Produktionsplanung
Also: Produktionsplanung, Fertigungsplanung, Produktionsprogrammplanung, Produktionsplan, Production Planning
AI-generated
Production planning determines what is manufactured, in what quantity, and at what time. It forms the basis for material provision, capacity utilization, and on-time delivery.
Key facts
- Production planning defines the quantities, timing, and sequence of manufacturing, thereby forming the control basis for logistics and procurement.
- It encompasses the steps of program planning, material planning, capacity balancing, and scheduling.
- The decision between make-to-stock and make-to-order production fundamentally influences planning logic and lot sizes.
- For intralogistics, planning data is the foundation for material provision, warehouse capacity management, and put-away preparation.
- Production planning and production control are related but distinct disciplines: planning prepares, while control executes operationally.
What is production planning?
Production planning is the systematic process by which a company decides which products should be manufactured, in what quantities, and at what point in time. It connects market requirements — i.e., sales forecasts and customer orders — with the internal capabilities of the operation: available capacities, existing inventories, and secured material supply. The result is a production program that serves as a binding control basis for manufacturing, logistics, and procurement.
How does production planning work in practice?
In practice, production planning is divided into several sequential steps:
- Program planning: Based on sales plans and customer orders, the rough production requirements per item and planning horizon are defined.
- Material planning: Material requirements are derived from the production program — often via a bill of materials explosion in the ERP system. Shortfalls trigger procurement requirements.
- Capacity planning: Machine, personnel, and space capacities are compared against planned requirements. Bottlenecks are identified and resolved through prioritization or alternative routing.
- Scheduling: Production orders are assigned specific start and end dates. Lead times, setup times, and buffers play a central role in this process.
Whether a company produces for stock (Make-to-Stock) or manufactures to order (Make-to-Order) significantly influences planning logic and lot-size decisions. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages that depend heavily on industry, product complexity, and customer lead times.
Significance for logistics and procurement
For intralogistics, production planning provides key control signals: material provision times, expected goods receipt quantities, and storage requirements are derived directly from the production program. Without coordinated planning, unnecessary buffers, bottlenecks at staging areas, or incorrect prioritization in the warehouse can arise.
Procurement uses planning data to determine order times, involve suppliers at an early stage, and prioritize scarce materials in a targeted manner. Close coupling between production planning and procurement planning is crucial for on-time delivery and inventory efficiency.
What matters when making a selection?
Production planning systems are often part of an ERP system, but can also be deployed as specialized Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions. The choice depends on the complexity of manufacturing, the variety of variants, and the integration requirements with WMS and MES. Key criteria include planning currency, responsiveness to disruptions, and the quality of interfaces to adjacent systems. Whether a standard solution is sufficient or a specialized tool is necessary cannot be answered in general terms — it depends heavily on the individual production model.
Related terms
- Absatzplanung
Sales planning refers to the systematic forecasting of future sales volumes for defined products, regions, or channels. It forms the foundation for all downstream planning processes in production, procurement, and logistics.
- Absatzprognose
The sales forecast estimates future demand for products or items over a defined period. It forms the basis for inventory, capacity, and procurement planning in logistics and purchasing.
- Auftragsdurchlaufzeit
Order throughput time refers to the total time from the receipt of an order to its dispatch to the recipient. It encompasses all waiting, processing, and internal transport steps, and serves as a key indicator of the performance of a warehouse or fulfillment process.
- Auftragsfertigung
Make-to-order refers to a production model in which the manufacture of a product does not begin until a specific customer order has been received. Unlike make-to-stock production, goods are produced individually for each customer and demand-driven.
- Bedarfsermittlung
Requirements planning refers to the systematic process by which an organization's future material or goods requirements are determined in terms of quantity and timing. It forms the basis for inventory management, procurement, and warehouse planning.
- Bedarfsplanung
Demand planning refers to the systematic process by which a company determines what quantities of materials, goods, or resources are needed and when. It forms the foundation for inventory management, procurement, and warehouse planning.
- Beschaffungsplanung
Procurement planning refers to the process by which a company systematically determines which materials or goods need to be sourced, in what quantities, at what time, and from which suppliers.
- Bestandsführung
Inventory management refers to the system-supported administration and continuous updating of all warehouse and material stocks within a company. It forms the basis for planning, procurement and accounting – and ensures that the book inventory and physical inventory are in agreement at all times.
- Bestandsmanagement
Inventory management refers to the systematic planning, control, and monitoring of stock levels across the entire supply chain. The goal is to ensure delivery capability while keeping capital commitment and warehousing costs within economically viable limits.
- Disposition
Disposition refers to the operational planning and control of resources, quantities, and orders in logistics – for example in transport or materials disposition. It encompasses capacity assignment, scheduling, prioritization, and response to disruptions.