Supercharged Supply Chains

CHAPTER 11Managing Internal Priorities: Delivering Products on Time

This chapter describes how to take the “valid” (realistic and achievable) plan from Master Scheduling (MS) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and convert it into valid internal schedules. Valid internal schedules enable supply to meet at least 95% of MRP due dates while significantly increasing productivity and quality. Perhaps the most rewarding result is improved quality of work life; Supply employees ending every day being able to say, “I have done an excellent job and feel valued today.”

FIGURE 11.1 Business Excellence Planning

Internal schedules are found at the very bottom of Figure 11.1, Business Excellence Planning (BEP). Planning and resource validation activities performed in the steps shown above internal schedules provide valid plans for the supply. This last step, often referred to as the Dispatch List, Priority Schedule, or Work to List, tells the workforce when specific operations must be completed to meet due dates. These dates should be believable (intellectually and emotionally) since capacity planning (see Chapter 12) has been completed in advance of scheduling.

As can be seen in Figure 11.1, capacity planning takes place before internal schedules are developed. However, it is important for the reader to learn about operations scheduling to understand how detailed capacity planning ...