Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a push system and a pull system. Give specific product examples as part of your discussion.
Push system
The push system is a manufacturing system that is based on the forecasts and the projected customer demands. In the provided scenario, the flow of information is from the management then, to the market. Example is the “Materials Requirements Planning” (MRP). The MRP is a technique that helps in the provision of material requirements and supplying schedules that help meet the demand for all the products in more than one plant. It also considers the shop orders, inventory management, receiving, purchasing, invoicing, accounting and parent orders in managing capacity and order priority purposes (Bhadbury & Shenoy, 2014).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Advantages of the push system include high levels of inventory. The second advantage is that the push system is capable of showing forecasts in demands. Besides, it is producer-centric as it is focused more on the production process. On the other hand, the disadvantages include the possibilities of inaccurate forecasts as the sales are not predictable for every year. Nonetheless, the push system has to handle complex and also large databases. Moreover, it requires proper product flow.
Pull system
The pull system comprises of customer orders that are made enough to ensure order satisfaction from the companies’ strategies. The strategy is based on the manufacturing system producing to meet daily sales. The flow of information begins from the market up to the management. Example of the pull system is “Just-in-time” (JIT) system. The JIT system appropriate and adequate utilization of the required units to produce quality needed (Kannan & Tan,2005). The method avoids wastage for instance, on transport, overproduction, defective products and unnecessary inventory. JIT systems are aimed at achieving zero handling, lead time, zero inventories and zero setup time.
Advantages include limited inventory hence reduction of carrying and storage costs are reduced and is centered on consumer satisfaction. Additionally, there is improvement made regarding cash flow using the pull system. On the contrary, the disadvantages range from ordering dilemmas to unhappy customers. Moreover, the orders made for every job is rushed. Thus, it could be highly stressful. Additionally, there are issues of the throughput impact due to the setup times.
References
Bhadbury, B., & Shenoy, D. (2014). Maintenance Resource Management: Adapting Materials Requirements Planning MRP. CRC Press.
Kannan, V. R., & Tan, K. C. (2005). Just in time, total quality management, and supply chain management: understanding their linkages and impact on business performance. Omega, 33(2), 153-162.
