* Calculations use average data for Russia

Step 7: preparation of the business plan section "Production plan"

If you are starting a manufacturing plant, your business plan should include an additional chapter describing how the product is made.
The main goal of this section of the business plan is to prove potential investor that you can ensure the production of the planned volumes of products of high quality and on time.

Description of the technological process

First of all, answer the question whether your enterprise is already operating or is just being created. This is what interests your investors and partners in the first place.

Often, the production plan is drawn up on the basis of the marketing plan for the products. In this section, write about how you plan to produce your product and consider all the steps involved in creating a product or service. It is best to arrange it in the form of a calendar plan, which will include a forecast of the timing of events and the amount of funding required for their implementation.

Describe in detail all the nuances of the technological process (best with visual diagrams) from the moment of acquisition of raw materials and materials to implementation finished products wholesalers.

Think about how you can improve the process and what is required for this. The composition and structure of production capacities can not be considered in great detail.

If this information is of particular importance (for example, for large manufacturing companies), it can be indicated in the appendix to the business plan.

But the issues of supplying raw materials, materials and components deserve more attention, since the stability of the technological process largely depends on them. Write what material assets (land, buildings, production facilities), stocks of raw materials and materials, what equipment and components your company has now and how deliveries will be made in the future.

Ready-made ideas for your business

If the raw materials you use require special conditions for transportation and storage, write about how these conditions will be observed. Consider how the quality and timeliness of deliveries will be controlled, because the profit and reputation of your company depend on it.

Assess productivity measures, which are measured by the amount of time and human resources required to produce a good or service. This indicator also directly affects the amount of profit, which is of particular interest to investors.

Describe what equipment is required to produce the product. If at the time of writing the business plan the enterprise does not have all the necessary equipment, indicate what is needed to purchase it and how much time from the moment the required funding is received it will take to purchase, install, debug and launch it.

Consider in detail the requirements for quality control at all stages of production, indicate the standards that you will be guided by.

Pay attention to energy supply issues: list the requirements for energy sources, analyze their availability and consider alternatives in case of interruptions in the main energy sources.

For instance:

In the production process of our products, we plan to use _____. Our main supplier of raw materials is ______. In the event that this supplier fails to fulfill its obligations, we will use the services of another company _____. Components will be shipped ____.

Our production line will use equipment manufactured by ____. According to the contract, this manufacturing company will provide technical support, which will increase the efficiency of operations by ___%. Thanks to the use of new equipment, we will be able to reduce production costs by ___%.

In the production process, a patented technology will be used, which allows to further reduce the cost of one unit of production to ___ rubles.

____ is required for the purchase and maintenance of equipment. The owners of the enterprise plan to invest ____ of their own funds.

Qualification requirements and availability of necessary personnel

In the second part of the production plan, describe the staffing of the enterprise. Pay special attention to administrative, engineering and production personnel. Describe structure and composition of units, working conditions, remuneration and incentives. Consider staff development and training (if applicable).

If over time you plan to make changes in the structure of the company's personnel (as a rule, this is an increase in staff), then be sure to mention this in the production plan: give forecasts for the company's development for the next 2-3 years and write what specialists you will need in this regard in future.

For instance:

The company currently employs ___ people. The company has the following subdivisions/departments/work groups: ____. Administration includes ____. Their responsibilities include managing the enterprise, developing an overall strategy, ____. Production personnel includes ____. They are responsible for ____.

When setting salaries, we will use the company's job classification/follow industry standards/strive to be ___% above the regional average. The system of allowances and benefits will include bonuses, additional medical insurance, assistance in obtaining education and advanced training.

In connection with the expansion of the scope of the enterprise over the next 3 years, it is planned to hire ___ employees working on a part-time / freelance basis by this time.

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Is business planning always carried out at the initiative of an entrepreneur or investor in connection with the opening of a new business? Not always. Often the practice of preparing a business plan is integrated into the general context of managing a diversified company in the context of implementing a development strategy. This is done in most cases special unit within the financial department, not the project office. The development of a production plan in the business plan of business units or the entire company is a universal area of ​​​​planning activity. Consider its expanded context.

Main aspects of the production program

It is necessary to look directly at the difference in approaches to business planning in the cases of an external business project and internal planning of the activities of business units. The goals for these situations are different. This is especially true for the production plan. In the first case, the emphasis is on demonstrating to the customer and investor the availability of the project with production resources: equipment, personnel and material and technical resources. In the second case, the business owners and the general management of the company must be convinced that:

• the production program takes into account the required stocks of finished products and probable losses;
• capacities are used optimally, bottlenecks in them are embroidered;
• disproportions of internal production units are eliminated;
• cooperation between strategic business units (SBU) is effective;
• from the standpoint of marginal analysis and sales plan, a verified profitability of production is planned for each SEB.

Given the above, it should be remembered that the importance of such a section as a production plan when integrating business projects into the plans of a diversified company is higher than for a separate business. Under the strategic business unit, it is proposed to understand the direction of activity, in financial structure having the characteristics of CFD "profit" or "marginal profit". SEB is the carrier of a single business product or a whole range of products. In an ideal situation, SEB, being part of the company, nevertheless has the characteristics of a legal entity - a subsidiary.

In any case, the production plan is based on the program for the sale of products and (or) services. And the first aspect of this section is the forecast of production volumes, taking into account the necessary stock of finished products and losses. The volume of production of works, services, goods is determined through a certain set of indicators, the formulas of which are given at the end of the section.

1. Volume of products sold at planned prices. This volume includes products shipped to consumers that meet the conditions of quality standards, specifications, manufacturing technology and pre-sale preparation.
2. Commodity and gross output of the company. Commercial products (TP) are understood not only as manufactured products for external and internal consumption, but also works, services of a capital and industrial nature, semi-finished products that can be considered as a commodity. Gross output, in addition to commodity output, also includes a change in work in progress.
3. Unfinished production. This type should be understood as incompletely manufactured products that are at different stages of the production cycle and are not accepted as commercial products.
4. Value added, taken into account in the production plan as gross output, but minus material costs.

Formulas for calculating the planned sales volumes, TP and VP

Auxiliary calculations of production volumes

As you know, the production of industrial products is the most difficult type of business to plan and organize. This is especially evident when the production is multi-stage in nature, requiring a larger number of security and support measures (rigging, tooling, etc.). Product innovation also has an impact on planning processes.

Let us imagine an example of a medium-sized production enterprise operating in the oil and gas engineering industry, however, having several main and supporting industries. Let's ask ourselves a question: what else should be taken into account when developing a program for the production of such a complex product as an element of a pipeline and corresponding communications? Although many products for oil and gas customers are made exclusively to order, for serial products, a certain stock of products in the warehouse should always be included in the business plan. In addition, defect-free production simply cannot be.

Under the total volume of production, therefore, a stock of finished products (FP) should be laid down for a prompt response to applications from potential buyers and a reserve for losses. The size of the planned GP for reserves must be normalized. The reserve ratio is calculated based on the available statistics, the adopted marketing policy, taking into account the conditions of a particular project, the state of the market and the industry. When rationing, seasonal factors and standards for replacing defective products are taken into account.

The formula for calculating the adjusted production volume for the stock of HP and losses

Let's simplify our example to three commodity items. The normative values ​​of stocks of GP are usually formed as a percentage of the planned level of sales of products. In the same way, the standard of expected losses is formed (for marriage and replacement of products under other warranty conditions). Below is a table of estimated values ​​for production volumes, taking into account stocks and losses.

Example of Calculating Adjusted Production for FP Stock and Waste

In addition to the specified volume of output, the production plan also includes detailed information on the needs for the raw material component of production, semi-finished products, and components. Based on the identified needs in the dynamics of the business plan, a work plan is built with suppliers to ensure the purchase of components for the production process.

In addition to the composition of circulating goods and materials, fuels and lubricants and services in the field of energy supply for production, an important role is played by production capacities and production area. When planning, the optimization of the main parameters of the use of capacities and areas is carried out, which is based on the standard values ​​of the series key indicators. The formulas for such planning and optimization are given below.

Calculation formulas for preparing "bottlenecks" in planning for "expansion"
(click to enlarge)

Plan of production and capacity in interconnection

One of the elements of competent planning of the production program is the analysis and accounting in the calculation of the production capacity of the main and auxiliary divisions of the enterprise (workshops and industries). Only after that it is possible to design relationships with suppliers and achieve rhythm in the incoming flows of raw materials, components and equipment. In addition, in addition to issues of interaction with external partners, the implementation of the program can be severely limited by on-farm cooperation if the composition of capacities along the value added chain turns out to be unbalanced.

This point is important even if the enterprise has only a few production sites. And if the enterprise has 100 or more workshops (such giants operate in the country, for example, in metallurgy, in the automotive industry), this aspect of planning is critical. Of course, sales are the driving force behind business. Without them, production is powerless to lead the company to success, but the implementation plan is tied to the production potential of the enterprise, the criterion of which is its capacity.

In turn, the power parameter is based on three main indicators.

1. Static indicator of production capacity at the end of the billing period of the project (year), calculated by the balance method.
2. Average annual production capacity.
3. The coefficient of utilization of the production capacity of the enterprise.

Formulas for production capacity parameters when planning a production plan

Production units involved in the main business processes or auxiliary (providing) have a different degree of interfacing. For example, facilities, units and equipment of auxiliary workshops may not directly participate in the main value chain. Such productions (pilot, specialized areas, laboratories) do not participate in the calculation of production capacities for the purpose of determining the throughput of production. To calculate this production planning criterion, the contingency coefficient formula is used, which is presented to your attention below.

The formula for the contingency factor when calculating production capacity

There is another important question that usually always arises when developing a business plan in its production aspect. It's a matter of changing equipment. Here are hidden significant opportunities for increasing sales, based on the formed or formed market demand for products. At the same time, the more unique and expensive equipment is used, the higher the probability of using two-shift and even three-shift operation.

