LETTER

Sir​

I read with interest the article 'Better returns or a black hole?' (FM​, January, p37).

Long-term capacity planning and detailed scheduling were not mentioned - only enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems (MES). Yet independent surveys indicate that only by combining advanced planning and scheduling with ERP or MES are the benefits of IT achieved.

A paper we wrote years ago focused on our experience with one of the largest UK fresh food production companies. Planners need a tool that can calculate scenarios for the various options available to meet business objectives, into which the latest information can be imported.

Your article mentioned nut contamination. One of our user's systems generates a plan whereby orders of a single type are scheduled forward from the beginning of the week and products with nuts are backward sequenced from the end of the week. The remaining orders are sequenced to minimise changeover times. A weekend clean down prepares the plant for the next week. The process maximises efficiency by minimising non value-adding activities. As problems arise we can make a new plan in minutes.

Your article also referred to involving all levels of the company. We have 2,200 firms using our software and in 15 years of implementing APS we have learned to get planners and shop floor staff involved as early as possible. Usually those at shop floor level know the real story, not management and certainly not IT staff.

Mike Novels​​

managing director​​

Preactor International​​