Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th Edition

SCHEDULING ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

Scheduling executes a company's strategic business plan, so it affects functional areas throughout the company.

Accounting relies on schedule information and completion of customer orders to develop revenue projections, calculate actual job costs, and do cash flow analysis.

Marketing uses schedule effectiveness measurements to determine whether the company is using lead times for competitive advantage, whether flow time is corre lated to estimated lead times, and whether deliveries are made on time. Knowing lead times allows marketing to make realistic delivery promises to customers.

Information systems maintains the scheduling database, which includes routings and processing times. Information systems also provides the software to monitor product movement through the scheduling process.

Purchasing follows items through the process to determine whether components and/or raw materials need to be expedited when the job is ahead of schedule or de expedited when jobs are behind schedule to ensure the items are available when needed.

Operations uses the schedule to maintain its priorities and to provide customer service by finishing jobs on time. The ...