Beginning investment economists often make the same mistake. An idealized version is taken into consideration, which does not take into account: the need for GP reserves, its probable losses. Moreover, the loss of working time due to the development of equipment and technology is not taken into account. A new workforce, even trained and certified, makes mistakes at first, marriage occurs, newly installed equipment fails. All these circumstances must be included in the production plan. The adjustment of power parameters is facilitated by such an indicator as the shift ratio of equipment for an enterprise that has continuous process production.

Shift Factor Formula for Calculating Production Capacity

Our story about the production plan of the business plan of the level of the operating enterprise is coming to an end. The extensive question of marginal analysis localized to each product and planning activities regarding the search for the optimum profitability for the purposes of the project's success remained outside of attention. This is done by a whole sub-branch of financial management - profit and working capital management. I express confidence that we will cover this block of issues in a separate article.

Touching upon the issues of business planning, I cannot get rid of the feeling of déjà vu, because I remember Soviet technical and industrial financial plans. That's where the school of management was, not inferior to the most modern methods of business planning. It only lacked a market part, but the level of integration, multi-factor consideration of the nuances of technology, organization and economy was one of the best in the world, although the calculations were performed using archaic computers of the EU class today. The Russian school of business planning from the position of the best domestic traditions needs to be revived, which will inevitably happen in the next decade. For some reason, there is no doubt about it.

The production plan is an integral part of any business plan, which should describe all the production or other work processes of the company. Here it is necessary to consider all issues related to industrial premises, their location, equipment and personnel, as well as to pay attention to the planned involvement of subcontractors. It should be briefly explained how the system for the release of goods (provision of services) is organized and how production processes are controlled. It is also necessary to pay attention to the location of production facilities and the placement of tools, equipment and workplaces. This section should indicate delivery times and list the main suppliers; describes how quickly a firm can increase or decrease the output of goods or services. An important element The production plan is also a description of the firm's requirements for quality control at all stages of the production process.

The main task of this section of the business plan is to determine and justify the choice of a particular production process and equipment by the company.

It should be noted that industry specialized design companies are involved in the preparation of this section of the business plan, which is quite understandable, since the choice of technology and method of organizing the production process largely determines the effectiveness of any production project.

production system

Any organization has a production system, which receives various inputs (personnel, technology, capital, equipment, materials and information) and in which they are converted into goods or services (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Production system

Production planning

Production plans are usually classified by breadth (strategic and operational), time frame (short-term and long-term); nature (general and specific) and method of use (one-time and permanent) (Table 1).

Table 1. Types of production plans

If we talk about long-term strategic planning, then at this level decisions are made in four main areas: capacity utilization (how much a product will be produced or a service will be provided), production capacity location (where a product will be produced or a service will be provided), production process (what production methods and technologies will be used to produce a product or provide a service) and the placement of tools and equipment (how work centers and equipment will be located in enterprises). Having resolved these strategic questions for himself, the developer must also draw up and include in the production plan of his business plan the following three documents: a general (aggregate) plan (what is the general production plan for all types of goods or services offered by the company), the main work schedule (how many units of each type of product or service will have to be produced or provided by the company for a certain period of time) and a plan for the company's need for material resources (what materials and in what quantity the company will need to complete the main work schedule). These plans are called tactical.

Capacity utilization planning

Assume that ABC decides to produce lawn mowers. Through comprehensive market research and market analysis, she determines that the highest demand among consumers are middle-class tools. So the firm knows what it should produce. Next, she needs to determine in what quantity to produce the goods, i.e. how many lawnmowers of the selected model should be produced in a certain period of time. It is from this decision that other issues related to planning the utilization of production capacities will depend.

Capacity utilization planning is based on forecasts of future demand, which are translated into production volume requirements. For example, if ABV will produce lawn mowers of only one specific model, it plans to sell them for an average of 3,000 rubles. per piece and assumes that during the first year it will be able to reach a sales volume of 3 million rubles, which means that it will need production facilities to produce 1000 mowers per year (3000 x 1000 = 3,000,000 rubles). This is how the physical requirements for loading production capacities are determined. It is clear that if ABV produces several models of lawn mowers and some other equipment, then in this case the calculations will be more complicated.

If the company has been around for a long time, then the commercial forecast of future demand is compared with its actual production capacity, which allows you to determine whether it will need additional capacity for such demand. It should be noted that capacity utilization planning is an activity carried out not only by manufacturing firms, but also by service companies. For example, school administrators similarly determine the number of seats needed to support the educational process for the projected number of students, and fast food chain managers determine how many hamburgers they need to cook at rush hour.

Once the business forecast data for future demand is translated into capacity utilization requirements, the company then proceeds to develop other plans to meet those specific requirements. However, both the firm and the individuals to whom it presents its business plan should remember that plans for capacity utilization can subsequently change - both upwards and downwards. In the long run, these figures change quite significantly, because the firm acquires new equipment or sells its existing production facilities, but in the short run, the modifications should not be significant. The Company may introduce additional work shifts, change the amount of overtime, reduce the length of certain work shifts, temporarily suspend production, or engage third parties as subcontractors to perform certain operations. In addition, if the company's product can be stored for a long time, and especially if it is seasonal (as, for example, lawn mowers from ABC), it can create additional stock during periods of downturn in demand and sell them during periods of peak sales, i.e. at a time when its existing production capacity is not able to fully satisfy the demand for its goods.

Production capacity planning

If a firm plans to expand its production capacity in the future, in the section of the business plan we are describing, it should indicate what buildings and structures it will need to ensure a normal workflow. This activity is called capacity planning. The location of buildings and structures of any company, first of all, is determined by what factors most affect its overall production and distribution costs. These are factors such as the availability of qualified personnel, labor costs, the cost of electricity, the proximity of suppliers and consumers, etc. It should be noted that the importance and significance of these factors tend to vary depending on the business in which the company operates.

So, for example, many high-tech firms (which primarily need a large number of qualified technical specialists for normal functioning) are concentrated in large cities where there are universities and large research centers. On the other hand, many labour-intensive companies locate their manufacturing facilities overseas, usually in countries with low wages. For example, many software companies are actively establishing research and development centers in India, which has recently become famous for its specialists in this field, able to work with the same high productivity as their American and European counterparts, but at a significantly lower cost. . American tire manufacturers have traditionally built their operations in northern Ohio, which allows them to operate in close proximity to their main customers, the giant automakers in Detroit. In the case of service firms, customer convenience is usually the deciding factor, with the result that most large shopping centers located on major highways, and cafes and restaurants - on busy city streets.

What factors will be the most important for the company ABV from our example? Clearly, it will need skilled technicians who can design and build lawnmowers. In this case, the location of consumers also plays an equally important role, which means that it is best for it to locate its enterprises near large agricultural centers. After choosing a region, the firm will need to select a specific location and land.

Production process planning

During the planning of the production process, the company determines how its product or service will be produced. When drawing up a production process plan for inclusion in its business plan, a firm must carefully analyze and evaluate its existing production methods and technologies and select those that will most effectively contribute to achieving its specific production goals. When choosing any production process, both in the production and in the service sector, there are various options. For example, starting your journey in restaurant business, the company can choose between a quick service business; a fast food restaurant with a limited menu; shipping company ready meals or in the service of motorists; she can opt for a deluxe restaurant offering gourmet cuisine, and so on. When planning its production process, a firm must answer a number of key questions that will determine its final choice. What technology will it use: standard or personalized? To what extent will its production process be automated? What is more important for the company: efficiency or flexibility of the production system?

So, for example, ABC may well choose such a common and effective way of organizing the production process as assembly line, especially if it does not plan to produce lawn mowers according to special orders clients. But if a company is going to produce personalized products tailored to the specific wishes of consumers - which, admittedly, is becoming an increasingly common approach in both manufacturing and services - then it will, of course, need completely different technologies and production methods.

It should be noted that the planning of the production process is an extremely important and complex task. It is very difficult to determine the optimal combination of such indicators as the level of costs, quality, labor efficiency, etc., since there is a close relationship between them. This means that even a slight change in one component of the production process usually entails whole line changes in other components. It is because of this complexity that the task of planning production processes, as a rule, is assigned to highly qualified specialists in the production sector, whose activities are directly controlled by the top management of the company.

Equipment placement planning

The last strategic decision in the production section of the business plan is to evaluate and select the optimal placement of equipment, tools and work centers. This procedure is called equipment placement planning. The goal here is to physically locate equipment, tools, work centers and locations in a way that maximizes the efficiency of the manufacturing process while also making it easy for staff—and often customers—to use them.

Planning for equipment placement begins with an assessment of the physical space required for this. At this stage, the company must determine which production areas, tool and equipment storage rooms, warehouses, workshops, employee break rooms, offices, etc. she will need to ensure the normal production process. Then, based on the production plans it already has, the company can evaluate the various options for configuring and placing equipment in terms of its production efficiency. In this case, a variety of methods and tools help firms to develop a solution - from elementary scaled plans and maps to complex computer programs that allow you to process huge amounts of variables and print different options for layouts of machines, tools and other equipment.

There are three main approaches to the physical organization of the production process. In the scheme of the production process, all elements (work centers, equipment, departments) are arranged in production areas based on the similarity of the functions they perform. The second way to place equipment and jobs is a linear (or in-line) layout of equipment placement. In this case, the components of the production process are distributed in space in accordance with the successive stages of the production of goods. The third approach is the layout, due to the fixed position of the product. It is used in cases where, due to its impressive size or for some other reason, the manufactured product must remain in one place, in a fixed position throughout the entire production process, and materials, tools, equipment and personnel are delivered to it. Hangars in aircraft construction or shipyards in shipbuilding can serve as examples of such a layout.

Drawing up a general (aggregate) plan

Having decided on strategic issues, the company proceeds to adopt tactical decisions and above all - to the general, aggregate planning of their production activities and the production resources necessary for it. The result of this process is a document known as a general (aggregate) plan, which is drawn up for a certain period of time - usually for one year.

