ABSTRACT
In order for a business to meet the fundamental requirements to satisfy its customers in today’s demanding environment, it must have an advanced planning and scheduling (APS) system. With the evolution of supply chain and the enabling technologies supporting advanced efforts, the building blocks are now available to construct such a system and extend its use to key supply chain partners. To appreciate the importance and advantages of such a capability, consider that everything in business starts with a plan — some quantification of what the business wants to achieve based on what it believes the future holds. Unfortunately, many business plans seem to contain equal amounts of hopes and guesses in combination with actual capabilities and customer needs.
