ABSTRACT
Managing the material flow involves two kinds of uncertainty: external uncertainty that stems from an unpredictable environment and internal uncertainty arising from the technical system where functions are interdependent to varying extents. Through scheduling and planning of activities in the in-house manufacturing system and of material movements within the company, EL NASR Automotive Manufacturing Company (NASCO) seeks to reduce internal uncertainty that affects the material flow. The material flow is accompanied by a flow of information essential for the co-ordination and control of materials supply. This information flow is a necessity for materials control. Planning of material requirements is performed with the aid of NASCO's computer-based material requirements planning system. The system is regarded as vital by the production planning management for all material acquisition activities, for external and for internal supply. Proper capacity planning of NASCO's manufacturing resources is of decisive importance for material flow, since the decision about source of material supply is partly based on expected available capacity.
