You’re a manager. You may be in charge of a make-to-order product, or maybe you oversee transportation and logistics in the service industry. But no matter what you do, the most important part of your job is to make your customers happy. And your biggest headache? It’s scheduling, and all the ugly words that so often come with it: long lead times, late orders, overtime hours, high production costs—and unhappy customers.

Many companies, possibly the one you work for, have already invested in information systems to try and ease the whole scheduling process. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), for example, or Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) systems can track customer orders, plan production, and order materials. And more complex Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) can tell you the status of the production floor and the flow of work through your system. These various tools can help with things like ordering during specific planning periods, providing information on individual pieces of equipment, and knowing the whereabouts of each order on the factory floor.

This book is for managers who want a better understanding of the process of scheduling so they can keep their valued customers happy. Using accessible, non-technical language, the book answers questions about why scheduling is so challenging, how scheduling solutions have evolved over time, and what can be done about those long leads times and lost sales.

The bottom line is that a good-quality schedule has significant impact on the overall performance of an organization and provides an irrefutable competitive advantage. This book explains how revolutionary simulation technology can boost your business and help you deliver on your promise.