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Material Requirements Planning ( Mrp ) And Lean Manufacturing

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Over the years, manufacturing production strategies have continued to evolve. Despite this the manufacturing strategies debate between material requirements planning (MRP) and lean manufacturing is still disputed. On one side is the philosophy that MRP software is required to adequately plan production. On the other side is the lean philosophy, which argues that these planning tools are too rigid to reflect actual production environments and ultimately impede effective production. This essay will assess if lean synchronisation is an alternative to material requirements planning. Material Requirements Planning Principles MRP was developed in the 1970’s as an inventory management system. The principle relied on conducting detailed planning to ensure that parts and materials ware obtained in time to meet the manufacturing process. It was a major step forward at the time as it capitalized on the use of the computer to generate the supply orders. (rf) The use of computers allowed operations managers to track supplies orders, obtain secondary materials and enabled precise stock levels to be measured easily. Now almost all MRP systems use computes. This led to companies creating production schedules that focused on obtaining resources to match the output level of production. (rf) Using MRP managers can determine what materials are required in what quantity and by what deadline. This is known as a push system of inventory control and involves forecasting inventory needs to meet

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