General (aggregate) planning allows the company to include in the business plan, as they say, the big picture. In drawing up a general (aggregate) plan, based on forecasts of future commercial demand and capacity utilization planning, the firm determines the levels of stocks, production rates and the number of personnel (per month) that it will need over the next year. It should be remembered that the main focus here is on the general concept of production, and not on specific details. Thus, in the course of aggregate planning, whole categories of goods are considered, and not their individual types. For example, in the general plan of a company specializing in the production of paints and varnishes, it will indicate how many liters of facade paint it will need to produce in a certain period, but it will not specify what colors and in what packaging it will be released. Such plans are especially important for large manufacturing enterprises, producing a large assortment goods. In a small firm with a single product (like ABC in our example), the overall plan will be more like a master schedule, except for a longer period (more on this in the next section). Thus, we can say that a correctly drawn up general (aggregate) plan reflects two main indicators of the company's activity: the optimal production rate and the total number of personnel that the company will need in each specific period within the framework of this plan.

Preparation of the main work schedule

The main work schedule is compiled on the basis of the general (aggregate) plan described above. We can say that this is a more detailed version of the aggregate plan. The main graph indicates the quantity and type of each type of product manufactured by the company; how, when and where they will be made the next day, next week, next month; it also includes information about the required labor force and the firm's inventory requirements (i.e., the totality of all stocks of the enterprise, including stocks of raw materials and materials, components and semi-finished products, work in progress and finished goods).

First of all, the main work schedule is drawn up in order to disaggregate the general (aggregate) plan, i.e. break it down into separate, detailed operating plans for each product or service the company offers. Subsequently, all these separate plans are combined into a common master schedule.

Material requirements planning

Having determined what types of goods or services it will produce or provide, the company must analyze each of them and determine as accurately as possible its needs for raw materials, materials, components, etc. Material requirements planning is an advanced planning concept that includes modeling elements and the ability to create different scenarios for the development of events depending on the situation. Using this concept, a firm can draw up an accurate schedule of its future requirements for the materials needed to produce its final products, expressing them in specific numerical terms. Thanks to the advent of the most sophisticated computer programs, modern managers have been able to analyze in detail all the specifications and technical characteristics of their goods and services, as well as accurately determine all the materials, raw materials and components necessary for their production or provision. This critical information, combined with computerized inventory data, allows managers to determine the quantity of each part in stock and therefore calculate how long the firm is stocked. After the company has decided on the lead time (i.e., the time between the confirmation of the order for materials and the receipt of these materials) and the requirements for buffer (reserve) stocks (we will talk about them later), all these data are entered into the computer, and they become the basis for providing the firm with the material resources it needs. Thus, thanks to the material requirements planning system, the firm has fairly reliable guarantees that all the materials it needs will be available and in the right quantity when they are needed in the production process.

The latest material requirements planning software is truly powerful in terms of production planning and scheduling. Thanks to him, managers, when making decisions about the allocation of resources of the company, can take into account various limiting and situational factors, such as equipment downtime, lack of labor resources, bottlenecks in the production process, shortage of important raw materials, etc.

Production planning tools

Next, we consider production planning tools that can significantly improve the efficiency of this process and present a truly clear and complete plan for its future production activities in its business plan.

If you observe the work of lower-level managers for several days, you can be sure that they are constantly discussing what work needs to be done by their subordinates, in what order, who exactly and what operations will be performed and by what date this or that work should be completed. . All this activity is united under one common name - time-based (calendar) planning. Below, we will look at the three main tools that managers use in this process: the Gantt chart, the load distribution chart, and the PERT network analysis.

Gantt Chart

This tool - the Gantt chart - was created in the early 1900s by Henry Gantt, an associate of the famous theorist and practitioner in the field of scientific management Frederick Taylor. In fact, the Gantt chart is a histogram on which time periods are plotted horizontally, and all types of work activities for which, in fact, a schedule is drawn up vertically. The columns display the planned and actual results of the production process for a certain period of time. Thus, the Gantt chart clearly shows which production tasks and when to be performed, and allows you to compare the planned result with the actual performance of the work. This is a fairly simple, but handy and useful tool that allows managers to determine fairly precisely what else needs to be done to complete a particular work order or project, and assess whether it is being done ahead of schedule, on schedule, or behind schedule. In the latter case, they should take steps to remedy the situation.

Load distribution scheme

The load distribution scheme is nothing more than a slightly modified Gantt chart. Unlike the Gantt chart, it does not indicate the types of work vertically, but departments or specific organizational resources. Thanks to this tool, firms can more effectively plan and control the use of the organization's production capacity.

PERT network analysis

However, it should be noted that the Gantt chart and the load distribution scheme are convenient if you need to control the execution of a relatively small number of tasks. different types jobs that are not related to each other. If a firm needs to plan a large-scale project - for example, aimed at a complete reorganization of one of its divisions, to reduce costs, or to develop a new type of product or service - then it will need to coordinate the actions of employees of various departments and services. Sometimes, hundreds or even thousands of activities have to be coordinated during the implementation of such projects, many of which must be carried out simultaneously, and others can be started only after the previous ones are completed. It is clear, for example, that during the construction of a building it is impossible to lay a roof without erecting walls. In such situations, managers use another tool known as PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) network analysis.

Network analysis PERT is a diagram that shows the sequence of all the work that must be performed within the project, as well as the time and cost of each of them. This method was developed in the late 1950s to coordinate the construction of the Polaris submarine, a project that involved more than three thousand different contractors. Through PERT network analysis, the project manager can determine what exactly needs to be done within the project and which events will depend on each other, as well as identify potential project problems. In addition, with the help of PERT, he can easily compare how one or another alternative action can affect the schedule of work and the cost of the project. As a result, thanks to the PERT network analysis, the manager, if necessary, can redistribute the resources available to his company, thereby preventing the project from deviating from the planned schedule.

In order to build network diagram PERT, you need to know and understand four important concepts: events, activities, downturn, and critical path. Events are endpoints that separate major activities from each other and indicate the completion of one and the beginning of the next. Activities are the time or resources required to move from one event to another. A slump period is a period of time during which the execution of a particular type of work can be slowed down without slowing down the entire project. The critical path is the longest or most time-consuming sequence of events and activities in the PERT network. Any delay in the completion of events on the critical path will invariably delay the completion of the project as a whole. In other words, activities on the critical path have a zero decay period.

In order to draw up a PERT network diagram, a manager needs to identify all the major activities needed to complete an upcoming project, arrange them in order of completion, and estimate how long it will take to complete each of them. This process can be represented in five steps.

1. Identify all significant activities to be performed to complete the project. During the execution of each of these types of work, certain events occur or certain results are achieved.

2. Determine the order of events that occurred in the previous stage.

3. Draw a diagram of the flow of work types from start to finish, identifying each type of work separately and its relationship with other types of work. Events in the diagram are indicated by circles, and activities by arrows; the result is a clear block diagram, which is called a PERT network (Fig. 2).

4. Estimate the time required to complete each type of work. This operation is performed through the use of the so-called weighted average. To obtain this indicator, an optimistic estimate of time, t 0 , is taken, i.e. assessment of the duration of the performance of a particular type of work in ideal conditions; the most probable time estimate, t m ​​, i.e. an estimate of the duration of this type of work under normal conditions; and a pessimistic time estimate, t p , i. e. an estimate of the duration of the work in the worst possible conditions. As a result, we have the following formula for calculating the expected time t e:

5.

6. Using a network diagram that estimates the completion time for each type of work within the project, plan the start and end dates for each type of work and the project as a whole.

Rice. 2. PERT network diagram example

As we said above, a tool such as PERT network analysis is usually used to plan very complex projects consisting of hundreds or even thousands of events. Therefore, the calculations in this case are performed using computer technology using special software.

Production planning methods

Modern managers have to solve a very difficult task - to plan the activities of their organizations in a complex and extremely dynamic external environment. For its solution, well-established: project management and scenario-based planning. Both methods have the same primary goal - to increase the flexibility of the company, without which it is impossible to succeed in today's ever-changing business world.

Project Management

Today, many manufacturing firms work on a project basis. A project is a series of interrelated activities that has clear start and end points. Projects vary in importance and scope; it can be as much as a project to launch a spacecraft, or to organize a sporting event at the local level. Why are companies increasingly organizing and planning their activities around projects? The fact is that this approach is best suited to a dynamic external environment that requires modern organizations to have increased flexibility and the ability to quickly respond to any changes in the situation. Modern firms implement unusual and even truly unique production projects related to solving a huge number of complex interrelated tasks, the implementation of which requires specific skills and qualifications. All this absolutely does not fit into the standard production planning procedures that a company can use in its routine, daily activities. What are the features of project planning?

Project planning process

During a typical project, work is carried out by a dedicated project team whose members are assigned to work on the project on a temporary basis. All of them report to the project manager, who coordinates their work in cooperation with other departments and divisions. However, since any project is a temporary event, the project team exists only until such time as it completes its tasks. The group is then disbanded, and its members are transferred to work on other projects, or they return to the departments where they work full-time, or leave the company.

The planning process of any project, including production, includes a number of stages. It starts with a clear definition of the goals of the project. This stage is mandatory, because the manager and team members must clearly know what they need to achieve by the time the project is completed. Then it is necessary to determine all types of work to be performed within the framework of the project, and the resources required for this. In other words, at this stage it is necessary to answer the following question: what labor and material costs will be required to implement this project? This stage is often associated with certain difficulties and requires considerable time, especially if the project is fundamentally new or even unique, i.e. when the company has no experience in implementing projects of this type.

After determining the types of work, it is necessary to determine the sequence of their implementation and the relationship between them. What needs to be done first? What jobs can be done at the same time? In this case, the production project planner can use any of the production planning tools described earlier: a Gantt chart, a workload distribution chart, or a PERT network diagram.

