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Identifies a set of manufacturing data interfaces that could be standardized for the effective computer integration of the information required to operate an apparel manufacturing enterprise. The interfaces are called Application Protocols. Describes a method using pieces of information, referred to as Units of Functionality, as building blocks for designing Application Protocols.

Since the early 1970s, production planning systems have evolved from material requirements planning (MRP) through manufacturing resource planning (MRPII) into enterprise resource planning (ERP) with simultaneous development of related control systems such as theory of constraints (epitomised by OPT), just‐in‐time (JIT), etc. One key area for all manufacturing companies is the planning and control function. There is a wide range of generic proprietary software available that aims to meet a company’s planning and scheduling requirements. The difficulty experienced by many companies is not only in examining available software, but also in understanding the match between business needs and the capabilities of that software. This paper first sets out some common manufacturing classification systems, then attempts to map them against accepted paradigms for production planning and control approaches. Analysis confirms the need for a more rigorous approach to software selection, and the need for a complete understanding of the drivers of the production control process before this can be achieved. The paper goes on to discuss a method for mapping these drivers, with the aim being to create a series of reference models for production planning and scheduling.

This paper seeks to show how enterprise resource planning (ERP) could create a competitive advantage for small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

The main methods used in this study were questionnaires and interviews based on the application of an uncertainty diagnosing business model. Data were collected, using a questionnaire administrated to 126 SMEs, in the form of percentage contributions of the underlying causes of uncertainty (structured in the business model) on product late delivery. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was carried out in SPSS to analyse the effects of the underlying causes of uncertainty in SMEs.

ERP could create a competitive advantage in delivery for SMEs by being responsive and agile to change, but not to uncertainty. Results suggested that only a few features in an ERP system were used to deal with change due to uncertainty. It was found that SMEs generally use their ERP system to generate a plan for production and use it as a guideline. SMEs concurrently use a range of buffering or dampening techniques to tackle uncertainty for crating a competitive advantage in delivery.

The application of the business model in SMEs has provided useful knowledge to make‐to‐stock (MTS), make‐to‐order (MTO) and mixed‐mode (MM) manufacturing enterprises in which underlying causes of uncertainty were significantly affecting their product late delivery performance.

This is a highly original application of an uncertainty diagnosing business model to SMEs using ERP systems.

The purpose of this paper is to examine traditional costing, activity‐based costing (ABC), and through‐put accounting in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrated environment for decision making.

Computer simulation is used to model a manufacturing firm operating under a manufacturing resource planning environment and a theory of constraints environment.

Through the inclusion of both manufacturing and non‐manufacturing costs and the use of both volume and non‐volume‐based cost drivers, ABC captures manufacturing characteristics and resource usage more accurately than traditional costing and through‐put accounting and results in higher profit, lower inventory, and better customer service for both the short and long term.

This study only simulates industries that have a relatively high‐overhead content and relatively low labor and raw material costs and inventory evaluations includes only work‐in‐process inventory. Studies of a different industry, where raw material content is relatively high and labor and overhead content are relatively insignificant, would also be valuable. Studies that evaluate raw material or finished goods inventory would be helpful.

In order to realize full benefits of ERP integration, a management accounting system should be carefully selected to properly depict manufacturing processes. Management should consider both manufacturing costs and non‐manufacturing costs to capture the characteristics resource usage among products for better decision making.

This study incorporates the ERP system to prevent poor decisions being made from using obsolete or outdated data because changes are now made instantly. The impact of management accounting systems was evaluated through a large‐scale simulation to ensure comparability among experimental settings and to provide realistic manufacturing settings.

Concentrates on two key aspects of manufacturing resource planning (MRPII) theory and design, namely; how master production scheduling is carried out in differing business environments and how well the “closing of the loop” operates by checking the capacity requirements of the different levels of plans within an organization. The methodology involved detailed investigations into master scheduling and capacity planning in eight diverse manufacturing companies. This was followed by a nationwide survey of users, a survey of all the major suppliers of production management software in the UK and an analysis of the facilities offered by current software packages. The main conclusion which is drawn is that in the majority of companies, only just over 50 per cent are attempting resource and capacity planning and only 20 per cent are successfully feeding back capacity requirements planning (CRP) information to “close the loop”. Various causative factors are put forward and remedies are suggested.

The applicability of manufacturing planning and control methods differs between environments. This paper explains the fit between the planning environment and material and capacity planning on the detailed material planning and shop‐floor planning levels. The study is based on a conceptual discussion and a survey of 84 Swedish manufacturing companies. Results show the use of planning methods and their levels of user satisfaction in complex customer order production, configure to order production, batch production of standardized products and repetitive mass production, respectively.

The purpose of this paper is to study the information support technologies of integrated production planning control for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) driven networked manufacturing systems, and offer implications to firms for implementing networked manufacturing.

OEM driven networked manufacturing and its operations modes and support technologies are first discussed. Then, integration framework of production planning and control is proposed and relative technologies are discussed. Finally, a case of the application of information support technologies in networked manufacturing is illustrated.

Both theory analysis and case experience show that information integration and sharing are critical for effective operations of OEM driven networked manufacturing and an integrated production planning and control system can benefit firms for successfully operating a networked manufacturing system.

It is valuable to develop and apply integrated production planning and control systems in OEM driven networked manufacturing, Firms should pay more attention to information sharing and communication with partners and utilize advanced information technologies to synchronize the operations of partners.

Integration framework of production planning and control proposed in this paper has originality and the technology strategies are also practical. Managerial ideas, technology framework and application strategies of integrated production planning and control are helpful for firms to implement OEM driven networked manufacturing.

The main purpose of this paper is to document the research on development of a conceptual framework for the supply chain. The aims of the research were to develop an integrated framework, and to provide a methodology for planning of many components in the supply chain such as suppliers, materials, resources, warehouses, activities and customers. The proposed framework is based on the unitary structuring technique where bills of materials, bills of warehouses, project networks and operations routings, in both manufacturing and distribution networks, are combined into a single structure.

The framework is described along with illustrated numerical examples in the manufacturing and distribution environments.

The numerical testing has shown that each network in the supply chain provides an integrated approach to planning and execution of many components, and is capable of providing visibility, flexibility and maintainability for further improvement in the supply chain environment.

The framework and planning approach developed in this research are new in the area of supply chain management and provide a foundation for planning, control and execution in supply chain in various industries.

The aim of this paper is to investigate how enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems could create a competitive advantage for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The objectives of this study are to examine how responsive and agile the existing ERP systems are to change and uncertainty, and to identify the types of change and uncertainty in SME manufacturing environments.

A mixed methodology is used in this study, which involves literature review, questionnaire survey and follow‐up, in‐depth telephone interviews. An uncertainty diagnosing business model is applied to collect data from SME manufacturers in make‐to‐stock (MTS), make‐to‐order (MTO) and mixed mode (MM) manufacturing environments in a structured manner, and to analyse the effects of the underlying causes of uncertainty on product late delivery in MTS, MTO and MM manufacturing environments in SMEs. Some 108 enterprises responded (86 per cent response rate), of which 64 are SMEs. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is carried out in SPSS to analyse the effects of the underlying causes of uncertainty on product late delivery in MTS, MTO and MM manufacturing environments in SMEs.

ANOVA results show that a different group of underlying causes of uncertainty significantly affects the product late delivery performance in MTS, MTO and MM manufacturing environments in SMEs. This study found that ERP could improve responsiveness and agility to change, but not to uncertainty. SMEs could create a competitive advantage by being more responsive to change in the ERP system before generating purchase and work order. ERP systems could not deal with uncertainty due to its stochastic and unpredictable nature. SMEs use a range of buffering or dampening techniques under uncertainty to be competitive in delivery.

It can be concluded that the application of the business model in SMEs that use ERP has provided useful knowledge about the significant underlying causes of uncertainty that affect product late delivery performance in MTS, MTO and MM manufacturing environments. Using this knowledge, similar SMEs could then prioritise the effort and devise suitable buffering or dampening techniques to manage the causes of uncertainty and hence prevent any changes to the ERP system.

The purpose of this study was to assess the readiness of the Swedish manufacturing industry to implement dynamic, data-driven preventive maintenance (PM) by identifying the gap between the state of the art and the state of practice.

An embedded multiple case study was performed in which some of the largest companies in the discrete manufacturing industry, that is, mechanical engineering, were surveyed regarding the design of their PM programmes.

The studied manufacturing companies make limited use of the existing scientific state of the art when designing their PM programmes. They seem to be aware of the possibilities for improvement, but they also see obstacles to changing their practices according to future requirements.

The results of this study will benefit both industry professionals and academicians, setting the initial stage for the development of data-driven, diversified and dynamic PM programmes.

First and foremost, this study maps the current state and practice in PM planning among some of the larger automotive manufacturing industries in Sweden. This work reveals a gap between the state of the art and the state of practice in the design of PM programmes. Insights regarding this gap show large improvement potentials which may prove important for academics as well as practitioners.