Metals producers, particularly in the steel sector, must constantly tread a fine line between reducing operating costs, maximizing profits and satisfying an increasingly demanding customer base. Meeting these objectives, on top of addressing existing industry challenges, requires steel manufacturing companies to become more efficient and flexible in their operations—and this means optimizing their master production schedules.
The Value of Master Production Scheduling
As your steel manufacturing operations transform, so too will the complexity of your planning needs. Master Production Scheduling or MPS alleviates some of that complexity by helping you determine what products to manufacture and when. It typically provides a crucial planning function: fine-tuning supply and demand data and forecasts to deliver accurate and timely production plans, throughout the entire production supply chain, that help manufacturers achieve their production objectives and minimize procurement costs[1]. MPS also forms the basis of communication between manufacturing and sales, allowing both sides to get on the same page to make valid order promises.
When disruptions like unexpected shortages, scheduling slip-ups or inefficient resource allocations occur, MPS offers the ability to quickly react to changes in inventory and evaluate different alternatives for optimal production scheduling. It also takes into account the manufacturing capacity of the plant in its calculations and creates a production plan for single or multi-site production network, including choice of routing or order splits between sites.
But, as the saying goes, not all MPS solutions are created equally. However, the right solution can provide the competitive edge your steel company needs to thrive in this dynamic environment and allow you to gain more visibility, flexibility and control over production planning to create fully optimized master production schedules.
[1] Inventory Management 101 – The Master Production Schedule Explained, OptiProERP Manufacturing, May 2017
DELMIA Quintiq Master Production Scheduling (MPS)
With DELMIA Quintiq out-of-the-box Master Production Scheduling (MPS), steel manufacturers can swiftly generate the best plans that help significantly reduce inventory levels and improve their delivery performance. A single integrated solution powered by world record-breaking optimization technology, DELMIA Quintiq MPS offers global optimization for your complete production and supply chain, from raw materials to finished goods, taking all relevant details into account to produce feasible plans that maximize business benefits.
The solution provides full visibility across the entire supply chain, with the ability to integrate detailed scheduling and sales and operations planning (S&OP). It considers all your business- and KPI-specific constraints, including capacity planning and respective lead times, and allows your planners to conduct daily dynamic replanning based on all latest information regarding material and work order progress, resource shutdowns, achieved yields and more.
“Be clear about your goal but be flexible
about the process of achieving it.”
– Brian Tracy, Author and Public Speaker
In addition, the solution provides steel manufacturers these competitive advantages:
- KPI-based iterative optimization for hundreds of thousands of operations within a relatively short timeframe
- A single source of truth that connects sales, production, procurement and transportation through end-to-end supply chain planning
- Ability to enhance plan adherence by improving communication between corporate planning and the factory floor
- Visibility of upstream and downstream work orders as well as material flow synchronization
- Allows steel producers to automatically propose order promising (with built-in manual overrule)
- Delivers ROI within six to twelve months after going live
The Benefits of DELMIA Quintiq Master Production Scheduling
- Increased customer satisfaction by flexibly adapting to demand fluctuation
- Increased delivery performance by realistic order promising and delivering what is promised
- Ability to balance resource utilization and handle wandering bottlenecks
- Reduced work-in-progress and order lead times
- Ability to select the most cost-efficient supply routing
- Reduced inventory and over-production
- Ability to create and compare “what-if” scenarios
Adapt along with the increasing complexity that comes with your continuously transforming steel manufacturing operations and take your business to greater heights. With DELMIA Quintiq out-of-the box MPS, you can lower costs and achieve more sustainable practices, operate with greater nimbleness in the supply chain and, ultimately, innovate for the future.
For more information on the solution and how it can benefit your organization, please read our brochure “4 Commandments for Optimizing Material Reservation & Replenishment.” Alternatively, take a look at our new whitepaper to learn how steel manufacturers can accelerate their pace of innovation and future proof steel manufacturing.