Then a project implementation schedule should be drawn up. The first step is to preliminarily estimate the deadline for each work, and on the basis of this estimate, a general project schedule is drawn up and the exact date of its completion is determined. After that, the project schedule is compared with the previously set goals and the necessary changes and adjustments are made. If it turns out that the project timeline is too long—which is not in line with the company's goals for the project—the manager can allocate additional resources to the most important activities to speed up the timeline for the entire project.

With the advent of many kinds of computer programs running on the Internet, the procedure for planning and managing production projects has been greatly simplified. It should also be noted that often suppliers of the company and even its consumers take an active part in this activity.

Scenario planning

A scenario is a forecast of the probable future development of events, which is characterized by a certain sequence of these events. In this case, it is estimated how this or that development of events will affect the environment in which the company operates, the company itself, the actions of its competitors, etc. Different assumptions can lead to different conclusions. The purpose of such an analysis is not to try to predict the future, but to clarify the situation as much as possible and make it as definite as possible, “losing” possible scenarios for the development of events, taking into account different initial conditions. Even the scripting process itself forces company leaders to rethink and better understand the nature of the business environment, because in the course of this activity they consider it from a perspective that they might never have.

Although scenario planning is a very useful way to predict future events (which can be predicted in principle), it is clear that it is very difficult to predict random, arbitrary events. For example, hardly anyone could have predicted such a rapid spread and incredible popularity of the Internet in recent decades. Similar events will undoubtedly occur in the future. And although it is extremely difficult to predict them and correctly respond to them, managers need to strive to somehow protect their organizations from their consequences. This goal is served by scenario planning, including in the manufacturing sector.

Production control

An important element of the production plan in any business plan is a description of how the firm intends to exercise control over its production system, in particular over its elements such as costs, purchases, maintenance and quality.

Cost control

It is believed that American managers often treat cost control as a kind of corporate " crusade which is undertaken and conducted from time to time under the guidance of the firm's accounting department. It is the accountants who set the cost per unit of output, and managers must find an explanation for any deviation. Have the company's costs increased? Perhaps the labor force is not being used effectively enough? Perhaps, in order to reduce the amount of marriage and waste, it is necessary to improve the skills of workers? However, most specialists are now convinced that cost control should play a major role already at the stage of developing and planning the organization's production system, and that all managers of the company, without exception, should constantly engage in this activity.

Currently, many organizations are actively using the cost control approach based on the so-called cost centers. These are responsibility centers for which separate cost accounting is maintained, but which are not directly related to making a profit; the effectiveness of the activities of such units is determined based on the correspondence of actual costs to the planned or standard volume.

Since all costs must be controlled at a certain organizational level, the company must clearly define at what level certain costs are controlled, and require the company's managers to report on those costs that fall within their sphere of competence.

Procurement control

In order to effectively and efficiently produce certain goods and provide services, the company must be constantly provided with all the necessary resources, including materials. She needs to constantly monitor the discipline of deliveries, monitor the characteristics of goods, their quality, quantity, as well as prices offered by suppliers. Effective control over procurement not only ensures that all the resources the company needs in the right amount, but also their proper quality, as well as reliable long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers. All these points should be reflected in the production section of the business plan.

So what can a company do to make it easier and more efficient to control inputs? Firstly, to collect the most complete and accurate information about the dates and conditions of delivery. Secondly, to collect data on the quality of supplies and how they correspond to the company's production processes. And, thirdly, to obtain data on the prices of suppliers, in particular, on the correspondence of actual prices to the prices that were indicated by them when placing an order.

All of this information is used to rank and identify unreliable suppliers, allowing the firm to select the best partners in the future and monitor various trends. So, suppliers can be evaluated, for example, by the speed of their response to changes in demand, by the quality of service, the level of reliability and competitiveness. We will discuss supplier relationships in more detail in the next section.

Supplier control

Modern manufacturers strive to form strong partnerships with suppliers. Instead of dealing with dozens of sellers who will certainly compete with each other for a customer, manufacturers today often choose two or three suppliers and establish close relationships with them, ultimately increasing both the quality of the products supplied and the effectiveness of this cooperation.

Some firms send their design engineers and other specialists to their suppliers to solve all sorts of technical problems; others regularly dispatch teams of inspectors to supplier sites to evaluate various aspects of their operations, including supply methods, manufacturing processes, statistical controls that suppliers use to identify defects and their causes, and so on. In other words, today companies in all countries are doing what they have traditionally always done in Japan - they seek to establish long-term relationships with their suppliers. Suppliers partnering with a manufacturing company are able to provide higher quality inputs and reduce reject rates and costs. If there are any problems with suppliers, open and direct communication channels allow them to be resolved quickly and efficiently.

Inventory control

In order to effectively and efficiently achieve its goals, any company must control the replenishment of its inventory. To do this, a reorder system is used when a certain stock level is reached.

This type of reordering system is used to minimize the ongoing cost of inventory and to provide a good level of customer service (because it reduces the chance that the right item will be out of stock at some point).

Using various statistical procedures, companies typically set the reorder point at a level that guarantees that they have enough inventory to last between the reorder and fulfillment. At the same time, they usually retain some additional "safety net" stock, which allows them to avoid the complete depletion of the stock in unforeseen circumstances. This so-called "buffer" or reserve provides the company with reliable protection if a greater than usual demand for a product or material arises between the reorder and its fulfillment, or if replenishment of the stock is delayed for unforeseen reasons.

One of the simplest yet very effective ways to use the reorder system when a certain inventory level is reached is to store traceable inventory in two different containers. At the same time, goods or materials are taken from one container until it is empty. At this moment, a reorder is made, and before it is completed, the products are taken from the second container. If the company has correctly identified the demand, then the reordered goods will arrive before the second container is empty, and there will be no delay.

The second modern and already very common method of reordering upon reaching a certain level of stock is based on computer control. In this case, all sales are automatically recorded by a central computer that is programmed to initiate a new order procedure when stock reaches a certain critical level. Currently, many retail stores are actively using such systems. Another fairly common system is the reorder system after a certain time interval. In this case, inventory control is carried out solely on the basis of a well-defined time factor.

Maintenance control

The production section of the business plan should also indicate how the firm will monitor the effectiveness of maintenance. In order to provide consumers with goods or services quickly and efficiently, a company must create a production system that guarantees the most efficient use of equipment and its minimum downtime. Therefore, managers, among other things, must constantly monitor the quality of maintenance. The significance and importance of this activity depends to a large extent on the production technologies used by the company. So, for example, even a minor glitch in a standard assembly line can bring down hundreds of workers.

There are three main types of maintenance in manufacturing organizations. Preventive maintenance is carried out before the accident. Restorative repair requires a complete or partial replacement of the mechanism or its repair on the spot immediately after the breakdown. A conditional repair is a major overhaul or replacement of parts based on the results of an earlier technical inspection.

It should be noted that the need for maintenance control should be taken into account already at the design stage of the equipment. So, if a failure or downtime of equipment leads to serious problems in the production system or costs the company too much, then it can increase the reliability of mechanisms, machine tools and other tools by adding additional characteristics to the equipment design. In computer systems, for example, redundant, redundant subsystems are often introduced for this purpose. In addition, equipment may be designed from the outset to make future maintenance easier and cheaper. It should be borne in mind that the fewer components are included in the equipment, the less breakdowns and malfunctions occur. In addition, it is advisable to place parts that often fail in an easily accessible place or even mount them in separate units that can be quickly removed and replaced in the event of a breakdown.

Quality control

Quality control is a comprehensive, customer-focused program aimed at continually improving the quality of a company's manufacturing processes and the products or services it provides. The production section of the business plan should indicate how the firm will implement quality control.

This activity involves constantly monitoring the quality of products so that they consistently meet the established standard. Quality control must be performed several times, starting with the initial entry of inputs into the firm's production system. And this activity should continue throughout the entire production process and end with the control of finished goods or services at the output of the production system. This procedure also provides for quality assessment at intermediate stages of the transformation process; it is clear that the sooner you identify a marriage, or an inefficient, or an extra element of the production process, the lower your costs for correcting the situation will be.

Before performing quality control, managers must ask themselves whether 100% of the goods (or services) produced should be tested, or whether samples can be dispensed with. The first test option is appropriate if the cost of permanent evaluation is very low, or if the consequences of statistical error are extremely serious (for example, if a company manufactures complex medical equipment). Statistical sampling is cheaper and sometimes the only quality control option that makes economic sense.

Selective control upon acceptance consists in the evaluation of materials or goods purchased or manufactured by the company; it is one of the forms of proactive control or control based on feedback. In this case, a certain sample is made, after which the decision on whether to accept or reject the entire lot is made based on the results of the analysis of this sample, based on a risk assessment.

Process control is a procedure in which sampling is carried out in the process of converting inputs into goods or services, thereby determining whether the production process itself has gone out of control. With this type of control, statistical tests are often used, with the help of which different stages the production process is determined by how much the deviations have gone beyond the acceptable level of quality. Since no production process can be considered perfect and some minor deviations are simply inevitable, such tests allow the company to identify serious problems in time, i.e. quality issues that companies need to address immediately.

Production control tools

It is obvious that the success of any organization is largely due to its ability to efficiently and effectively produce goods or provide services. This ability can be assessed using a number of production control methods.

Production control, as a rule, consists in monitoring the production activities of an organization or a separate unit in order to ensure its compliance with a previously drawn up schedule. Production control is used to determine the ability of suppliers to provide the appropriate quality and quantity of supplies at the lowest cost, as well as to monitor the quality of manufactured products to ensure they meet established standards and to check the condition of production equipment. We have already discussed the basic aspects of manufacturing operations control, but the two most important manufacturing control tools—the TQM control chart and the economic order quantity model—deserve a closer look.

TQM Control Charts

It should be remembered that effective quality control, which we talked about above, is not only aimed at producing quality products or providing quality services. To ensure the high quality of both the products themselves and the processes by which they are produced, companies must control all aspects of their production system. Modern firms accomplish this task with a tool known as the TQM control chart.

The TQM control chart is an effective production control tool. In essence, it is a graph that indicates the statistically determined upper and lower control limits and displays the results of measurements for the reporting period. Control charts clearly show whether the production process has gone beyond the pre-set control limits for it. As long as the results of checks at different stages of the production process are within a certain acceptable range, the system is considered to be under control (Fig. 3). If the measurement results are outside the established limits, then the deviations are considered unacceptable. Ongoing quality improvement efforts should narrow the range between upper and lower control limits over time as they eliminate the most common causes deviations.

Rice. 3. Example of a control chart

When drawing up such a schedule, it is necessary first of all to take into account that in each production process there can be two sources of deviations. The first of these is unpredictability, due to which corresponding deviations can occur. Such deviations are possible in any process, and it is impossible to control them without fundamental changes in the process itself. Another source is non-random circumstances. Such deviations can be identified, and they are subject to control. It is clear that control charts are used to identify precisely such causes of deviations.

Control plots are based on some basic statistical concepts, including the well-known normal distribution (which states that deviations tend to be distributed in a bell-shaped curve) and standard deviation (a measure of variability in a group of numbers). When drawing up a control chart, the upper and lower limits are determined by the degree of deviation that is considered acceptable. According to the law of normal distribution, about 68% of the set of values ​​are in the range from +1 to -1 of the standard deviation indicator. (As the sample size increases, the sampling distribution tends to become more and more normal.) With 95% of the values ​​lying between +2 and -2 of the standard deviation. In the process of controlling manufacturing operations, limits are usually set in the range of three standard deviations; this means that 97.5% of the values ​​must lie within the control range (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Example of a control plot with a control range of three standard deviations

If the sample mean is outside the control range, i.e. is above its upper limit or below its lower limit, this means that the production process, apparently, is out of control and the company needs to do everything possible to identify the causes of the problem.

Model EOQ

We have already said that the control of the firm's inventory is the most important aspect of production control. Firms' investment in these reserves is usually significant; therefore, each organization strives to determine as precisely as possible how much to order new goods and materials and how often this should be done. The so-called EOQ model helps them in this.

The Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model is designed to determine the quantity of items that should be ordered to meet projected demand and minimize the cost of holding and acquiring inventory.

Using the EOQ model, two types of costs are minimized - order fulfillment and operating costs. As the volume of orders increases, the average number of inventories increases, and the current costs of their maintenance grow accordingly. However, placing large orders means fewer orders, and therefore a reduction in the cost of fulfilling them. The lowest total costs and, accordingly, the most economical order size are observed at the bottom of the total cost curve. This point, at which order fulfillment costs and running costs are equal, is called the most economical order size point. To calculate this indicator, the following data is needed: the forecasted need for stocks for a certain future period (D); the cost of placing one order (OS); costs or purchase price (V) and current costs associated with the storage and processing of the entire volume of inventory, in percent (CC). With all this data, you can use the standard EOQ formula:

However, it should be remembered that the use of the EOQ model assumes that the need and lead time of the order are precisely known and constant. Otherwise, it should not be used. So, for example, it is generally not applicable to determining the order volumes of parts used in the production process, since they, as a rule, come from the warehouse in large and uneven lots. But does this mean that the EOQ model is useless for manufacturing firms? Not at all. It can be used to determine the optimal cost and identify the need to change the size of the order lot. Although, it should be recognized that more complex models are used to determine the size of lots in conditions of intermittent needs and in other non-standard situations.

Modern aspects of production

When preparing the production section of a business plan, it is important to keep in mind the modern realities of the production sector. Today, companies face many of the most difficult tasks associated with increasing productivity. They should strive to maximize the benefits of new technologies, implement the described concept of TQM; certify their products by obtaining ISO certificate 9000; constantly reduce inventories; build partnerships with suppliers; achieve a competitive advantage through flexibility and quick response to changes in demand, etc. Therefore, the firm should reflect in its business plan how all these tasks will be performed.

Technologies

Ever-increasing competition in most markets is forcing manufacturers to provide consumers with ever higher quality products at ever lower prices, while significantly reducing time to market. Two factors contribute to accelerating the process of developing new types of products: the company's focus on shortening the development cycle and the effectiveness of investments in new technologies.

One of the most effective tools by which modern manufacturers reduce the time to bring new products and services to the market is the integrated automation of production (Computer Integrated Manufacturing - CIM). CIM is the result of combining a company's strategic business plan and production plan with computer software. Technology is at its core computer-aided design(Computer-Aided Design - CAD) and automated production (Computer-Aided Manufacturing - CAM). As a result of the emergence and wide distribution of all kinds of automation tools, the old way of developing products is hopelessly outdated. With the help of computer technology that allows visual display of graphic objects, design engineers design new products much faster and more efficiently than before. Automated production made possible by the use of computers in the management of the production process. So, numerically controlled machines can be programmed to produce new models in just a matter of seconds.

According to experts, further improvement of CIM technology will ensure the continuity of the entire production cycle. If each stage, from placing an order for raw materials to shipping finished products, can be displayed in the form of numerical indicators and processed on a computer, companies will be able to react very quickly to any changes in the market. They can make hundreds of changes to a project in a matter of hours, quickly scale to a wide range of product variations, and produce very small batches. An organization that uses integrated manufacturing automation will not have to stop the assembly line and spend valuable time replacing press dies or other equipment to produce a new standard or non-standard product. One change in the computer program, which takes a few seconds, and the production process is completely rebuilt.

The most important condition for effective work modern companies is the continuous updating of the technology by which the input stream of raw materials is converted into a stream of finished products. Major technological changes usually involve the automation of production, which we discussed above, as well as the introduction of new equipment, tools or work methods and computerization.

However, by all appearances, the most significant technological change in last years became a general computerization. Most organizations today have developed sophisticated Information Systems. For example, in many retail chains scanners connected to computers are used, with the help of which you can instantly get complete information about the product you are interested in (its price, code, etc.). And of course, today you will not find a single office that does not use computer technology.

Implementation of TQM

At present, the TQM philosophy has already been implemented by many companies. The idea of ​​total quality management covers not only large, but also small firms and enterprises. TQM (total quality management) is a concept that involves the participation of all company employees in improving the quality of products and services, optimizing production processes and management, etc.

Unfortunately, it must be admitted that not all efforts aimed at implementing the concepts of TQM have been successful. Research in this area does not confirm that firms that have implemented TQM consistently perform better than firms that have not. There are a number of factors that can significantly reduce the effectiveness of TQM. In particular, the researchers found that the success of applying some of the core concepts of TQM—such as using teams, benchmarking, additional training, and employee empowerment—is highly dependent on the company's current performance.

From a technological perspective, the TQM concept focuses on the development of flexible processes that are designed to support continuous quality improvement. The fact is that employees who have adopted the TQM philosophy are constantly looking for what can be improved or corrected, so work processes should easily adapt to constant changes. In this regard, for the successful implementation of the TQM program, the company must constantly improve the skills of its staff. It needs to provide its employees with the opportunity to acquire and develop skills in areas such as problem solving, decision making, negotiation, statistical analysis, and teamwork. Employees of these companies should be able to analyze and interpret data, and firms should provide their work teams with all the necessary information about the quality of their products, in particular, damage rates, rejects, waste, etc. They must also inform staff about the opinions of consumers, provide them with the information necessary for the preparation of control schedules and work with them. And, of course, the structure of the organization must provide the work teams with sufficient authority to continuously improve manufacturing operations.

Reengineering

Reengineering is a term for a radical change in all or part of the company's work processes in order to increase productivity and improve financial indicators. In the process of reengineering, the structure, technologies and personnel of the company undergo major changes, since in this case the methods of doing work in the organization are revised almost from scratch. During reengineering, managers constantly ask questions: “How else can this process be improved?” or “What is the best way to complete this work task faster and better?” etc.

Whether the need for change is driven by fluctuations in demand, changing economic conditions, or a change in the organization's strategic direction, a person who decides to reengineer must first evaluate the performance of people and the quality of interaction between people within the organization. After a critical assessment of work processes, the company begins to look for ways to improve labor productivity and product quality: start implementing a TQM program, change organizational culture or implement other changes. However, in any case, the essence of reengineering is that the company completely abandons the old ways of working and decides to radically change its workflow.

You may be wondering: Isn't the term "reengineering" synonymous with TQM? In no case! Although both of these processes are aimed at introducing changes in the organization, their goals and means are completely different. The TQM program is based on the idea of ​​continuous, incremental change. This means continual improvement in the performance of an organization that is generally doing well. In addition, TQM is implemented from the bottom up, and the main emphasis is on the participation of employees in decision-making regarding the planning and implementation of this program. And reengineering is a radical change in the way an organization operates. This process involves fundamental changes and a complete restructuring of working methods. Reengineering activities are initiated by the top management of the firm, but when this process is completed, almost all employees are usually given greater authority in their workplaces.

A characteristic feature of reengineering is that you have to start from scratch and rethink and rebuild the entire scheme of work, i.e. structure of all work processes. Traditional, well-known ways and methods are immediately excluded. In other words, the company completely abandons the gradual transformation of the production system, as the ways and methods by which the company will produce goods or provide services are radically changed. Completely new workflows and operations are being invented and implemented. In reengineering, what was before should by no means even serve as a starting point, because reengineering is a radical, fundamental change in the very foundations of an organization. Despite the significant stress and increased uncertainty of the staff, which usually accompany the process of reengineering, it is capable of producing excellent results.

