Feedback and feedforward as systemic frameworks for operations control
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 1 February 1999
Abstract
Argues that in increasingly turbulent and complex environments, the tools of “systems thinking” may provide a valuable resource in the drive to attain integration between strategic and operational objectives. Particular examples in the domain of production control and supply‐chain management are presented as illustrations of the dynamicist’s paradigm. Hence it is suggested that familiar concepts such as JIT/Kanban and supply chains are actually special cases of generic feedback control principles, while pure MRP is a classic example of feedforward. In practice, the complexities of real world operations require combinations of these two approaches and the paper therefore assesses the implications of these theoretical concepts, for the design of practical operations systems.
Keywords
Citation
Fowler, A. (1999), "Feedback and feedforward as systemic frameworks for operations control", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 182-204. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443579910247428
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited