iJIT - production planning and control for individual production
Abstract
Companies doing individual production face special challenges: high number of variants with low production quantities each combined with late modification by the customers. Therefore the production of materials and intermediate products differs from standards in mass production. Classic MRP II (reducing setup time by merging orders to batches) causes long storage time, high inventory costs and long lead times. Lean production pull systems do not work for individual production because they base upon a stable repetitive environment which is in conflict with individual production. Therefore in many cases a specialized Just-in- Time (JIT) production is preferable. Currently there is no suitable tool to support JIT production in individual production. This article describes the fundamental problem as well a solution approach.
