MPS (Master Production Scheduling) is used in process-oriented production environments to support the user in time, quantity- and cost-aligned production planning. It allows planning of processes in several steps and for different plants. Taking all capacity constraints into account, the production plan stipulates the time and the quantity of the production of certain items or lots (fixed cycles or minimum production cycles).

MPS – Production Plan

MPS traces all production-relevant figures like:

• Capacity utilization
• Inventory levels
• Cost
• PSI-reports (Production, Sales, Inventory)

MPS creates the production plan with different algorithms for any item and period. The planner can alter the proposed schedule individually, while getting instant feedback on the consequences of a change. Already in its planning proposals, the system considers special production conditions like minimum/maximum lot sizes, batch-sizes or expiration dates.

MPS – Calculation Methods

Depending on the task, the system uses an appropriate method of optimization, for example:

• DLS (Dynamic Lot Sizes) for the total optimization of production-, storage- and unit-costs
• JIT (Just in time) to minimize inventory levels
• JITPART/DLSPART for the calculation of a subset of the original plan
• FILLUP to maximize capacity utilization
• JITGROUP – simultaneous JIT-planning for individual products and product groups