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In recent years there has been an increasing interest in make-to-stock and make-to-order combined strategies in food manufacturing operations. However, most scholarly work to-date has neglected the role of hierarchical production planning (HPP) in guiding small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) implementation of such strategies. The purpose of this paper is to address food SME manufacturers’ readiness to adopt such strategies, in terms of internal integration and their capability to adopt formalised planning approaches.

This study adopted an action research methodology to explore the potential impact of HPP in SME food manufacturers. Selected companies had identified product variety management as a challenge and also had recognised the need to enhance internal integration. Given this, the research team, from a theoretical perspective, proposed the use of HPP set within a broader decision-making conceptual framework to improve internal integration and planning.

This paper adopts the fundamental position that HPP provides a useful framework in the establishment of strategic and tactical level constraints and priorities which then act as specific guides at the operational level, and presents empirical evidence in a food SME manufacturing context. In the cases the authors studies, the cascading effect of this decision-making framework focused attention on key metrics, encouraged greater internal integration and delivered tangible, significant improvements in performance. This was greatly facilitated by the provision of new key data on the cost of certain managerial trade-offs which these firms faced.

SMEs are of a scale that requires a formalised planning approach; however production planning systems are typically designed for large scale enterprises. This paper addresses the need of SMEs in this regard. Well-established supply chain metrics were used to establish the benefits of both HPP and resulting improvement in internal integration and beyond, in terms of improvement in the quality of planning decisions.

The impact off strategic capacity decisions on production and distribution.

Presents a hierarchical production planning (HPP) model that integrates aggregate‐type planning, family disaggregate planning, lot‐sizing, job scheduling and evaluation of the final production plans into a complete planning and scheduling system. In‐corporation of a simple heuristic scheduling algorithm into the HPP model is the primary contribution. The scheduling routine schedules the jobs based on just‐in‐time (JIT) concept and provides detailed shopfloor information such as job tardiness, bottleneck work centres, capacity level, inventory or shortage level and number of set‐ups. This information is critical for effective shopfloor management. Experimental results indicate that the performance of the present model is better than the existing models in general. However, the model is truly superior under tight capacity conditions.

The paper reports on the ramifications for production planning when monthly sales exhibit predictable seasonal highs and lows. The literature first acknowledged and dealt with the (aggregate planning) problem 50 years ago. Nevertheless, there is neither evidence that industry has adopted any of the mathematical techniques that were subsequently developed, nor a convincing explanation as to why not. Hence this research sets out to discover the methods manufacturers use to cope with seasonal demand, and how germane the published algorithms really are.

Forty‐two case studies were compiled by interviewing senior managers and then conducting plant tours. No prior assumptions were made and the list of questions covered the gamut of production planning.

The main finding is that manufacturers select a straightforward production strategy, right from the outset, so the fundamental cost‐balancing format is not relevant. The majority pick a “chase” strategy, since most organizations subscribe to a “just in time” ethos. Whenever a different strategy is preferred the rationale springs from skilled labour considerations or binding facilities constraints. The chosen strategy serves as a road map for resources acquisitions, and the master production schedule is constructed directly. So, the complex issue of how to disaggregate an optimal aggregate plan never even arises. Managers do not seek perfect solutions, but strive to eliminate, or contain, the most significant marginal costs. The nature of the business determines the most appropriate tactics to employ.

These findings break the mould as far as orthodox aggregate planning is concerned and show why theory is at odds with practice, whilst reaffirming the importance of concepts such as “flexibility”, “integration”, and “just‐in‐time production”.

Examines the manufacturing planning and control (MPC) systems in three supply chain environments in Hong Kong, based on a questionnaire survey. Studies five MPC modules: master production scheduling; capacity requirements planning; material planning; purchasing; and inventory control. Studies the performance of each MPC module. The supply chain environments that are taken into consideration include agile, leagile, and lean. Based on a weighted organizational performance index, the sample organizations are segregated into three groups: high, average, and low performers. For each of the performance groups, benchmarks the performance ratings of the MPC system and its five modules, subject to different supply chain environments. Concludes that: MPC system performance really has a positive effect upon organization performance; four of the proposed benchmarking modules of the MPC systems can be used to assess an organization’s strengths and weaknesses with regard to their use in planning and control of manufacture; and supply chain strategy may associate with the MPC system performance.

Sets out an exploratory study to give an alternative viewpoint of manufacturing logistics.

