Databases

Abstract

Effective management of production organizations relies heavily on timely and accurate information. The continuous pressure to increase flexibility and to reduce lead times in the production stage requires a quick reaction by many decision centres. Such a quick reaction is only possible if decisions are based on up-to-date operational information and on quick exchange of information with related decision centers. The continuous pressure to decrease stocks and to increase turnover rates requires also accurate information. This is immediately evident and widely accepted for such approaches as MRP II and OPT, but on second thought it is also true for an approach such as JIT. Although JIT does not require accurate information on floor stocks it does require accurate bills-of-materials, customer orders, etc.

Johan C. Wortmann studied industrial engineering and management science at Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands. He has been active in the development of information systems for production/inventory control since 1973 and wrote a doctoral thesis on the subject. He has been involved in a number of practical application, both in component manufacturing and in assembly operations. He worked in the first half of 1985 as visiting professor at Rutgers University, New Jersey, and is currently employed at Eindhoven University of Technology. J. C. Wortmann is a member of IFIP WG 5.7.