operationsplanning

Operations planning is the process within operations management that defines how a company will best use its productive resources to meet demand over a defined planning horizon. It integrates forecasted demand with capacity and inventory decisions to produce a feasible, cost-effective plan. The scope typically spans strategic, tactical, and operational levels, including long-range capacity decisions, medium-term master production scheduling, and short-term shop floor scheduling.

Core outputs of operations planning include production plans, capacity plans, material requirements, and detailed schedules. Inputs commonly involve demand forecasts, lead times, bill of materials, and current inventory. Key activities include demand management, capacity analysis, material requirements planning (MRP and MRP II), and the use of planning systems such as ERP, MES, and advanced planning and scheduling (APS) tools. Routing, line balancing, and load leveling are used to translate plans into actionable sequences on the shop floor.

Methods and techniques employ optimization and analytical approaches, including linear programming, heuristic algorithms, and simulation, to balance resource constraints with service and cost objectives. Planning also involves inventory policy decisions, supplier coordination, and contingency planning for variability and disruptions.

Applications span manufacturing and service operations, as well as logistics and supply chain contexts. Common objectives are to maximize resource utilization, minimize lead times and costs, maintain service levels, and achieve on-time delivery while controlling work-in-process and finished-goods inventory.

Challenges include demand variability, supply disruptions, uncertain lead times, and capacity constraints. Effective operations planning requires integration with strategic planning, real-time data, and cross-functional collaboration across production, procurement, and logistics. See also operations research, production planning, supply chain management, ERP, MRP, MES, and APS.