Using a scalable simulation model to evaluate the performance of production system segmentation in a combined MRP and kanban system

In this paper two different possible machine allocation policies are studied for a production system consisting of MRP and kanban controlled materials. Performance measures are inventory costs, backorder costs and service level. In policy one, the production system is segmented into one segment for MRP planned materials and one for kanban controlled materials. Policy two implements common machine groups for both kinds of materials. A scalable production planning simulation model is applied which is set up by parameterization of the respective database without any model implementation work. For high set-up times and low number of items, we find that whenever utilization of the production system is high, the production system segmentation policy is preferable. However, for medium and low utilization values common machine groups perform best in all scenarios. The scalable simulation model for different kinds of production systems contributes to further research in this field.