【正文】
manding) task to bine it with the data on lead times and BOMs to derive a schedule of ponent (and possibly raw materials) requirements, through as many levels of assembly and production as the manufacturer chooses. This schedule can account for such factors as workinprogress, current inventory of and pending orders for materials and ponents, and direct demand for ponents as service items. Using this schedule of requirements, the manufacturer must determine a material replenishment strategy that satisfies these requirements. A wide variety of ordering rules and heuristics can be incorporated into puterbased MRP models.In addition to the material requirements, other useful data can be generated from the Master Production Schedule. These include the projected inventory levels for any end product, the projected schedule for any assembly or production process, and the projected utilization of capacity for a particular production operation. Any of this information should aid in evaluating current or potential materials replenishment strategies.Computers are instrumental in any realworld implementation of MRP, due to the large amount of data processing required to generate initial material requirements. Additionally, it39。s probable that the entire analysis will have to be repeated several times in response to changing conditions (for example, changes in demand, manufacturing processes, or material supply). This makes the need for puters even clearer.This example illustrates the use of SAS/OR software (specifically, PROC CPM and PROC GANTT) in a SAS/AF application that performs Material Requirements Planning for a hypothetical clothing manufacturer. A small number of data steps and relatively simple procedure calls from SAS/OR, Base SAS, and SAS/GRAPH acplish all the putational work needed to support this application. The few simplifying assumptions made to limit the scope of this sample application could in practice be relaxed to make the application useful in a more plex and more realistic MRP setting. This application could also serve as an MRP module in a broader production and inventory control system.