Master Production Schedule (MPS)

The MPS sits between demand and the shop floor. Its inputs are the forecast, confirmed customer orders, inventory on hand and safety stock targets; the output is a schedule of planned quantities that a rough‑cut capacity check tests against bottleneck resources before MRP explodes it through the bill of materials (BOM). Time fences divide the horizon into zones with different rules for change:

• Frozen zone – materials and capacity are committed; changes need management approval.
• Slushy zone – items can be swapped within the capacity and materials already planned.
• Liquid zone – open planning; the schedule follows the S&OP volume for the family.

MPS in practice

The frozen fence is set by materials, not by the meeting calendar. If a printed film for a new label has a six‑week lead time and production takes one more week, a mix change in week five depends on whether the film was ordered for the new mix. Free capacity on the line does not make such a change feasible, so the frozen zone should cover the cumulative lead time of every component bought specifically for the plan.

The second decision is how finely to cut the schedule. Take a line with 75 productive hours a week at 160 units per hour, eight items with weekly demand of 1,250 units each, and a 1.5‑hour changeover. Running every item every week costs eight changeovers, leaving 63 hours or 10,080 units for 10,000 units of demand. Running each item every other week halves the changeovers and frees 960 units of capacity, but doubles batch sizes, so average cycle stock rises from 5,000 to 10,000 units. Which side of that trade wins depends on carrying cost, shelf life and how much spare capacity the bottleneck needs for demand variability.

Logio designs the MPS process – time fences, rules for change, the link to S&OP volumes and the capacity check on bottleneck lines – within capacity planning and supply chain management engagements. The demand input can come from demand forecasting in Veritico STOCK, which forecasts per item, store or warehouse and day.

Related terms

• Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
• Integrated Business Planning (IBP)
• Lead Time
• Cycle Stock