Planning and scheduling across the supply chain : simulation-based validation of the unitary structuring technique

Despite long-standing and ongoing research efforts, integration of planning and scheduling across the supply chain continues to be a major challenge. Limitations of the existing advanced planning systems in this regard have been widely cited in literature. This paper presents the results of the simulation-based validation of an alternative framework that addresses these limitations. The proposed framework, which is based on the 'unitary structuring technique' was shown to have the functionalities required to deal with simultaneous planning of materials and resources, dynamic forward planning of activities and finite capacity loading of resources. However, to demonstrate the robustness of this framework, future research should focus on developing and testing a wider range of scenarios and incorporating more complex supply chain applications.