Tim Lovelock

I’ve already given an overview of the process I go through when doing material planning for a new product. This was based on successfully launching multiple new programs simultaneously, and I absolutely loved being involved at the early stage of a program or product. Being there in the beginning, a master scheduler or production planner has the opportunity to influence the way bills of material are configured, demand is loaded, and planning factors are set.

In contrast to this is planning for a mature product or program. I am taking over a mature program with a family of very complex assemblies on Monday, and this weekend will be spent preparing. Except for when I’ll be watching the Florida-Georgia game. I do have my priorities, after all.

I plan to “live-blog” the process as much as I can without giving away any proprietary information. To set the groundwork, the program is very important to my company’s current and future business and is generally considered a cash-cow. It is not without challenges however; inside lead-time demands, material shortages, and the sub-optimal impacts these have on inventory, operations, and profitability.

Step one in this effort: (more…)

Tags: bill of material, BOM, challenges, Excel, Manufacturing, master scheduler, material shortages, mature program, product structure, product trees, production planner

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