A Master Production Schedule (MPS) is a plan for individual products to be manufactured in each individual time period.
It is a critical tool in the production planning process for a company that makes standard products via a Make-to-Stock production mode.
Production planning is a circular process involving:
1. General planning, which produces an MPS. I.e. When and what SHOULD be produced
2. Detailed scheduling, which subsequently delivers a production schedule. I.e. When, where, how, and from whom CAN the products be produced?
3. Return to step 1, and repeat until satisfied.
The goal of the Master Production Schedule (MPS) is to balance supply and demand by period, where your production is the ‘supply’, and the forecast or confirmed sales is the ‘demand’.
The plan indicates by period, the extent to which the product will be demanded in terms of quantity, what the starting and ending inventory positions are, and the planned quantities to be produced.
Crucially, the MPS itself does not address the individual tasks of production, such as operations and sequences, workstation capacities, workers, materials availability and lead times, etc.
These are the focus of production scheduling (i.e. planning out a realistic schedule for each worker and machine).
Performing this in Excel is not easy, if not impossible at all. We recommend using Master Production Schedule Software.
Generate reliable, detailed production plans. Balance materials and capacity with actual demand. Effortlessly reschedule production orders.
Always know what you have in stock. Easily avoid inventory shortages and excess. Track inventory by lot or batch, use serial numbers and barcodes.
Calculate order costs and lead times in just a few clicks. Send confirmed orders straight to production. Easily manage invoices, shipping, and returns.
Stay informed on your labor requirements and utilization. Provide shop floor workers with a simple interface for reporting orders and material use.
Easily forecast your procurement requirements. Create pre-filled purchase orders in one click. Manage supplier relationships. Compare terms and reliability.
Manage transactions, track income and expenses, and create accurate reports. Streamline accounting tasks and make better financial decisions.
Development Director, Randr
You guys are truly the best and the software is such a lifesaver for small companies like ours. Also just a note, our ISO auditors really liked everything that MRPeasy had. Everything is documented within the system!! And we do not need any additional systems.
CEO at Sox Trot
Best value in the small manufacturing space by far. With MRPeasy, our capacity doubled. It streamlined our production, and procurement so well that I’m now able to spend a lot more time on growth and sales. Extremely comprehensive and works seamlessly with Xero and Shopify.
CEO at Anicell Biotech
MRPeasy gives us the ability to track all of our manufacturing lot costs right down to the individual serial number of our products. MRPeasy provides the software as a remote service and has never been unavailable to us except in very rare maintenance windows.
MRPeasy is a simple yet powerful Manufacturing ERP system that helps small manufacturers organize production. Just sign up to test MRPeasy, select the features plan that meets your requirements and access additional functionality as you grow your business.
No upfront costs
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