A capacitated material requirements planning model considering delivery constraints: A case study from the automotive industry.

JIT delivery practices require that only what is requested is sent. The simplified solution generally accepts that only, what is going to be sent is what is produced, with minimum inventory. Due to the turbulent environment within the plant, the reality is very different. Such simplifications are not viable and buffers between the delivery process and the production process are often allocated. In this paper we present a single model that successfully integrates the delivery, the production, and the supply process. The model that this paper presents includes usual operations plan objectives (production and delivery) but also regularity constraints that keep the system feasible under JIT approach. both objectives on a single model. This model has been successfully implemented in an engine plant of a global automaker which is now planning the operations (supply, transform, assembly and delivery of the plant) with it. Due to the specific characteristics of the tools used at the factory the model was divided into two different models that could be solved sequentially with a large gain in efficiency. The paper ends with some remarks about the implementation process and future research lines...