How to create a master production schedule (MPS) (2023)

Manufacturing is a complex process. It requires a balance between production capacity, inventory levels, material requirements, and other aspects to fulfill orders. After you align these design aspects, you need to plan your production.

Creating a master production plan is crucial to ensure your supplies meet demand. A strong master production plan also supports your sales force and strengthens your ability to meet your customers' needs.

What is a master production schedule?

A master production schedule (MPS) describes what products are made and when they are made. This timeline outlines the various processes and resources required to keep production running smoothly, identifying potential bottlenecks, and creating plans to avoid them.

A master production schedule is critical in manufacturing, as it can mean the difference between a profit or a loss in sales. To make sure you don't miss a thing, there are several data sources you can use as input to develop a master production plan. Here are some of the most used.

• General planning:Using this method, companies can create manufacturing schedules that focus on continuous production for periods ranging from six to 18 months. Using aggregate planning as input is a great way to create a master production schedule.
• Stock:You need to know your current inventory levels to create an efficient production plan that minimizes inventory costs and meets customer demand.
• Production capacity:This is the maximum return that your organization can achieve in terms of products manufactured. This is important to know before creating a master production schedule.
• Material Requirements Planning:This is a system used to calculate the components and materials needed to make a product. Basic inputs include a master production schedule, an inventory status file, and a bill of materials.

To create an effective production master plan, it is important to use the right project management software. With ProjectManager's Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and project calendars, you can create an interactive MPS to assign work, track schedules, and collaborate with your team online in real time. Start free.

Why should you use a master production schedule?

The main purpose of a master production schedule is to have a plan that can forecast the demand for your product over a period of time. However, there are other important roles that an MPS plays in manufacturing and production planning.

The main functions of a master production schedule include:

• Planning:Balance market demand with materials, labor, and your team's ability to deliver the products.
• Make adjustments to the plan:Schedules must have acontingencies for unexpected delaysor errors that interrupt the flow of the product.
• Avoid shortages:Plan capacity requirementsto maintain production output.
• Improve efficiency and control costs:The better the plan, the more likely you are to stay on schedule and see potential efficiencies.

Another role is to honor your commitments to your customer base. Manufacturing only works when you serve your customers on time and on budget.

When you have the master production scheduling process in place, your demand will flow more smoothly, lead times will improve, communication will be standardized, requirements will be prioritized, and production will stabilize.

How to create a master production schedule

When creating a master production schedule, you must follow a process to fulfill the function of the plan. The best way to do it is by following these steps.

1. start with ademand plane, which outlines the requirements to which your master production plan will respond.
2. Identify the raw materials you need and secure a supply chain to deliver these materials to your production.
3. Develop a production master plan proposal to ensure the schedule meets your needs.
4. Perform all necessary calculations to determine if your preliminary master production schedule requirements can be met. These calculations must continue throughout the process to ensure that you always meet demand.
5. Once you've tested the design and it meets your needs, you can make sure it's consistent with your customer service, your features, and the investment you've made in inventory.
6. The next step is to make sure that you clearly communicate the production schedule to everyone involved in the manufacturing process. you want to be sureYour teamit's on the same page.
7. Go back to your schedule to see if your supply is in balance with demand. It should let you know if you need to increase or decrease production. This ensures that you produce the orders generated by your sales team and deliver them on time and with the expected quality.

What should be included in a master production schedule?

Before creating your master production plan, you will need ademand planeto understand what your customers want. A demand plan is based on accurate historical sales data to help you determine what the demand will be in the coming weeks. The requirements plan should be regularly reviewed and updated.

It is useful to have a so-called safety stock in case demand increases unexpectedly. This will guide you through the period as you update your main production schedule. Don't forget to replenish your safety stock after use.

The master production plan will contain these parts.

• List of products:A list of all the products you have created.
• Variations sublist:You want a column of variations like sizes or colors.
• Term:Any TimeYou must have data to accurately forecast demand and supply. It is best to divide your schedule into months and weeks and adjust as needed.
• Production quantities:This is the number of units you will make each week. Be sure to indicate how many units of each variant make up the total.

Template for a Master Production Schedule

Our free production master plan template is a great tool to get started with production planning. It can be easily customized to meet your business needs.

Related: 10 Free Excel Templates for Manufacturing

Benefits of using a master production schedule

The use of a master production schedule is a necessity for manufacturing companies. The better you understand your manufacturing process, the better you can meet the changing needs of your customer base. These are some of the main benefits of using one.

• Help with demand planning.
• aidinventory management
• Help the production cast
• Avoid stockouts
• Facilitates maintenance planning.
• Helps create better estimates for sourcing

A master production schedule also serves as a communication channel between the sales and manufacturing teams. Because it is an ongoing dialogue, the master production schedule is flexible and open to change as needed.

In short, it is a manufacturing plan for all the goods your company produces. It plans the production of that product, but also includes the necessary personnel and inventory. The plan itself is determined by the demand for the product, and this information is provided by sales.

How ProjectManager manages your production master plan

project Manageris award-winning software that organizes work, teams, and projects. Using project management tools can help you plan, schedule, and implement manufacturing processes more efficiently.

use ourOnline Gantt ChartCreate a master production plan that allows you to map tasks on a timeline, tracking costs and resources to ensure you never overspend. Even better, the dynamic Gantt chart is flexible and can be quickly edited to reflect changes in orders and capacity.

Gantt charts are planning tools that you can use to plan tasks along a timeline. You can link all dependent tasks to avoid bottlenecks in your manufacturing cycle. For example, if a handle needs to be sewn onto the body of a bag before embroidery is added, recognize this dependency and link the two tasks so production runs smoothly.

Learn how to do this and much more by watching this short video on planning with ProjectManager.

The Gantt can also be shared and since the project management tool is online, all the data about your manufacturing process is captured in real time. If there are delays with the necessary materials, you can easily adjust the schedule.

The main production schedule must reflect supply and demand. This means that you also need a tool that can give you a complete overview of your production.The dashboard in real timeIt collects data and automatically calculates time, cost, and other metrics to provide a holistic view of your production.

Related content

• Manufacturing Resource Planning: A Quick Guide to MRP II
• Manufacturing Production Scheduling: Best Practices for Production Scheduling
• Equipment Inventory: A Quick Guide
• Planning capacity: strategies, benefits and best practices
• Material Requirements Planning (MRP): A Quick Guide

ProjectManager is an award-winning tool that organizes your production so you can be more productive. Plan, schedule, and adjust your master production schedule to meet demand and capacity requirements.start free.