Computer Aided Product Management

Question 1

What is CAPM?

Answer 1

This is all about the use of computers to improve the effectiveness of production managers & the efficiency of their resources when decisions have to be made on what, when & in what order to manufacture.

Question 2

MRP

Answer 2

• This uses bills of materials, inventory data and master production schedule to calculate time-phased requirements for materials.
• Only works where lead times are reliable & consistent - something that doesn’t happen in most manufacturing organisations where production is constantly being rescheduled in response to customer demands.
• Inability of MRP to recognise capacity constraints limits it’s application to relatively simple production systems where demand & product mix are relatively consistent & therefore lead times are constant.
• Also useful when dealing with purchased goods from reliable suppliers on quoted delivery times.

Question 3

MRPII

Answer 3

These expand the basic MRP to include work centre capacity planning and scheduling. It also closes the loop by providing the CAPM system with information about progress against the schedule/plan & recalculated lead times.

Question 4

ERP

Answer 4

This is essentially MRPII with additional features & generally, a higher level of integration.

*Systems may also be used to manage several sites & their supplies.