Unlike product development and production operations, where sophisticated software systems (CAx, PLM and PPC) are universally deployed, the production planning phase, which lies between these two activities, is marked by the frequent use of isolated solutions. Procurement of the tools deployed here is often driven by the needs of the moment (effectively “cherry picking“) and the tools are then used in isolation for planning tasks specific to a given tool. And like the IT environment, the planning processes used also often seem to be uncoordinated and even department-centered.

As a result, it is often the case that the individual planning tasks are not performed in a clearly structured way. This leads to inefficient planning workflows with redundant activities, duplicated work, transmission errors and incomplete information, to name but a few of the potential stumbling blocks. Consequently, standardization of the necessary planning processes on the basis of established best practice in the realm of production planning makes it possible to leverage much untapped potential. Standardization of this type provides users with recommendations for dealing with their various planning tasks, which in turn simplifies the individual processes and makes them more transparent.

In order to meet this challenge, ProSTEP iViP's “Digital Manufacturing“ Project Group set about developing a uniformly defined, end-to-end reference planning process for series production. This process supports the creation of planning processes tailored to the specific needs of companies and locations and thus supports efficient production planning.