Planning systems in the next century (II)

Abstract

This document is the second part of two papers that present a vision on planning systems for the 21st century. Reflecting the research background of the authors, the focus of this second part is short term planning and plan execution, including shop floor control, whereas the first part addresses medium and long term planning, e.g. MRP. Current IT support for planning and plan execution enables to master huge amounts of data. However, these IT systems reduce the ability of the overall manufacturing system to adapt and evolve when this requires IT system maintenance. This paper presents five vision statements on future planning systems that contribute to the ability to adapt and evolve: multiple hierarchies, early return, order agents using advice, embedded simulation, and allowing redundant functionality.