ISO standards

In order to openly and clearly demonstrate our commitment to quality improvement, modern organizations trying to get ISO certification. What is its essence? These are quality management standards that companies around the world are guided by. They cover literally everything: from the rules for drawing up a contract to the development of products and their supply. ISO standards set by the International Organization for Standardization and used as an international benchmark for comparing firms operating in global market. The fact that the company has a certificate indicates that it has developed and implemented an effective quality management system.

Quality certificates are now awarded to small sales and consulting companies, software firms, city utilities, and even some financial and educational institutions.

However, it should be remembered that although the certificate provides the company with a lot of advantages and significantly strengthens its competitive position, main goal companies should be the process of improving the quality of its products or services. In other words, obtaining a certificate should not be an end in itself; To achieve this, a company must create workflows and a production system that will enable all of its employees to perform their jobs with consistently high quality.

Inventory reduction

As we have said, a very significant part of the assets of most companies is its inventories. Firms that manage to substantially reduce their inventory levels—i.e. raw materials, semi-finished products and finished goods in stock, can significantly reduce their storage costs and thus increase their productivity. How the firm intends to solve this problem should also be reflected in the production section of the business plan.

Modern companies take this problem very seriously. In recent years, managers in all countries have been actively looking for ways to improve the efficiency of inventory management. Thus, at the input stage, they seek to improve the informative link between internal production schedules and projected customer demand. Increasingly, marketing managers are required to have accurate and up-to-date information about future sales volumes, which is then combined with specific data about the company's production systems and as a result determines the optimal production volume that can satisfy existing demand. Production resource planning systems are the best suited to perform this function.

Today, companies around the world are actively experimenting with another technique that has been successfully used in Japan for a long time and is called the Just-In-Time (JIT) system. Under this system, goods and materials are delivered to the manufacturer at the exact moment they are needed in the production process, rather than stored in a warehouse. The ultimate goal of implementing a JIT system is to completely get rid of raw material warehouses through the most precise coordination of the production process and the supply process. If such a system works effectively, it provides the manufacturer with significant benefits: reduced inventory, reduced equipment setup time, accelerated product cycle through the conversion processes, reduced production time, freed up production space, and often even improved product quality. Of course, in order to achieve all this, it is necessary to find suppliers who will supply quality materials on time.

However, it should be borne in mind that not every manufacturer can use the JIT system. So, for its implementation, it is necessary that suppliers are located close to the enterprises of the buyer and supply materials without defects. This system also requires reliable transport links between suppliers and the manufacturer, efficient methods for receiving, processing and distributing materials, and careful planning of the production process. If all these conditions are met, JIT will help to significantly reduce the company's warehouse costs.

Outsourcing and other types of partnerships with suppliers

The manufacturing section of the business plan should also indicate how the company intends to work with suppliers and improve the efficiency of this process. As already mentioned, one of the most important trends in the manufacturing sector in recent years has been a steady trend towards the formation of partnerships between manufacturers and suppliers. It should be noted that, among other things, this often involves the transfer of work, when manufacturers, in an effort to reduce high labor costs, transfer the production process of some parts and components to their suppliers, who can manufacture them at a lower cost. This relationship is called outsourcing.

Today, alliances between manufacturers and suppliers have become much closer and stronger. Suppliers are increasingly involved in the manufacturing process of a product manufacturer. Many operations that used to be exclusively the responsibility of manufacturers are now performed by their main suppliers, i.e. there is a transfer of part of the work to third-party performers. At the same time, manufacturers increasingly play the role of "conductors" and limit themselves to only coordinating the activities of different suppliers. According to experts, the trend towards strong and close partnerships between suppliers and manufacturers will continue in the future, as the latter are constantly looking for new sources of competitive advantage in the global market, and one of these sources is close relationships with suppliers.

Flexibility as a competitive advantage

In today's rapidly changing business world, companies that are unable to quickly adapt to change are doomed to fail. Since this ability is provided by the flexibility of the manufacturing process, many organizations are actively developing and implementing flexible manufacturing systems.

Modern factories and factories often resemble scenes from a science fiction movie in which remote-controlled carts transport workpieces to computerized machining centers. Robots automatically change the position of workpieces, and the machine, manipulating hundreds of tools, turns the workpiece into a finished part. Every minute and a half, a finished product leaves the assembly line, somewhat different from the previous ones. There are no workers or conventional machines in the shop. No costly downtime required to change dies or tooling. One modern machine is capable of producing dozens and even hundreds of very different parts, making them in any programmed order.

A unique feature of agile manufacturing systems is the integration of computer-aided design, engineering and production processes, enabling factories to produce small, custom batches at prices previously only possible with mass production.

As a result of the use of flexible manufacturing systems, economies of scale are being replaced by economies of breadth. Organizations no longer need to produce thousands of identical products to keep their unit costs down. To move on to the release of a new product, they need not change the machines and equipment, but only make changes to the computer program.

Speed ​​as a competitive advantage

It is known that a company that is able to quickly develop and bring new products and services to the market provides itself with significant competitive advantage. Consumers prefer a particular firm, not only because its products or services are cheaper, have an original design, or are of high quality, but often because they highly value the opportunity to get them as soon as possible. There are many examples of companies that have achieved significant success in reducing the time it takes to design and produce goods and services. To speed up the production process and increase the pressure on competitors, many organizations around the world are seeking to reduce bureaucratic restrictions and simplify their organizational structures; they create complex working groups, restructure the sales structure, use JIT methods, CIM systems, flexible manufacturing systems, etc. And all this needs to be reflected in the production plan, indicating what opportunities you have at your disposal to accelerate the cycle of bringing new products or services to the market.

Activity planning analysis production unit enterprises on the example of OJSC "Amur Cable Plant"

Brief description of the enterprise JSC "Amur Cable Plant"

open joint-stock company"Amur Cable Plant" registered on August 12, 1992 by Decree N 526/7 of the Head of the Leninsky District Administration of Khabarovsk (registration number 1241.368.401.1197).

OJSC "Amur Cable Plant" specializes in the development, production, service, maintenance of automation and control equipment technological processes in process control systems, industrial control devices, incl. of heat flow meters, and is characterized as a mechanical assembly type enterprise with a multi-product small-scale-batch production that produces electric actuators and instrumentation. Manufactured products, in general, are particularly complex with a duration of the production cycle within one month. The range of component parts is about 5 thousand items, materials - 8 thousand items, parts and assemblies own production- about 30 thousand positions.

The organizational structure of the Company includes functional blocks:

• - production, including workshops of main and auxiliary production, technical services, capital construction department (OCS), department of automated systems and control processes (UASPU). The leadership of the block is the responsibility of the vice president;
• - marketing - includes the marketing department and the shipping department. Based on market research and marketing analysis, he forms a promising assortment policy: develops trade and commercial activities. The block is managed by the assistant to the general director - the head of the marketing department;
• - financial, including financial and economic services, conducting operational accounting and reporting of the Company;
• - engineering center (EC) - carries out activities in the field of research: development and marketing work to create competitive (including new) products in accordance with the technical policy of the Company, the EC is headed by the director of the center, is an independent self-supporting unit with bank account.

Subdivisions with the status of the Central Federal District independently carry out production and economic activities, the distribution of self-supporting income, the hiring and dismissal of personnel (except for the head).

Electroplating and paint coating shop No. 4 - specializes in electroplating (zinc plating, nickel plating, oxidation, etc.) and painting parts.

Foundry No. 7 - specializes in injection molding from silumin and plastics.

The structure of the plant currently provides for the presence of auxiliary shops and maintenance services.

Tool Shop No. 20 - specializes in the manufacture of dies, casting molds, fixtures, auxiliary and cutting tools.

The Electromechanical Department (EMO) performs overhaul, medium repairs of the mechanical, energy part of the enterprise equipment, maintenance of energy facilities.

Maintenance services - include warehousing, BC warehouses, transport shop.

The form of relations between the production structure (assembly, procurement and auxiliary shops) is based on the rental form, i.e. full independence in the organization of labor, remuneration, recruitment and financial responsibility.

The enterprise has adopted a complete-node system of operational production planning. The units corresponding to subclasses 2, 3, 4 according to the unified classifier of products are accepted as a planning and accounting unit.

Making a profit, successful development, minimizing risks are the main goals of any company. These goals can be achieved through planning, which allows you to:

• foresee the prospect of development in the future;
• more rational use of all company resources;
• avoid bankruptcy;
• improve control in the company;
• increase the ability to provide the company with the necessary information.

The planning process can be divided into three stages:

1. Establish quantitative indicators for the goals that the company must achieve.

2. Determination of the main actions that need to be carried out to achieve the goals, taking into account the impact of external and internal factors.

3. Development of a flexible planning system that ensures the achievement of the set goals.

PRINCIPLES AND TYPES OF PLANNING

Any plan, including production, must be based on certain principles. Under the principles understand the basic theoretical provisions that guide the enterprise and its employees in the planning process.

1. Continuity principle implies that the planning process is carried out continuously throughout the entire period of the enterprise.
2. The principle of necessity means the mandatory application of plans in the performance of any type of labor activity.
3. Unity principle states that planning at the enterprise should be systemic. The concept of a system implies the relationship between its elements, the existence of a single direction for the development of these elements, focused on common goals. In this case, it is assumed that the unified master plan of the enterprise is consistent with the individual plans of its services and divisions.
4. Economy principle. Plans should provide for such a way to achieve the goal, which is associated with the maximum effect obtained. The cost of drawing up the plan should not exceed the expected income (the implemented plan must pay off).
5. Principle of Flexibility provides the planning system with the opportunity to change its direction due to changes in the internal or external nature (fluctuations in demand, changes in prices, tariffs).
6. The principle of precision. The plan should be drawn up with such a degree of accuracy as is acceptable for solving the problems that arise.
7. Participation principle. Each division of the enterprise becomes a participant in the planning process, regardless of the function performed.
8. The principle of focusing on the final result. All links of the enterprise have a single ultimate goal, the implementation of which is a priority.

