Integrated Manufacturing Planning

Manufacturing and engineering depend heavily on computers for many low‐level operations, including design, resource planning and production scheduling. But only a few companies have implemented the sort of enterprise‐wide computerized planning/project management found in other industries. However, substantial gains in productivity, flexibility, and production costs are to be made from integrating all aspects of the planning and scheduling process. Examines the need for integrated, company‐wide planning in manufacturing/engineering companies, and highlights how it is increasingly being applied to the different parts of the production cycle.