TLMT312 WEEK 3 FORUM - Assignment Example

Advanced Planning and Scheduling System Advanced Planning and Scheduling System Components of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) SystemDemand planning: This component of the APS represents short-term, medium and long-term sales forecasts, which are generated from a cluster of quantitative techniques. This yields anticipated demand, which is an input for many other APS components.Production planning: This component of the APS focuses on lot-sizing and is usually carried out on each site.Production scheduling: This element of the APS focuses on two major activities, that is, machine sequencing and control of the shop floor.

Distribution planning: this component focuses on material flow looking at the movement of materials within the supply chain in a comprehensive way. It takes into account direct delivery of goods to customers. The goods may also be delivered to customers through warehouses and cross-docking.Transportation planning: this is a very crucial element of the APS. It focuses on sequencing the location of clients on a vehicle’s trip via routing of the vehicle.The Major Challenges in Implementing Such a SystemAdvanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) System exhibits some challenges in its implementation.

Despite the fact that supply chain model acknowledges the coordination and synchronization of processes and operations, most APS do not have the capacity to go beyond organizational boundaries to fulfill this requirement. APS procedures are more inclined to internal supply chain, which makes collaboration a bottleneck. Further, APS focus on deterministic planning, thus discouraging robust planning. APS cannot be used to manage uncertainties, which is a significant challenge in their implementation.

The present commercial APS pose a big challenge in that the prospects of simulation is restricted to one deterministic run plans’ test. ReferenceAmerican Public University Systems [VitalSouce bookshelf version]. Retrieved on 14, 2014 from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781308001029/page/155