Supply Chains: A Manager's Guide

Planning with ERP

Supply chain planning starts with a conceptual model of what has to be done, determines the time required by each component process, and then schedules each process in a way that completes the sequence at the right time. At the broadest level, meeting demand consists of three core processes: procuring the necessary materials, producing the goods, and distributing them to customers (Figure 11.1). To keep the discussion clear, I treat these processes as strictly sequential, so that each process is triggered by the completion of the preceding process. This is a correct representation of how scheduling works, but in practice there could be a fair degree of overlap among these top-level processes. For example, production might begin ...