Implementation of a comprehensive production planning approach in special purpose vehicle production

The European vehicle industry employs a cascading planning process, for medium-term sales and operations and medium- to short-term production planning. Due to a lack of coordination and feedback between the different planning phases, costly problems in production arise. This paper describes an integrated planning solution for the harmonisation of sales, purchasing, supply chain and production planning along the planning cascade. By harmonizing long-, medium- and short-term planning, cost savings and additional value potential can be realized. The basic approach for harmonized planning is illustrated with a case study from special purpose vehicle production.