Planning without iterations, an exampleThis example explains how item master plans are simulated when material and/or capacity constraints are considered and no iterations are used. Overview A chair is manufactured from a metal frame and a leather seat. The frame is manufactured from two metal pipes. In the planning, items with the following item codes are used:
The frame and the metal pipe are defined as constraints. Initial situation In this example, a single plan period is considered. The following assumptions apply:
A previous simulation resulted in the following master plan data:
Simulating the master plan Suppose that the actual demand for CHAIR turns out to be 60, thus surpassing the demand forecast. Moreover, the resource where METAL PIPE is produced is overloaded, so that actually only 80 pipes can be produced. Suppose further that the master plan is simulated while considering material and capacity constraints, but without using iterations. The simulation consists of a normal planning pass, in order of increasing phase number (this means: first the end item, then the component). The following table shows the results of the simulation run. The left column contains the existing master plan values; the right column shows the result of the simulation.
Explanation:
The main advantage of not using iterations is that it makes the planning process relatively fast. However, as this example shows, constraint-based planning without iterations clearly has its limits. In some situations it can work well, especially if the following conditions apply:
Especially when the planning situation becomes more complicated (complex BCM structures, a high number of interdependencies between plan items), full optimization of the planning requires the use of iterations. For an explanation of the use of iterations, see Planning with iterations; for an example, see Planning with iterations, an example.
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