CAROL A. PTAK

Building on the pioneering work of Joseph Orlicky, this new edition of the classic text on material requirements planning (MRP) reveals the next evolutionary step for materials and supply chain synchronization in the modern manufacturing landscape. Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning, Third Edition reviews the poor business results embedded in many of today's manufacturing systems, discusses the core problems causing these results, explains an alternative pull structure for planning and controlling materials flow, and presents results from actual implementations. This thoroughly updated edition offers comprehensive coverage of MRP, describes the current state of the MRP application, and identifies the fundamental changes required to achieve sustainable success given the current global circumstances and technology options. This state-of-the art guide articulates the next generation of MRP logic--demand driven MRP (DDMRP)--and provides a roadmap for the near and distant future for this critical manufacturing management tool. Carol Ptak is currently a partner with the Demand Driven Institute, and was most recently at Pacific Lutheran University as Visiting Professor and Distinguished Executive in Residence. Previously, she was vice president and global industry executive for manufacturing and distribution industries at PeopleSoft where she developed the concept of demand driven manufacturing (DDM). Ms. Ptak spent four years at IBM Corporation culminating in the position of global SMB segment executive.