can only be managed through intelligent production and planning concepts.

On the one hand, the introduction of systematic decoupling strategies and the reliable allocation of products to suitable production concepts are required. On the other hand, flexible planning logics for capacity and order scheduling must be developed – aligned with the consumption patterns of the products.

In this context, processes and supporting IT systems must be capable of identifying potential bottlenecks in production and assembly at an early stage and visualising them transparently – taking all constraints into account. A realistic and systematic mapping of processes within the IT systems is essential for this purpose. This includes, in particular, production parameters such as lead times, set-up times, available capacities, and machine availability.

For these concepts to be effective in the long term and embedded in daily operations, they must be integrated into a holistic Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) framework and closely linked to market demand planning. Only in this way can production and assembly be organised in a flexible and resilient manner.

Logistics consulting in Stuttgart, Munich and Dortmund

Our Services in the field of Production Planning and Scheduling:

  • Development and implementation of suitable strategies and concepts for production control based on consumption patterns of the products and required delivery times (Build-to-Order, Build-to-Stock, Assemble-to-Order, Pack-to-Order, etc.)
  • Identification of the pacemaker process and introduction of the pull principle
  • Development and implementation of flexible production planning and control concepts (PPC) based on lean principles, taking into account relevant constraints such as machine set-up times, lead times, machine availability, available capacities, and production frequency
  • Definition and development of end-to-end concepts for capacity-based planning and demand-capacity balancing in production and assembly
  • Synchronisation of pre-assembly and final assembly to reduce semi-finished goods inventories
  • Establishment and implementation of “order management centres” and optimisation of the order management process
  • Optimisation of batch sizes
  • Synchronisation of production and demand planning through the introduction of a cross-departmental Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) or Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP)
  • Production levelling and introduction of Heijunka
  • Integration of tool management into the planning process
  • Specification of requirements for ERP, MES, and APS systems to reflect the new planning logic
  • Selection of suitable IT systems (ERP, MES, APS)
  • Support and implementation of change management initiatives

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Your Benefits from Optimised Production Planning and Scheduling

  • Increased delivery reliability (On-Time & In-Full, “OTIF”)
  • Efficient utilisation of capacities and resources in production, manufacturing, and assembly
  • Early identification of potential bottlenecks in production and assembly with the ability to take proactive countermeasures
  • Reduction of throughput times
  • Reduction of excess inventory while improving product availability
  • Reduction of work-in-progress stocks
  • Increased transparency in production processes
  • Stabilisation of production and assembly operations
  • Minimisation of unplanned emergency measures (“firefighting actions”)

Further Consulting Focus Areas as a management consultancy Production:

  • Assembly, pre-assembly

    • Ergonomic workplace design, also according to 5S
    • Planning of handling and assembly equipment
    • Planning of lines and workstations, also in insular design
    • Optimisation of production and assembly processes
    • Line balancing and planning of cycle volumes
    • Headcount planning
    • Segmentation of assembly lines and stations

  • Production strategies

    • Introduction and modification of production systems
    • Production organisation
    • Segmentation of manufacturing
    • Introduction of order-oriented production (make-to-order)
    • Introduction of kaizen/CIP
    • Make-or-buy analysis
    • Definition of customer order uncoupling, i.e. postponements strategies (late configuration)
    • Optimisation of work organisation
    • Development of headcount deployment concepts
    • Implementation of process optimisation and the material flow, as well as in planning and control, to achieve operational excellence (OpEx)

  • Lean produc­tion

    • Enhancement of machine utilisation (OEE optimisation)
    • Optimisation of retooling, SMED/quick changeover
    • Implementation of value stream analysis and design
    • Introduction of flow manufacturing (one-piece flow)
    • Implementation of Toyota production principles: One-piece flow, pull principal, zero defects, clocked production
    • Application of lean methods/techniques Poka yoke, jidoka, minomi, chaku chaku
    • Application and implementation of Six Sigma

Reference Projects of ebp in the Field of Development and Optimisation of Production Planning and Scheduling:

  • Design, development, and implementation of a capacity-based production planning and control system for a food manufacturer – including integration into the supporting IT systems
  • Development and implementation of a concept for synchronising pre-assembly steps and final assembly to reduce semi-finished goods inventory for a manufacturer of technical components for the furniture and kitchen industry
  • Definition of suitable production concepts for product manufacturing (Build-to-Order versus Build-to-Stock), and development of a production planning and control approach for a manufacturer of chemical and pharmaceutical products
  • Development and implementation of a production planning and scheduling concept to reduce lead times and ensure on-time delivery of customised products for an electronics manufacturer
  • Development of a production planning and scheduling concept to reduce lead times and ensure on-time delivery of customised goods for a manufacturer of electronic components
  • Development and implementation of an optimised planning concept for production and assembly of high-speed internet cables based on the pull principle and its integration into a Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning process
  • Development and implementation of a planning and control concept for a 4-stage production and assembly process of painted bumpers at an automotive supplier (injection moulding, paint shop, pre-assembly, and final assembly)

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Irene Kocher

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info@ebp-consulting.com