MANUFACTURING PLANNING AND CONTROL SYSTEM

There are five major levels in the manufacturing planning and control (MPC) system:
Strategic business plan.
Production plan (sales and operations plan).
Master production schedule.
Material requirements plan.
Purchasing and production activity control.
Each level varies in purpose, time span, and level of detail. As we move from
strategic planning to production activity control, the purpose changes from general
direction to specific detailed planning, the time span decreases from years to days,
and the level of detail increases from general categories to individual components
and workstations.
Since each level is for a different time span and for different purposes, each differs
in the following:
Purpose of the plan.
Planning horizonthe time span from now to some time in the future for which
the plan is created.
Level of detailthe detail about products required for the plan.
Planning cyclethe frequency with which the plan is reviewed.