Analysis of a new dynamic capacity management approach in DDMRP : application on a real industrial case

Purpose: Although the authors of the Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) argue that the method DDMRP is the solution to the limitations of traditional production management methods, its capacity management system remains unclear. Since DDMRP operates at infinite capacity, it is important to consider a capacity management approach to avoid under- or overloading production workshops. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a new dynamic capacity management approach for the DDMRP method. Our approach is based on the calculation of the anticipated workload, using DDMRP stock buffers and considering customer order spikes. Considering a real industrial case, we compare the proposed approach to a static one and a dynamic approach from the literature. Findings: The analysis of the results, supported by a two-way ANOVA, indicates that the proposed capacity management approach outperforms the performance of the other two approaches by maximizing the resource loading rate while ensuring a high customer service level. Originality/value: The originality of the article comes on the one hand from the capacity adjustment module by calculating the anticipated workload, and on the other hand from the comparison of this approach with two others, one of which comes from the literature.