MRP II / ERP Principles and Applications (Second Edition)

Author: Cheng Kong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-18
Features: Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) is a production management planning and control model that has been widely adopted in the modern manufacturing industry worldwide due to its significant benefits. MRP II achieves the integration of logistics and financial flow information and is a crucial component of Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Systems (CIMS), as well as the core of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). It serves as an effective tool for solving enterprise management problems and improving operational efficiency. This book comprehensively covers the basic principles, processing logic, algorithmic flow, software systems, and implementation methods of MRP II/ERP. The content is thorough, systematic, and logically structured, with detailed explanations of principles and algorithms, supplemented by examples and exercises for reader convenience. This book can be used as a professional textbook for undergraduate and MBA programs in management engineering, industrial engineering, e-commerce, information systems, computer applications, and other related fields. It is also suitable for specialized education or continuing education programs in training institutions, accounting associations, production management associations, and other organizations. Additionally, it serves as a reference for technical personnel, production managers, and management decision-makers in the manufacturing and IT industries.
[Preface]
1. Introduction to MRP II/ERP
MRP II (Manufacturing Resource Planning) is an advanced modern enterprise management model aimed at rationally allocating a company's manufacturing resources, including financial, material, production, supply, and sales factors, to maximize their efficiency and gain competitive advantages in the fierce market, thereby achieving optimal economic benefits. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems expand the scope of management based on MRP II, organically integrating internal and external resources of the enterprise, reflecting the supply chain management philosophy of meeting market demand, optimizing the use of comprehensive enterprise resources, and manufacturing in a timely manner. Due to its significant benefits, MRP II has been widely adopted as a standard management tool in the modern manufacturing industry worldwide. It is an effective tool for solving enterprise planning and management problems and improving operational efficiency. MRP II is also a core component of ERP, and they have an integrated relationship, with MRP II's management techniques being more fundamental and practical. Therefore, in this book, we present MRP II/ERP as a unified system, emphasizing MRP II in the explanation of principles but focusing on ERP in the discussion of extended functions.
MRP II/ERP falls under the discipline of production management and is a subsystem of CIMS/863 projects. Its benefits are significant and direct, and it has recently been adopted by some large and medium-sized enterprises. However, due to the lack of theoretical guidance in the past, its practical success rate has been widely questioned. From an industrial practice perspective, the basic principles of MRP II/ERP are particularly fundamental, necessary, and critical in enterprise informatization projects. Mastering the principles of MRP II can be considered a bottleneck in learning and applying ERP. In fact, the field of ERP has developed a rich, comprehensive (or rigorous) theoretical system, and commercial ERP software even covers a broad range of enterprise management interfaces, including production manufacturing, supply chain, financial control, and human resource management.
The content related to MRP II/ERP is scattered across textbooks in college courses such as "Production and Operations Management," "Production System Planning and Control," and "Management Information Systems," but the coverage of this specialized technology is relatively limited. Therefore, it is timely and necessary to introduce a standalone course on this theoretical system. Since its publication, this book has received high praise, being adopted as a textbook for undergraduate and MBA programs by many key universities, as well as a training manual by numerous consulting firms, yielding significant social benefits. The second edition is now being revised to provide readers with a theoretical reference for achieving greater success in enterprise informatization practices. This book can also be seen as a summary of the author's research and study in this field over the past decade.
2. Main Content of the Book
In Chapter 1, we first provide a general introduction to various advanced manufacturing management models in the manufacturing industry and preliminarily analyze their development trends and the system structure of advanced manufacturing technologies, giving readers a comprehensive understanding of the scope and status of MRP II/ERP. Then, in Chapter 2, we introduce the operational principles and management planning of industrial production, offering an intuitive understanding of the application environment and management foundation of MRP II/ERP.
Starting from Chapter 3, we begin to introduce the fundamental principles of MRP II/ERP, including the several stages of its development, MRP II's three winning techniques related to demand, time segmentation, and capacity balancing, as well as the planning hierarchy, data environment, operational principles, usage environment, and characteristics of the MRP II management model. These are all foundational knowledge for understanding specific principle modules later. Chapters 4 to 10 provide a detailed analysis of the specific principles of MRP II/ERP, covering production planning, master production scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity requirements planning, material management control, production operation control, and production cost management, which are the key parts of this book.
Chapter 11 discusses the operational models of MRP II/ERP, exploring the implementation models and problem-solving approaches when applying MRP II/ERP. Chapter 12 introduces the software systems of MRP II/ERP, providing a brief overview from both the perspective of software modules and existing commercial software systems. Chapter 13 covers the implementation issues of MRP II/ERP systems, introducing the application implementation methodology of MRP II/ERP based on the author's practical experience and rational thinking, analyzing and explaining system planning, software selection, project implementation processes, project implementation effectiveness evaluation, and business process reengineering.
The final chapter (Chapter 14) addresses several practical and developmental issues of MRP II/ERP, highlighting its foundational role and practical significance as an important component of CIMS projects. From Chapter 1 to the final Chapter 14, following the logic and learning patterns, the content is highly interconnected, forming a systematic knowledge framework. This book focuses on explaining the basic operational principles of MRP II/ERP, systematically introducing the control techniques of enterprise production planning management, and thoroughly analyzing and theoretically deriving the basic principles, processing logic, and algorithmic flow of MRP II/ERP.
Considering the varying levels of understanding and mastery among readers, some mathematical derivations related to MRP II principles are included in the book, such as the mathematical matrix derivation of material requirements, but these are marked with an asterisk () and can be skipped without affecting the understanding of the MRP II/ERP principle system. If readers already have some knowledge of MRP II/ERP and wish to directly explore its core principles, they can read Chapters 3 to 11. If readers are only interested in the application aspects of MRP II/ERP, they can skip the detailed analysis of MRP II/ERP principle algorithms and directly read Chapters 1 to 3, 12, 13, and 14, which also form a logical system on their own.
3. Target Audience and Supporting Materials
This book can be used as a selected textbook or teaching reference for undergraduate and postgraduate programs in business administration, management engineering, information systems, e-commerce, and other related fields. It is also suitable for information technology personnel, industrial engineering R&D personnel, and management decision-makers in the manufacturing and IT industries.
Except for Chapter 14, the book is accompanied by sufficient review and exercise questions, which include conceptual explanations, analytical descriptions, and computational derivation problems. These exercises are designed around the key content of each chapter, covering the main points of the chapter, and solving them can help readers grasp the key knowledge of each chapter.
The electronic teaching materials for this book can be downloaded from the "Download Page" link on http://www.tupwk.com.cn. The reference answers to the exercises can be obtained by filling out the "Reference Answer Request Information Feedback Card" at the back of the book.
We will set up dedicated columns on the website http://www.ckong.com for learning guidance and some exercise solutions, and readers can engage in two-way communication on the website to learn and progress together.
During the writing process, this book referenced a large number of specialized literature and internal materials from multiple disciplines, but due to space constraints, they are not all listed at the end of the book. We sincerely thank the relevant authors at home and abroad for their contributions! Chapters 1 and 11 of this book were written by Professor Jin Wenguang from the Automation Department of Tsinghua University. Professor Ji Guoli from the Automation Department of Xiamen University provided significant guidance during the writing process. Cheng Pingfeng and Pan Hanmin from Xiamen Huiguang Technology Training Center contributed greatly to the data organization, layout, and input work. We express our gratitude here.
Due to the limited theoretical level and practical experience of the author, there may be inaccuracies or omissions in this book. We welcome criticism and corrections from readers and scholars in the field.