Depending on the content of the goals and objectives set, planning can be divided into the following types (Table 1).

Table 1. Types of planning
Classification sign	Types of planning	Characteristic
On the basis of scheduling	Directive	It is a decision-making process that is binding on planning objects
	indicator	Is executive in nature and is not binding
	strategic	Determines the main directions for the development of the enterprise in the long term (from two years or more)
	tactical	Defines activities aimed at expanding production, improving product quality, developing new directions for development or launching new products
	operational-calendar	Defines the sequence of actions when accepting management decisions in short periods of time
By duration planning period	Long term	Covers a period of more than five years
	medium term	Two to five years
	Short term	Year, quarter, month
By the degree of coverage of objects	General plan of the enterprise	Developed for the enterprise as a whole
	Plans of objects (individual subdivisions)	Developed for each structural unit
	Process plans	It is developed for each process of economic activity: production, marketing, procurement, etc.

PRODUCTION PLANNING

Production plans are an important component of the entire planning system at the enterprise, so let's talk about the development of production plans in more detail. Consider a production planning system consisting of four main links:

• strategic production plan;
• tactical production plan;
• manufacturing program;
• production schedule.

The primary goal of production planning is define production standards to meet the needs of buyers, customers or consumers of the company's products.

When drawing up a production plan, four key questions should be taken into account:

1. What, how much and when should be produced?

2. What is needed for this?

3. What production capacity and resources does the company have?

4. What additional costs will be required to organize the release and sale of products in the quantity necessary to meet demand?

These are questions of priority and performance.

Priority- this is what you need, how much and at what point in time. Priorities are set by the market. Productivity is the ability of production to produce goods, perform work, and provide services. Performance depends on the resources of the organization (hardware, work force and financial resources), as well as the ability to timely receive paid materials, works, services from suppliers.

In the short term, productivity (production capacity) is the amount of work performed in a certain period of time with the help of labor and equipment.

The production plan reflects:

• the range and volume of manufactured products in physical and value terms;
• the desired level of inventories to reduce the risk of stopping production due to a lack of raw materials and supplies;
• calendar plan for the release of finished products;
• manufacturing program;
• the need for raw materials and materials;
• the cost of manufactured products;
• unit cost of production;
• marginal profit.

STRATEGY AND TACTICS IN PRODUCTION PLANNING

Strategic production plan associated with the overall development strategy of the enterprise, sales and purchase plans, output volume, planned stocks, labor resources, etc. It is based on long-term forecasts.

tactical plan is aimed at achieving the goals of the strategic plan.

Tactical plans contain detailed data on the production units of the enterprise (availability of labor and material resources, equipment, transport, storage space for inventories, finished products, etc.), the activities necessary for the implementation of the production program and the timing of their implementation.

Tactical action plans are complemented by cost plans that contain data on costs (cost) within units, as well as plans for resource requirements.

Level of detail output in terms of production is usually low. Detailing is carried out by enlarged groups of goods (for example, refrigeration equipment, stoves, etc.).

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

A production schedule is developed for production units. It is a release schedule. certain types products in set time. The source information is:

• production plan;
• sales orders;
• information about finished products in stock.

In the calendar plan, the production plan is broken down by dates, the number of final products of each type that needs to be produced in a certain period of time is determined. For example, the plan may indicate that every week it is necessary to produce 200 units of model "A", 100 units of model "B" products.

Scheduling allows you to:

• establish the sequence of orders and the priority of work;
• distribute material resources by production departments;
• produce finished products in strict accordance with the sales plan, minimizing equipment downtime, excess inventory and idle personnel.

Level of detail here is higher than in the production plan. The production plan is drawn up for enlarged groups, and the production schedule is developed for individual final products and types of work.

MANUFACTURING PROGRAM

Manufacturing program is part of the production plan and contains data on the planned volume of production and sales.

The production program may be accompanied by calculations:

• production capacity of the enterprise;
• production capacity utilization factor;
• load intensity of production units.

Output volume

The planned production volume is calculated based on the sales plan and the purchase plan.

The basis of the sales plan is:

• contracts concluded with consumers of the enterprise's products (customers of works and services);
• sales data for previous years;
• data on market demand for products received from managers.

Purchasing plan basis:

• contracts with suppliers of material and technical resources;
• calculation of the need for material values;
• data on material values ​​in warehouses.

IT IS IMPORTANT

The quantity and range of manufactured products must satisfy market demand without going beyond the inventories available at the enterprise.

The volume of output of finished products is planned by groups. The product belongs to one or another group according to classification features that allow you to distinguish one product from another (model, accuracy class, style, article, brand, grade, etc.).

When planning the volume of output, priorities are given to goods that are in high demand among buyers and consumers (data provided by the sales department).

Production capacity of the enterprise

In the production program, the production capacity is determined and the balance of the production capacity of the enterprise is made.

Under production capacity understand the maximum possible annual output of products in the nomenclature and assortment established by the plan, with full use of production equipment and space.

General calculation formula production capacity (M pr) looks like that:

M pr \u003d P about × F fact,

where P about - the productivity of the equipment per unit of time, expressed in pieces of products;

Ф fact - the actual fund of equipment operation time, h.

The main items of the balance of production capacities:

• capacity of the enterprise at the beginning of the planning period;
• the value of the increase in production capacity due to various factors (acquisition of new fixed assets, modernization, reconstruction, technical re-equipment, etc.);
• the size of the decrease in production capacity as a result of the disposal, transfer and sale of fixed production assets, changes in the range and range of products, changes in the mode of operation of the enterprise;
• the value of the output power, that is, the power at the end of the planned period;
• average annual capacity of the enterprise;
• utilization rate of the average annual production capacity.

Input power determined at the beginning of the year according to the available equipment.

output power at the end of the planning period is calculated taking into account the disposal of fixed assets and the commissioning of new equipment (or modernization, reconstruction of existing equipment).

Average annual power enterprises (M sr/g) is calculated by the formula:

M sr / g \u003d M ng + (M vv × n 1 / 12) - (M sel × n 2 / 12),

where Mng is the input power;

Мвв is the power introduced during the year;

M vyb - power, retiring during the year;

n 1 - the number of full months of operation of newly commissioned capacities from the moment of commissioning to the end of the period;

n 2 - the number of full months of absence of retired capacities from the moment of retirement to the end of the period.

Average annual production capacity utilization factor in the reporting period ( K and) is calculated as the ratio of the actual output to the average annual capacity of the enterprise in this period:

K and = V fact / M sr / y,

where V fact — the actual volume of output, units.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

If the actual volume of output is greater than the average annual production capacity, then this means that the production program of the enterprise is provided with production capacities.

Let us give an example of calculating the average annual production capacity of an enterprise and the coefficient of actual use of production capacity for drawing up a production plan.

10 machines are installed in the leading production workshop of the plant. The maximum productivity of each machine is 15 products per hour. It is planned to produce 290,000 products per year.

The production process is discontinuous, the plant works in one shift. The number of working days per year is 255, the average duration of one shift is 7.9 hours.

To calculate the production capacity of the plant, you need to determine operating time fund of a piece of equipment in year. For this we use the formula:

F p = RD g × T cm × K cm,

where Ф р - regime fund of the operating time of a piece of equipment, h;

RD g - the number of working days in a year;

T cm - the average duration of one shift, taking into account the operating mode of the enterprise and the reduction of the working day on holidays, h;

K cm - the number of shifts.

Regime fund of working time 1 machine in a year:

F p = 255 days. × 7.9 h × 1 shift = 2014.5 h.

The production capacity of the enterprise is set according to the capacity of the leading workshop. Lead workshop power and will be:

2014.5 h × 10 machines × 15 units/h = 302,174 units

Actual capacity utilization ratio:

290,000 units / 302 174 units = 0,95 .

The coefficient shows that the machines operate almost at full production load. The enterprise has enough capacity to produce the planned volume of products.

Unit load intensity

When compiling a production program, it is important to calculate laboriousness and match it with available resources.

Data on the labor intensity of the product (the number of standard hours spent on the manufacture of a unit of production) is usually provided by the planning and economic department. The company can independently develop labor intensity standards by manufactured types of products, having carried out control measurements of the execution time of certain production operations. The time required for the release of the product is calculated on the basis of the design and technological documentation of the enterprise.

The labor intensity of production is the cost of working time for the production of a unit of output in physical terms according to the range of products and services. Labor intensity of production of a unit of output(T) is calculated by the formula:

T \u003d PB / K p,

where RW is work time, spent on the production of a given quantity of products, h;

K n - the number of products produced for a certain period, in natural units.

The plant produces several types of products: products A, B and C. Two production workshops are involved in the production of products: workshop No. 1 and workshop No. 2.

To draw up a production program, the plant needs to determine the labor intensity for each type of product, the maximum load on production assets, as well as the products the production of which will be focused on this program.

Let's calculate the maximum possible fund of working time for each shop.

Represents maximum amount time that can be worked in accordance with labor legislation. The value of this fund is equal to the calendar fund of working time, with the exception of the number of man-days of annual leave and man-days of holidays and weekends.

Workshop No. 1

The workshop employs 10 people.

Based on this number of employees, the calendar fund of working time will be:

10 people × 365 days = 3650 man-days

Number of non-working days per year: 280 - annual holidays, 180 - holidays.

Then the maximum possible fund of working hours for shop No. 1:

3650 - 280 - 180 = 3190 man-days, or 25 520 people.-h.

Workshop No. 2

The workshop employs 8 people.

Calendar fund of working time:

8 people × 365 days = 2920 man-days

Number of non-working days per year: 224 - annual holidays, 144 - holidays.

The maximum possible fund of working hours for shop No. 2:

2920 - 224 - 144 = 2552 man-days, or 20 416 man-hours.

Calculate the intensity of loading shops. To do this, we will calculate the labor intensity of the release of the planned number of products and compare it with the maximum possible fund of working time. The data are presented in table. 2.

