Research in Production Planning and Inventory Control: Current Trends and Future Directions

During the past three decades important progress has been made in research on the planning and control of production and distribution systems. A conceptual framework has gradually developed that provides an overall structure for integrating individual planning and control decisions. Key elements in this structure include: forecasting the demand for individual products/services and product/ service categories; planning aggregate production, inventory, and capacity levels; scheduling the production of individual products, components, and raw materials; and controlling the inventory levels of individual product items. Furthermore, substantial progress had been made in the development of theory regarding decision making in each of these areas. For example, inventory theory provides an understanding of the basic trade-offs in the control of inventories. Likewise, scheduling theory provides a fundamental understanding of the performance impact of sequencing decisions. Finally, important progress has been made in the development and the installation of computer-based systems for planning and controlling production/distribution operations using the methods developed in theoretical research.