A Masterplan-based system for lead time prediction in small and medium enterprises

Abstract As manufacturing companies strive for timely and reliable deliveries, being able to accurately predict delivery times to customers represents a key factor influencing their competitivity. This problem, which is entirely dependent on the order Lead Time (LT) prediction, is particularly acute in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These companies’ processes are mainly labor-intensive and typically require a high degree of customisation. Even though this represents the SMEs’ strength point, this is also an element of extreme variability for the overall assessment of LT. In addition, SMEs generally cannot count on sophisticated digital manufacturing tools, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, due to their costs and complexity in implementation. Thus, this study aims to contribute a Masterplan-based system for order lead time prediction in SMEs. This system represents the theoretical background needed for the development of an easily implementable decision support system for planning and monitoring in SMEs. Such a project management tool could integrate both the workforce and machines capacity assessment and would represent a solution for improving order planning processes. This would support SMEs to satisfy and respect customer requests.