Table 2. Calculation of the load of production shops
Indicator		Product				The maximum possible fund of working hours	Workshop load percentage
Quantity of manufactured products, pcs.
Time spent on the production of a given quantity of products, h
	for one product
	for the entire issue
	for one product
	for the entire issue

Based on the data in Table. 2 you can do the following conclusions:

• production B is the most labor-intensive;
• workshop No. 1 is loaded by 96%, workshop No. 2 - by 87.8%, that is, the resources of workshop No. 2 are not fully utilized.

Expediency of production estimated using the ratio of labor intensity and marginal profit. Products with the lowest marginal profit per one standard hour are usually excluded from the production program.

The write-off of indirect costs and the formation of the cost of production occurs according to the direct costing method, that is, only direct costs are taken into account in the cost of production. Indirect costs are written off monthly to financial results. Direct costs include material costs and the cost of wages for production workers. Therefore, we will make an estimate of the direct (variable) costs of output. Let's define contribution margin for products A, B and C. The data are presented in Table. 3.

Table 3. Calculation of marginal profit
Indicator	Product A	Product B	Product C
Volume of production, pcs.
Selling price of one product, rub.
Labor intensity of one product, standard hours
Direct costs per product (salary), rub.
Direct costs per product (raw materials and materials), rub.
The cost of one product, rub.
Marginal profit of one product, rub.
Marginal profit per standard hour, RUB/standard hour

Product B has the lowest margin, so the production plan will focus on products with higher margins (A and C).

RESOURCE PLAN AND BASIC STRATEGIES FOR THE PRODUCTION PLAN

Usually attached to the production program resource plan- a plan for the production and purchase of raw materials and materials that are used in the manufacture of products or the performance of work provided for by the production schedule.

The resource requirement plan shows when raw materials, materials and components will be required for the production of each final product.

Production planning has the following characteristics:

• a planning horizon of 12 months is applied with periodic adjustments (for example, monthly or quarterly);
• accounting is carried out on an enlarged basis by groups, insignificant details (colors, styles, etc.) are not taken into account;
• demand includes one or more types of goods or commodity groups;
• in the period provided for by the planning horizon, the workshops and equipment do not change;
• when developing a production plan are used basic basic strategies:

pursuit strategy;

Uniform production.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Businesses that produce a single product or a range of similar products may measure output as the number of units they produce.

Enterprises producing several different types of products keep records for homogeneous groups of goods that have the same units of measurement. Such product groups are defined based on the similarity of manufacturing processes.

Pursuit strategy

Under the strategy of pursuit (satisfaction of demand) understand the production of the quantity of products required at a given time (the volume of production varies in accordance with the level of demand).

V individual cases only this strategy can be used. For example, restaurants, cafes, canteens prepare dishes as orders are received from visitors. Such catering establishments cannot accumulate products. They must be able to meet demand when it arises. The chasing strategy is used by farms during the harvest and by enterprises whose demand for products is seasonal.

Companies must maximize their productivity at the time of peak demand. Possible actions to achieve this goal:

• hire additional employees under a contract;
• enter overtime work due to production needs;
• increase the number of shifts;
• if there is not enough capacity, transfer part of the orders to subcontractors or rent additional equipment.

NOTE

During a downturn in business activity, it is permissible to introduce a shorter working day (week), reduce the number of shifts, and offer employees vacations at their own expense.

The pursuit strategy is important advantage: The amount of inventories can be minimal. A good is produced when it is in demand and is not stockpiled. This means that it is possible to avoid the costs associated with the storage of inventory.

The production program for the pursuit strategy can be developed as follows:

1. We determine the projected volume of production for the period of peak demand (usually this is the season).

2. We calculate the volume of products that need to be produced in the peak period based on the forecast.

3. We determine the level of stocks of products.

• planned cost of finished products (full or incomplete);
• the planned cost of a unit of production;
• additional costs that fall on the production of products in the period of demand;
• marginal profit per unit of output.

uniform production

With uniform production, a volume of output equal to the average demand is constantly produced. Enterprises calculate the total demand for a planned period (for example, a year) and, on average, produce enough volume to meet this demand. Sometimes the demand is less than the amount produced. In this case stocks of production accumulate. In other periods, demand exceeds production. Then the accumulated stocks of products are used.

Advantages uniform production strategies:

• the operation of the equipment is carried out at a constant level, which avoids the cost of its conservation;
• the enterprise uses production capacities at the same pace and produces approximately the same volume of products every month;
• the enterprise does not need to save excess productivity resources to meet peak demand;
• no need to hire and train new employees, and during periods of recession, fire them. There is an opportunity to form a permanent workforce.

Strategy downside: during periods of reduced demand, inventories and finished products accumulate, the storage of which requires costs.

The general procedure for developing a production program for uniform production is:

1. The total projected demand for the planning horizon period (usually a year) is determined.

2. The forecasted balances of finished products at the beginning of the planning period and the balances of products at the end of the period are determined.

3. Calculates the total volume of products that need to be produced. Calculation formula:

Total production volume = Total forecast + Finished product balances at the beginning - Finished product balances at the end.

4. Calculate the volume of products that need to be produced in each period. To do this, the total volume of production is divided by the number of periods. If the plan is compiled by months, then the planned annual output is divided into 12 months.

5. Finished products are distributed (on the basis of supply contracts), shipped according to the dates indicated in the delivery schedules.

The production plan reflects the planned costs for the production of finished products and the standard cost of one product, determines the marginal profit per product and its selling price.

Let us give examples of the application of the strategies presented above.

The chemical plant has several lines for the production of anti-icing agents. These products are in demand in winter period. When developing a production plan for this type of product, the plant uses pursuit strategy.

The peak of sales falls on December-February. Shelf life of reagents is 3 years. The expected balance of reagents in the warehouse at the beginning of the planned year will be 1 t.

The release of the reagent is planned to start in November and finish in March. The balance of finished products at the end of March is minimal.

The formation of the production program in terms of volume for November-March is reflected in Table. 4.

Table 4. Production program by volume for November-March, t
Indicator	November	December	January	February	March	Total
Demand in the previous period
Delivery plan
Production plan

In the production program, the supply plan is adopted at the demand level. The balance of finished products at the beginning of each month is equal to the balance of finished products at the end of the previous month.

Production plan for each month is calculated by the formula:

Production plan = Delivery plan - Finished product balance at the beginning of the month + Finished product balance at the end of the month.

The planned balance of finished products at the end of the month should not exceed 5 % from the planned volume of delivery of products to customers.

During the period of demand, which falls on December-March, the plant plans to produce 194.6 tons of reagent.

Having determined in the program the required output in the peak period, the plant made a planned production cost estimate for 1 ton of the reagent (Table 5).

Table 5. Planned production costing for 1 ton of reagent
Indicator	Meaning
Production volume, t
Direct costs (wages), rub.
Direct costs (raw materials and materials), rub.
Total direct costs, rub.
Overhead costs per month, rub.
Packaging costs, rub.
Total costs, rub.
Marginal profit, rub.
Sale price, rub.

Based on the production program and the calculation of the cost of 1 ton of reagent, a production plan is drawn up. The data are reflected in table. 6.

Table 6. Production plan
Indicator	November	December	January	February	March	Total
Planned production volume in the current period, t
Total costs per 1 ton, rub.
Planned costs for the entire volume of production, rub.

The planned volume of output is 194.6 tons, the total amount of expenses is 1,977,136 rubles.

Implementation plan - 195 tons, sales amount - 2,566,200 rubles. (13,160 rubles × 195 tons).

Profit companies: 2,566,200 rubles. - 1 977 136 rubles. = RUB 589,064.

In addition to anti-icing preparations, the chemical plant specializes in the production of preparations household chemicals. Production is uniform, products are released throughout the year. The enterprise forms a production program and a production plan for the year.

Consider the annual production program and the annual production plan of the plant for washing powders.

The annual plan for the production of finished products is taken at the level of demand for the previous year. The previous year's demand for washing powder was 82,650 kg according to the sales department. This volume evenly distributed over the months. Each month it will be:

82 650 kg / 12 months = 6887 kg.

Supply plan is formed on the basis of existing orders and concluded supply contracts, taking into account changing market demand.

An example of a production program for the production of washing powder for the year is presented in Table. 7.

Table 7. Production program for the production of washing powder for the year, kg

Indicator

January

February

March

April

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Production plan

Remains of finished goods at the beginning of the period

Balance of finished goods at the end of the period

Delivery plan

The expected balance of powder in the warehouse at the beginning of the planning year will be 200 kg.

The balance of finished products in stock at the end of each month are determined by the formula:

Remains of finished products in stock at the end of the month = Planned production output + Remains at the beginning of the month - Volume of deliveries.

The rest of the finished product:

At the end of January:

6887 kg + 200 kg - 6500 kg = 587 kg;

At the end of February:

6887 kg + 587 kg - 7100 kg = 374 kg.

Similarly, the calculation is carried out for each month.

The following data will be reflected in the production plan:

1. Planned standard cost of 1 kg of powder - 80 rub.
2. Price storage costs- 5 rubles. for 1 kg.
3. Planned production costs:

. per month:

6887 kg × 80 rubles = 550,960 rubles;

. in year:

82 644 kg × 80 rubles. = 6 611 520 rubles.

1. Finished product storage costs — 19 860 rubles.

When calculating storage costs, the balances of finished products at the end of each month are taken into account (Table 8).

Table 8. Calculation of storage costs

Indicator

January

February

March

April

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Remains of finished products at the end of the period, kg

Price of storage costs, rub./kg

The amount of storage costs, rub.

1. There are no ready-made production plans. We need an integrated approach to the development of an optimal production plan, taking into account economic activities and production technology.
2. The production plan should reflect changes in both external (fluctuations in market demand, inflation) and internal factors (increase or decrease in production capacity, labor resources, etc.).