Re-Examining the Performance of MRP and Kanban Material Control Strategies for Multi-Product Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Material control schemes can be classified as push, pull, or hybrid strategies. This article compares the performance of MRP (push) and kanban (pull) for a multi-stage, multi-product manufacturing system. Using simulation experiments we analyze system performance under different product mixes and observe that in certain environments with advance demand information kanban-based pull strategies can lead to significant inefficiencies. In these environments MRP-type push strategies yield better performance in terms of inventories and service levels. We also study the impact of design parameters such as safety lead time and safety stock policies on system performance and observe that for low and medium values of system loads, safety lead time policies yield better system performance than safety stock policies. These insights can be helpful in designing efficient MRP-type push strategies in multi-product environments.