ABSTRACT
It is a fact beyond dispute that any successful commercial enterprise must find the optimum trade off between customer service, manufacturing efficiency and inventory costs. These aspects of a business usually conflict with one another and the point of balance is determined in many different, often irrational ways. With the advancement of Supply Chain Planning as an integrated concept, at least now there is a growing recognition of the importance of such trade offs. The production control function in its various forms and titles, is central to this trade off process; planning and scheduling are at the core of production control, the
magnitude of its task depends on a combination of factors both outside and within its’ ability to control.