Based on causal analysis, the relationship between competitive strategy and manufacturing logistics was explored. Variables, including both positioning and competitive dimensions, in the competitive strategy that interacted with manufacturing logistics were identified. The elements of manufacturing logistics for this study included master production scheduling, capacity requirements planning, material planning, purchasing, and inventory control. A weighted business performance index was used to segregate the sample firms into three groups: high‐, average‐, and low‐performing organizations. For each of the performance group, the causal relationships between strategic elements and the performance of manufacturing logistics were then analyzed.

The results showed a significant relationship between competitive strategy and manufacturing logistics system performance.

Not all the elements in manufacturing logistics may contribute to the logistics performance. The construct of manufacturing logistics depends on a particular set of strategic variables that the organization designs.

Extends the study of manufacturing logistics beyond its boundary through a broader strategic perspective.

The analysis of the optimal production and preventive maintenance with lockout/tagout planning problem for a manufacturing system is presented in this paper. The considered manufacturing system consists of two non-identical machines in passive redundancy producing one type of part. These machines are subject to random breakdowns and repairs. The purpose of this paper is to minimize production, inventory, backlog and maintenance costs over an infinite planning horizon; in addition, it aims to verify the influence of human reliability on the inventory levels for illustrating the importance of human error during the maintenance and lockout/tagout activities.

This paper is different compared to other research projects on preventive maintenance and lockout/tagout. The influence of human error on lockout/tagout as well as on preventive maintenance activities are presented in this paper. The preventive maintenance policy depends on the machine age. For the considered manufacturing system the optimality conditions are provided, and numerical methods are used to obtain machine age-dependent optimal control policies (production and preventive maintenance rates with lockout/tagout). Numerical examples and sensitivity analysis are presented to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach. The system capacity is described by a finite-state Markov chain.

The proposed model taking into account the preventive maintenance activities with lockout/tagout and human error jointly, instead of taking into account separately. It verifies the influence of human error during preventive maintenance and lockout/tagout activities on the optimal safety stock levels using an extension of the hedging point structure.

The model proposed in this paper might be extended to manufacturing systems, but a number of conditions must be met to make effective use of it.

The originality of this paper is to consider the preventive maintenance activities with lockout/tagout and human error simultaneously. The control policy is obtained in order to find the solution for the considered manufacturing system. This paper also brings a new vision on the importance of human reliability during preventive maintenance and lockout/tagout activities.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a taxonomy of strategic sourcing using the defense forces from a developing world context as a testing ground. This study builds upon the current resource-based conceptualization of strategic sourcing as a construct to introduce the institutional orientation.

This study adopts a descriptive and analytical research design of cross-sectional nature to collect data from a sample of 120 respondents to examine the taxonomy of strategic sourcing for defense forces in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were collected using an interviewee administered questionnaire and analysed using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The conceptualization of strategic sourcing is presented using a CFA.

Findings reveal that strategic sourcing is a multidimensional construct composed of: information sharing and risk management, strategic purchasing, institutions for sourcing, internal integration and performance assessment, supplier management and sourcing professionalism and ethics.

The study used cross-sectional research design which limits monitoring behaviour over time. Cross-sectional data do not allow control in the analysis for residual heterogeneity. Additionally, all item scales adapted in this study were developed in either manufacturing or profit-oriented sector.

A taxonomy for strategic sourcing within the defense forces is presented. This study is based on the observation that despite increased research, there remains a certain level of confusion surrounding the conceptualization of “strategic sourcing”. Researchers attach a startling diversity of definitions and measures to the strategic sourcing concept. Its conceptualization and stability remains an important task for scholars to undertake. Besides, much research in strategic sourcing, are conceptual frameworks identifying key elements and procedures or processes to implement strategic sourcing with sparse empirical studies. The results of the study will be used for further research on strategic sourcing in the defense forces in sub-Saharan Africa.

Expert systems technology as an area of artificial intelligence is coming to the field of structural mechanics. A number of expert systems have been developed or are under development. This paper consists of two parts. A brief discussion of the basics of expert systems and their concepts is given in the first part. The second part reviews the prototype of expert systems developed as an aid for finite element analysis and design optimization. Twelve different expert systems are described. A partial list of books on expert systems in general is given in the Appendix.

Defines an expert system (ES) as a decision‐making tool that captures perishable expertise from an expert and stores this knowledge in the computer, and also as a computer system that can solve problems using human expertise and knowledge of the system environment. Notes that expert systems have found many applications in the area of production and operations management (POM). Explains the key role of the ES as a management tool to enhance productivity, improve quality, increase profits and capture expertise in many business settings. Highlights that the field of POM has a heavy orientation towards problem solving and decision making, hence it is a very fertile area for application for ES. Evaluates the current use of ES in POM and discusses future prospects.