This paper presents the results of six case studies in two modules, one in the automotive industry and the other in the laptop computer industry. Each module contains a company and two of its suppliers. The objective of the study is to find out the effect of the customer’s power on the supplier’s choice of scheduling practice and response strategy to unexpected schedule changes. Managers in eac...

This paper investigates the performance impact of lot-sizing rule (LSR) selection and freezing of the master production schedule (MPS) in multi-item single-level systems with a single resource constraint under deterministic demand. The results of the study show that the selection of LSRs and the parameters for freezing the MPS have a significant impact on total cost, schedule instability, and t...

In this article, we propose a new way to improve master production schedule (MPS) stability under conditions of finite capacity. The purpose is to optimize product availability and customer service for typical situations encountered in the consumer goods industry. Using a comprehensive MPS model, we conduct a simulation study with experimental design to identify factors having a significant inf...

Demand-Adaptive Systems (DAS) display features of both traditional fixed-line bus services and purely on-demand systems such as dial-a-ride, that is they offer demand-responsive services within the framework of traditional scheduled bus transportation. A DAS bus line serves, on one hand, a given a set of compulsory stops according to a predefined schedule specifying the time windows associated ...

Revising the master production schedule (MPS) in a rolling planning horizon environment to improve plant performance is critical in process industries with sequence dependent changeovers. Plant performance is defined in terms of process changeover time, total shortages, and finished goods inventory. Two heuristics for revising the MPS are introduced and tested against a rolling horizon MPS that...

M ake-to-order (MTO) manufacturers must ensure concurrent availability of all parts required for production, as any unavailability may cause a delay in completion time. A major challenge for MTO manufacturers operating under high demand variability is to produce customized parts in time to meet internal production schedules. We present a case study of a producer of MTO offshore oil rigs that hi...