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Source Line: SAP AG.
FIGURE 4-22 Repetitive manufacturing planning table in SAP ERP

This screen allows the planner to view capacity, production schedule length, and
quantity produced in one screen. Between November 1 and November 8, NRG-A bars are
being produced for 3½ days, and NRG-B bars are being produced for 4½ days. The fourth
line of the bottom screen shows that a total of 1,050 cases of NRG-A snack bars will be
produced from November 1 through November 4 (300 + 300 + 300 + 150 = 1,050), and
then production will change over to NRG-B bars from November 4 through November 8
(this screen assumes production shifts continue through the weekend).
The top section of the screen shows the production line capacity requirements for the plan
in the bottom section of the screen. The plan shown will require 90.090% of the available
capacity of 8 hours per day for all days except November 4, when the capacity requirement will
be 96.153%. The second line in the top section of the screen (Required-Repetitive Bakeline)
shows the number of hours of capacity used by the plan (rounded to the nearest hour) while
the third line (Available-Repetitive Bakeline) shows the planned capacity of the baking line.
In some companies, responsibility for inventory costs belongs to a Materials
Management group, and capacity utilization performance is the responsibility of a
Production group. Generally, the Materials Management group wants short production
runs to keep inventory levels down, while the Production group wants long production
runs to keep capacity utilization high. In these circumstances, the decision regarding
production run length can become a source of organizational bickering, instead of a
decision that minimizes total costs for the benefit of the company.
This conflict points out another advantage of production planning in an ERP system.
Because the goal of the company is to maximize profit, the duration of production runs
should be decided by evaluating the cost of equipment setup and holding inventory. An
integrated information system simplifies this analysis by automatically collecting

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