Manufacturing control systems - moving towards the enterprise model

This paper reviews developments in manufacturing control systems which have taken place over the last twenty years. These developments have been in response to the increasing complexity of manufacturing operations found in a range of different industrial sectors. The review is supported by references drawn from surveys and major research projects. The paper covers a recently completed study of the role of MRP II within the modern business context, examining the areas covered by more recent MRP II developments and the status of current enterprise resource planning packages. A means of categorising the level of integration within an organisation is developed and the results of a survey in which this is used are given. Finally, the paper examines the requirements for more fully integrated systems found within a survey of best practice plants and go on develop a model for an improved level of integration.