Against this background, this course presents a solid background in the models and scheduling techniques that are the most useful in both manufacturing and service industries and places these tools within the context of modern enterprise-wide information systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, where the APS module works interactively with other modules such as MRP, inventory management, product and process design, product costing, and supply chain management.
Thus, although most of our lectures in this course will be spent on scheduling models and solution techniques, after completing the course you should also understand how these technical tools can be integrated into enterprise-wide computing systems that improve the overall efficiency of the organization. In particular, by incorporating the models and techniques from this course, an APS module can be used to improve customer service and delivery promises, increase throughput, reduce work in process, and minimize setup operations.