Manufacturing is a complex and crucial process for a business. Any business that introduces any product to consumers wants to produce the good in the least amount of time possible and with the minimum resources spent.
At the same time, the consumer demands the best quality product while paying as little as possible. Production planning and control make sure the organization manages to get the best of both worlds.
What are production planning and control?
It is obvious from the name that these two functions are involved with management. Production planning and controlling define the activities starting from analyzing demand to making sure that each of the steps is executed on time.
It starts with forecasting demand and available resources. Then the activities required are listed.
The resources, both financial and non-financial, abstract, and physical, are allocated according to the plan. After the action phase is initialized, control is triggered. Controlling covers the overseeing and adjusting portion of the process.
If seen as two parts of this aspect, the production planning part and the controlling part come synchronously.
Production planning takes the requirement of materials and infrastructure into account. This also includes cost, amount, sequence, projected end date, and a well-defined series of tasks.
Control will make sure that there are ample resources for the planning to function. This involves examining the ongoing processes, making sure the production is ready for the next processes, and implementing the modifications necessary.
Overall, the whole strategy is major coordination taking place within a definite range.
There are various stages of production planning and control. A quick list can be
- Routing
- Loading
- Scheduling
- Dispatching
- Follow up
- Inspection
- Modification
What are the objectives of production planning and control?
In simple words, the goal of production planning and control is utilization and coordination. In a more elaborate sense, there are some evident objectives of this. Some of them are:
- Planned resource requirement: Production planning and control forecast the number of resources demanded. The machinery, raw materials, equipment, human resource, and time needed is calculated. This calculation helps in the procurement of ample supplies. Having an idea of absolutely necessary supplies ensures that no extra amount is spent on irrelevant elements. This is also a way of ensuring the timely inflow and outflow of inputs. This is to be checked for the initialization of the production process.
- Efficient management of inventory: The more inventory an organization has to lie unused, the more cost has to be dedicated to those. This also means that the production is not going as planned. Production planning and control examine the processes and determine where the inventory can be used. This allows the organization to have more control over the resources. This ensures the concurrent use of inventory and the production of adequate products.
- Development of a proper schedule: A significant part of production planning is the allocation of time. This means that the schedule is set according to need. Controlling makes sure that the schedule is maintained at each step of production. This reduces the waste of time. In the case of inventory, the waiting time is reduced to a minimum.
- Ensuring uninterrupted production flow: After successfully forecasting demand and regulating the inventory, it is the responsibility of production planning and control to make sure the allocation of the right things is in the right place. Proper placement of resources enables the manufacturing process to be smooth. production planning and control strategy are also to make sure that there is no disruption in the manufacturing process because of inadequate supply and the lack of proper movement of the finished goods.
- Enhanced performance: By ensuring each of these steps is properly planned and the controlling is going as per routine, production planning and control aim to achieve better performance of the infrastructure and manpower.
- Gaining productivity boost: Better performance eventually leads to more productivity. Without proper production planning and control, there would be a state of chaos in the manufacturing section. any type of delay or inconvenience in any section will lead to delayed production. Through a detailed strategy, this function helps in gaining and retaining a higher level of productivity.
- Minimizing labor turnover: Employees have less chance of showing negligence or reluctance in any activity if the activity is a well-defined one. Knowing that there is a proper strategy being followed, an employee stays motivated. Being aware of what value the employee is adding to the organization, it makes the employee feel essential. Higher employee satisfaction means relatively less labor turnover.
- Coordinating: Coordinating between different departments to make sure that the assets are handled properly is one of the main goals of production planning and control. It is important that this strategy knows the goal of the current production process and the amount expected to be produced. Proper alignment of the resources and processes simultaneously can lead to the most efficient way of manufacturing the targeted products.
- Consumer satisfaction: A business exists for consumers. Consumers want better quality in time and in relatively less expensive. If production planning and control are successful in minimizing the cost of the organization, the organization can focus on increasing the consumer surplus. Also timely delivery of the products gives the consumer a sense of the reliability of the organization. Thus, production planning and control make sure that the organization is in the good graces of the customers.
Production planning and control are must-have strategies for any company that is product-based.
Service-based companies might require less association with this tool. But in the case of tangible products, minimizing the cost and maximizing the profit by ensuring the most outcome from the inputs is essential.
To keep the business running and to sustain its reputation, in the long run, every organization should emphasize having a stronghold on this section. Proper investment of time and effort in production planning and control can eventually present a much larger impact.
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