Adjusting MRP with real-time process quality for postponement manufacturing

Postponement manufacturing often requires that the identical items should be differentiated for customization with different processes at a Customer Process Differentiation Point(CPDP). A significant issue then emerges as how to determine the input item quantity that should be processed with a customization process at a manufacturing stage. A real-time yield rate based methodology is proposed to achieve dynamic adjustment of MRP. The algorithm for implementing the proposed methodology is also developed. A case study shows that the item-differentiating decisions made at CPDP are more reasonable than those made according to traditional MRP approaches.