Scheduling strategies
Infor Production Scheduling uses these scheduling techniques:
- Backward scheduling
This technique is demand-driven, therefore, the product is delivered based on the orders placed. You can identify and schedule the required preceding steps or batches to enable the delivery. You are aware what to produce and required to know the lead-time and feasible schedule.
- Forward scheduling
This technique is supply-driven and you are aware what is in the inventory, thus required to determine when and what to produce. This technique can be used when dealing with divergent product lines. For example, you can determine where different variations of a product can be produced and when you have a large supply that required to be processed, even before the orders are placed.
If one of the stages has less than the required capacity, this limits the output and thus resulting in the production bottleneck. The processes for that particular stage are scheduled first to achieve an optimal solution when bottleneck occurs. You start from that bottleneck and create the required inflows, that is, trigger the activities to provide the required inputs. Consequently, create the outflows required in the corresponding stages.
Forward or push scheduling
Forward or push scheduling strategy is used in situations in which you can produce different variations of a product. First, you define what ingredients are available. Second, you define the sequence of steps to follow to arrive at specific end products. You can schedule batches forward to use the existing inputs. This scheduling approach is used together with pull scheduling to deal with production bottlenecks. First, schedule activities for the bottleneck stage to achieve an optimal solution. Second, create inflows for the bottleneck stage (backward), that is schedule the steps to provide the required inputs. Third, schedule process batches to create products using the available inputs from the bottleneck stage, that is, create outflows required in the stages that come after the bottleneck stage. The push scheduling strategy underlies the create outflow function.
For example, you process vegetables that are harvested once a year. The vegetables are required to be canned quickly without existing orders. You can push the canned vegetable forward as bright stock (white stock) and label when the orders come in.
Backward or pull scheduling
Backward scheduling or pull scheduling is the main strategy used by Infor Production Scheduling to arrive at an optimum schedule. First, you identify the items that is to be produced. Second, you identify the steps required to produce the items. You effectively schedule backward in time, working from the end product or final steps backward to the ingredients or preceding steps. Therefore, this is the backward or pull scheduling strategy. You schedule the required preceding batches to produce the item.