I believe that the need to build numerous and different end items, along with the response time are the most important issues that define the kind of manufacturing environment (or the kind of world as the author mentions) under which a company operates; otherwise the MRP could plan the procurement and fabrication of parts exactly as they were needed, and no finished inventory would be required. Nonetheless, there are competitive forces and customers that require very short response times, and inevitably some stocking occurs (of at least the longest lead time items).
The requirements for a successful implementation of an MRP system in the third world are not trivial and they are can not be confined to a software that routinely provides the information framework for planning and control. To manage the challenges posed by the third world issues, several analyses, very carefully considered, of alternative scenarios are required. It seems that the third world is the worst of all words and that one must understand that the effects of any proposed solution are of tremendous scope and of a magnitude that involves the whole company before any further attempt.
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