In this course, we are going to talk more about the information flow. We're going to tie it into the physical flow for the design. So what we're going to talk about is the aggregate planning process, and then also distribution channels. So the aggregate planning process, we will bring everything together we've talked about the last several modules , and what we're going to do is really continue in the connection between your supplier and your customer. So the question is how do you plan for those activities? Now you also have some customer relationship management systems, helps you coordinate with your customer. And then, we talk about these integrated supply chain management systems that help you plan your production, how you move things, and where you store things. So when we talked about this, we looked at, first, master planning schedule. And so when you do the master planning schedule you're really coming up with your production plan, and for that you're going to use the MRP. Now, where those fit in the planning cycle are appeared within three months. So what you're doing here is planning up to three months out, and that's a pretty typical, 12 weeks. And so you're planning your production.

The next thing we're going to look at though is what's known as aggregate planning, and this aggregate planning is actually over a much longer time frame, And usually, it's 3 to 18 months out. So you're going further into the future. So your date is going to be a little less actual rates. It's going to more predictive, or estimates, and you're going to be looking at a wider swath of the company. You're going to really be looking at everything here to try to plan. Looking at how your customer will react, the promotions you'll run, how that affects production, how affects your sourcing. So we're going to tie those all together with aggregate planning. And we'll also talk about something called Sales and Operations Planning, S&OP. And so what S&P does, it ties together both sides of the company, the sales or the marketing side, with the operations, sourcing, and supply chain side. How do you get those things together so that your demand planning matches your capabilities of production? So we'll continue on in this and focus heavily on S&OP and aggregate planning. And again, what's happening here is, remember, the physical flow goes this way through your network, from supplier to your customer, and we're seeing that the information flow really flows this way. Because the demand dictates what you manufacture, and what you procure, and so forth.

Enjoy your course!