Page 405 - Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning

384 PART 4 Looking Backward and Forward

4. Resources must be adequate and willing. Planning can be done by computer-based
systems with minimum human involvement, but successful execution depends
on people taking the proper actions when needed. Effective planning systems
are necessary but not sufficient; they make tight control possible, but people
make it happen.
5. Garbage in, garbage out. The output of any computer-based system is dependent
on the accuracy of the inputs. If the data that are input are incorrect, then the
outputs will be less than worthless. Accuracy is required in inventory records,
bills of materials, customer orders, shop orders, and every other necessary
input. The effectiveness of the planning system can only be as good as these
inputs. Failure of the system to work is not where the software doesn’t run, it is
when the information gained from the system is misleading.

Almost 40 years later we are at another time of reexamination and transition.
Shortly after the turn of the millennium, the world of manufacturing turned upside
down. Production became more efficient in the United States. Eastern Europe was incor-
porated into the European Union, putting low-cost production very close to a lucrative
market. China became the manufacturing powerhouse for the world. Manufacturing
capacity now far exceeds current market requirements. Exacerbating this situation are
customers who have become increasingly fickle. Product life cycles have plummeted. The
Internet now allows global sourcing with a few clicks of a mouse. Manufacturing com-
panies worldwide are faced with more volatility than ever before. No longer can a com-
pany achieve a sustainable competitive advantage with the old rules. These fundamental
shifts taking place in current global manufacturing environments are forcing companies
to reexamine the rules and tools that manage their businesses. The world has changed,
and further technology barriers have been removed. Companies will succeed not because
they improve, refine, and speed up the enforcement of obsolete rules and logic but
because they are able to fundamentally adapt their operating rules and systems to the
new global circumstances. A new approach to planning is required. This is the subject of
this last part of this update.