We enjoy telling your about the problems with MRP systems, particularly some of the big software providers. Our friend Mark Edmondson of Lean Affiliates, via Mark Graban’s Lean Blog, has issued a challenge that we are very interested in.
I need your input. I’m looking for the best performing manufacturing companies who use MRP to signal delivery from their suppliers. In other words, who are the top performing manufacturing companies that employ the classic MRP push process across their value streams?
Once we have your nominees, I’ll contact them to come up with the short list of the best batch and queue manufacturing companies we can find. My intention is to then contact them and ask for an on-site visit to witness and document their actual operational performance: Total cycle time, inventory turns, delivery performance, quality, total cost.
He goes on to describe the rather interesting, and scary, conversation he had with a systems integrator that led to the challenge. It shows how the traditional MRP software providers try to reconcile the push manufacturing characteristics of planning/forcasting-oriented MRP with the pull manufacturing aspects of lean. It’s not exactly easy.
Take the challenge. Do you know of any companies that have successfully integrated MRP with pull manufacturing? If so, let Mark Edmondson know.
CB says
This brings up a question that I’ve been meaning to ask. If MRP’s suck so bad, what materials planning and reconciliation system do you suggest companies should be using instead? Or at least how should a company be using MRP in the ideal state? I know you’ve referenced the webcam/whiteboard idea and that makes a good point as to the fundamental features of MRP’s that are useful but this is not a realistic solution for my company (at least not to jump to at this point). I understand there is a lot that is wrong with how MRP’s work vs a pull system but I’m also not big on critiqueing something without a viable alternative solution. Anyone care to explain how materials resource planning should be harmonized with a pull system?