How Do I Improve Production Planning?

Production planning improves when demand, material availability, capacity, BOMs, machine schedules, labour, quality status, WIP, and dispatch priorities are connected in one system. Good planning is not only about making a schedule. It is about making a schedule the factory can actually execute.

Poor production planning creates urgent purchases, idle machines, missed deliveries, excess WIP, overtime, and unhappy customers. ERP helps planning teams see constraints before releasing work to the shop floor.

AICAN Optiwise helps manufacturers connect sales, inventory, purchase, production, quality, dispatch, finance, and reporting so production planning becomes more reliable.

Start with real demand

Planning should begin with confirmed demand and realistic priorities.

Use:

• Sales orders
• Forecasts where applicable
• Customer delivery dates
• Order priority
• Pending dispatches
• Repeat orders

This prevents teams from producing low-priority items while urgent orders wait.

Check material readiness before release

Production should not start unless material is ready or shortage is clearly known.

ERP should show:

• BOM requirement
• Available stock
• Pending purchase
• Quality hold stock
• Shortage quantity
• Material issue status

This reduces stoppages after production has already started.

Plan capacity realistically

Capacity planning should consider machines, people, shifts, changeovers, maintenance, and bottlenecks.

Track:

• Machine availability
• Work center capacity
• Shift schedule
• Setup time
• Maintenance planned
• Current WIP
• Bottleneck stages

This helps planners avoid overloading the factory.

Track WIP and quality holds

Planning must consider what is already on the floor.

Review:

• Stage-wise WIP
• Orders delayed
• Rework pending
• Quality holds
• Finished goods pending dispatch
• Machine downtime

A plan made without WIP visibility is usually unrealistic.

Review planning daily

Daily planning review should focus on exceptions.

Check:

• Material shortages
• Bottleneck machines
• Late orders
• Quality holds
• Dispatch priorities
• Purchase delays
• Rework backlog

This helps teams make early corrections.

Where Optiwise fits

Optiwise can help manufacturers improve production planning by connecting demand, inventory, BOMs, purchase, production stages, quality, dispatch, and dashboards.

A practical implementation can focus on:

• Sales order visibility
• Material readiness
• BOM-based planning
• Capacity and machine schedules
• Stage-wise WIP
• Quality hold tracking
• Dispatch priority dashboards

AICAN helps manufacturers plan production around real constraints instead of wishful schedules.

Founder’s Note

A good production plan should reduce stress on the shop floor, not increase it. At AICAN, we believe planning works when sales, stores, purchase, production, and quality all see the same reality. Learn more at About AICAN.

FAQs

How do I improve production planning?

Improve planning by connecting demand, BOMs, material readiness, capacity, WIP, quality status, dispatch priorities, and dashboards in ERP.

Why does production planning fail?

It fails due to poor demand visibility, material shortages, unrealistic capacity, unclear priorities, quality holds, and weak WIP tracking.

Can ERP improve production planning?

Yes. ERP connects sales orders, inventory, BOMs, purchase, production stages, quality, and dispatch priorities.

What reports help planners?

Useful reports include material shortages, capacity load, stage-wise WIP, late orders, quality holds, rework, and dispatch readiness.

Should planning include quality holds?

Yes. Quality holds affect usable output and dispatch readiness, so they must be visible in planning.