Many companies like Muddle Ltd, as used in your JIT Workshop, use Materials Requ

Question

Many companies like Muddle Ltd, as used in your JIT Workshop, use Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) to plan and manage its material supplies and their production system. Explain the main parts of the MRP process in terms of inputs and outputs. Using an example show where or from what department the data is obtained. Give a brief overview of how a company would plan and manage its production capacity. In your answer show how MRP and capacity planning are connected in a production planning system. The "Just in Time" (JIT) or Lean philosophy of production is used by many companies and was also used by the Wellrun Ltd Company during your JIT workshop. Using examples or sketches where appropriate, answer the following: Explain when a company would use the JIT production system Explain at least 4 of the key elements of JIT e.g. Kanban, Pull system, role of people etc. What is the role of suppliers in a JIT system? What are the benefits of the JIT approach?

Explanation / Answer

Material requirements planning (MRP) is a computer-based inventory management system designed to assist production managers in scheduling and placing orders for items of dependent demand. Dependent demand items are components of finished goods—such as raw materials, component parts, and subassemblies—for which the amount of inventory needed depends on the level of production of the final product. For example, in a plant that manufactured bicycles, dependent demand inventory items might include aluminum, tires, seats, and bike chains.

MRP works backward from a production plan for finished goods to develop requirements for components and raw materials. MRP begins with a schedule for finished goods that is converted into a schedule of requirements for the subassemblies, the component parts, and the raw materials needed to produce the final product within the established schedule. MRP is designed to answer three questions: what is needed? how much is needed? and when is it needed?"

MRP breaks down inventory requirements into planning periods so that production can be completed in a timely manner while inventory levels—and related carrying costs—are kept to a minimum. Implemented and used properly, it can help production managers plan for capacity needs and allocate production time. But MRP systems can be time consuming and costly to implement, which may put them out of range for some small businesses. In addition, the information that comes out of an MRP system is only as good as the information that goes into it. Companies must maintain current and accurate bills of materials, part numbers, and inventory records if they are to realize the potential benefits of MRP.

MRP INPUTS

The information input into MRP systems comes from three main sources: a bill of materials, a master schedule, and an inventory records file. The bill of materials is a listing of all the raw materials, component parts, subassemblies, and assemblies required to produce one unit of a specific finished product. Each different product made by a given manufacturer will have its own separate bill of materials. The bill of materials is arranged in a hierarchy, so that managers can see what materials are needed to complete each level of production. MRP uses the bill of materials to determine the quantity of each component that is needed to produce a certain number of finished products. From this quantity, the system subtracts the quantity of that item already in inventory to determine order requirements.

MRP Outputs

The main outputs from MRP include three primary reports and three secondary reports. The primary reports consist of: planned order schedules, which outline the quantity and timing of future material orders; order releases, which authorize orders to be made; and changes to planned orders, which might include cancellations or revisions of the quantity or time frame. The secondary reports generated by MRP include: performance control reports, which are used to track problems like missed delivery dates and stock outs in order to evaluate system performance; planning reports, which can be used in forecasting future inventory requirements; and exception reports, which call managers' attention to major problems like late orders or excessive scrap rates.

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