Every guide in one place — from the fundamentals, through methods, operations and cost, to the India-specific topics (Tally, GST, pricing) no global vendor covers.
Grouped into clusters. Start anywhere — every guide stands on its own and links to the ones around it.
What it is, why it matters, and where it fits · 7 guides
Production planning and control (PPC) and MRP software explained — demand to plan, BOM explosion, netting, work orders, machine loading,…
Read guideThe real benefits of production planning software, each tied to a mechanism: stock reservation, live netting, netted buying, finite loading and OEE.
Read guideMRP vs ERP explained: MRP is the planning brain, ERP the wider system it lives in. What each does, where they overlap, and which you need first.
Read guideProduction planning in Excel breaks predictably: no multi-level BOM explosion, stale stock, no reservation, no finite capacity. What software does…
Read guideProduction planning vs scheduling, explained cleanly: planning sets quantities and dates via MRP; scheduling sequences work orders onto machines…
Read guideThe production planning process in nine steps: capture demand, explode the BOM, net supply, split buy vs make, generate, schedule, print, track,…
Read guideWhat is MRP? Material requirements planning explained in plain English: the net requirement formula, BOM explosion, netting, and a worked example.
Read guideThe subject depth — the techniques that run the operation · 7 guides
How MRP works step by step: explode the BOM to gross requirements, net against stock and open supply, offset for lead time, apply lot sizing,…
Read guideMRP planning parameters explained: procurement method, lead time, lot sizing, MOQ, safety stock and reorder level, and how each shapes the plan.
Read guideMachine loading and capacity planning explained: how load and capacity are calculated, the loading percentage, finite vs infinite, bottlenecks and…
Read guideMake-to-order vs make-to-stock: how each plans demand, holds stock and quotes lead time, how they run in MRP, and the mixed MTO/MTS reality most…
Read guideProduction scheduling with Gantt charts: sequencing work orders by priority, forward vs backward scheduling, dispatch rules, and a drag-and-drop…
Read guideReorder level planning explained: the reorder point formula, safety stock, reorder quantity and min-max, when to use it vs MRP, and the auto-PR…
Read guideSales plan and demand planning: forecast vs confirmed orders, building the production plan, forecasting methods, and how demand seeds the MRP run.
Read guideReports, accuracy, cost and best practice · 5 guides
The most common production planning mistakes — planning gross not net, ignoring capacity, stale BOMs, no plan-vs-actual feedback — and how to fix…
Read guideThe production planning reports and KPIs that matter — plan attainment, schedule adherence, machine utilization, efficiency and OEE — and how to…
Read guideHow to improve OEE and machine utilisation — the Availability x Performance x Quality formula, the six big losses, load levelling and shop-floor…
Read guideHow to prevent material shortages in manufacturing — netting against stock and open supply, reorder-level automation, lead times, safety stock and…
Read guideHow to prioritise and sequence work orders on the shop floor — order vs resource priority, finite machine loading, due dates, bottlenecks and a…
Read guideThe topics no global vendor covers — our home-ground edge · 6 guides
A practical MRP software guide for Indian MSME manufacturers: BOM explosion, netting, reorder levels and how to roll it out without a big-ERP budget.
Read guideRealistic machine utilisation and OEE benchmarks for Indian plants — what good looks like, how to measure it honestly, and how to close the gap.
Read guideHow Indian manufacturers plan outsourced (OSL) job-work components — Fast Planning's first-class OSL planning with GST job-work rules and ITC-04…
Read guidePlan for Diwali and India's seasonal demand swings — how to forecast, pre-build stock and schedule capacity around festivals without over- or…
Read guideAn honest INR guide to production planning and MRP software pricing in India: per-user licensing, on-premise vs cloud, implementation, AMC, GST…
Read guideThe production planning trends shaping Indian manufacturing in 2026 — AI planning, Industry 4.0, finite scheduling, ESG and what MSMEs should…
Read guideGuides mapped to the industries we serve · 4 guides
How automotive and precision component plants plan production — OEM call-offs, cycle-time capacity, job-work (OSL) netting, finite machine loading…
Read guideHow CNC and job-work machine shops plan production — finite machine loading, Gantt scheduling of shared machines, job-work netting and machine…
Read guideHow make-to-order and engineering manufacturers plan production — order-specific BOMs, netting per order, work orders and purchase requisitions,…
Read guideHow process and batch manufacturers plan production — recipe BOMs, batch sizing, netting against stock, batch process sheets, scheduling runs,…
Read guideSee the knowledge base for step-by-step how-tos, or the blog for deep-dives. Ready to see it live? Book a demo.
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