Abstract
A decision support system for production planning in a brewing company was developed to assist with the planning of brewing, packaging and distribution of beer and to minimise production costs. Having been in operation for some time, the system has changed and adapted in a very dynamic environment. The system's present form and current use are discussed. Initial management approval for system development was based on faith rather than proper cost-benefit and value analyses. This paper aims at retrospectively highlighting these values and benefits with regard to supporting decision-making in the company.
Highlights
Decision support systems (DSS) are concerned with the use of computers to aid decision-making
This paper is aimed at retrospectively highlighting the benefits and values of a specific decision support system, namely a production planning system (PPS) developed for a very large brewing company in South Africa
As far as the author is aware, this was one of the first such systems in South Africa, and as is the case with many documented decision support systems, management approval for system development was to a very large extent based on faith rather than proper cost-benefit and value analysis
Summary
Decision support systems (DSS) are concerned with the use of computers to aid decision-making. This paper is aimed at retrospectively highlighting the benefits and values of a specific decision support system, namely a production planning system (PPS) developed for a very large brewing company in South Africa. As far as the author is aware, this was one of the first such systems in South Africa, and as is the case with many documented decision support systems, management approval for system development was to a very large extent based on faith rather than proper cost-benefit and value analysis. Annual and quarterly production plans, based on sales forecasts, are needed These are produced at a weekly level of detail for the brewing, packaging and distribution of beer. Many production planning problems arose such as insufficient capacity being available for packaging certain packs more than sufficient cellar stocks of the required brands were available or a specific brand was not available at the brewery where it was needed for packaging. The planner can adjust the plans by, for example, changing the number of shifts or by http://orion.journals.ac.za/
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