Manufacturing planning and control approaches: market alignment and performance

The design of manufacturing planning and control (MPC) systems is a strategic decision for manufacturing operations. In this paper we analyze the interrelationships between the choice of MPC approaches at different hierarchical levels with market requirements and operational performance. These relationships are explored through an extensive survey comprising responses from 128 manufacturing firms. The results show that the choice of MPC approaches, primarily at the sales and operations planning and master scheduling levels, has a significant mediating role in improving performance. The alignment between market requirements and the choice of MPC approaches is significant and has a significant impact on performance. In a dynamic environment, the choice of MPC approaches is shown to have a positive mediating effect on operational performance.