Production Planning Strategies for Manufacturers (in 2025 and beyond)

Production planning is the process of organising and coordinating the elements needed for manufacturing products. Any manufacturing planning process traditionally involves forecasting demand, purchasing raw materials, allocating labour, and scheduling when and how machines are used.

• Some valuable advantages of production planning include:
• Minimising waste and optimising how resources are distributed.
• Planning how materials, labour, and equipment should be used.
• Improving lead times to meet customer demands faster.
• Anticipating risks and disruption in the production process.
• Having a framework to use for adapting to changing market demands or scaling operations.
• Balancing inventory to avoid stockouts or excessive stockpiling.
• Reducing workplace fatigue and accidents with proper resource utilisation.
• Providing a clear roadmap that can support managers in making better, fact-based decisions in the future.

Ever had trouble keeping up with fluctuating demand, managing limited resources, or dealing with unexpected supply chain disruptions?

These are common challenges in manufacturing. They’re easy to tackle (and even prevent) though when you’ve got the right production planning strategies in place.

But what does having the “right” strategy even mean? The way you approach the diverse stages of production planning should always be customised based on your industry, resources, and general approach to operations.

Let’s dive into a couple of production planning strategies that can help speed up your operations and improve employee productivity depending on the steps you decide to take.

Make-to-stock (MTS)

Make-to-stock is a production planning strategy where goods are manufactured based on forecasted demand and kept in inventory until a customer places an order.

Through this approach, you’re creating the products ahead of time so you can quickly ship them whenever someone makes a purchase. MTS works well if you realise that maintaining stock is more efficient than waiting for customer orders which could delay sales due to shipment or even production line issues.

Best for: Manufacturers of products that have a stable, predictable demand.

Example: A company that manufactures smartphones can use an MTS strategy to produce a set number of devices based on market predictions. When customers purchase the phones, they are shipped directly from inventory to keep customers satisfied with the speedy delivery and to stay ahead of competitors.

Make-to-order (MTO)

Make-to-order is the opposite of the MTS production strategy as products are only manufactured after a customer places an order. This approach is common among new brands that want to minimise inventory costs and avoid ending up with unsold stock. MTO is often picked by well-known organisations too and used together with MTS whenever the company wants to sell custom products that are tailored based on specific customer requirements.

Best for: Customised or low-demand products where making items in advance would lead to excess unsold items or waste.

Example: A custom furniture company that builds desks based on customer specifications uses an MTO strategy. Fast forward to whenever a customer orders a desk. The company now starts production using the design, material, and size the customer chose.

Assemble-to-order (ATO)

Assemble-to-order is a production planning strategy where companies create and store components before orders are made. After a customer places an order, all that’s left to do is provide the final assembly. This approach combines the benefits of both make-to-stock and make-to-order so you can ship goods faster but still provide customisation if needed.

Best for: Products that are easy to assemble in a different place than the original component manufacturer or factory.

Example: A computer manufacturer uses an ATO strategy. They stock various components such as processors, memory, and hard drives. When a customer places an order, they assemble the laptop based on the customer’s specifications, often in a different country or factory.

Level Production

Level production is used to produce goods at a consistent rate, regardless of fluctuations in customer demand.

This approach aims to maintain a smooth production flow by reducing the effects of demand variability and minimising the need for frequent adjustments. Level production often involves creating a balance between production output and inventory levels, allowing businesses to optimise resource usage and reduce costs.

Best for: Products with steady consumption rates such as basic consumer goods or seasonal items.

Example: A car manufacturer will opt for level production in its assembly lines. When they produce a consistent number of vehicles, the manufacturer will have a steady supply of cars available. They’ll also keep their human resources and machinery active, regardless of demand, so no costs are wasted.

Just-in-Time (JIT)

Just-in-time is a production strategy that focuses on reducing inventory and minimising waste by producing and delivering goods only when they’re needed. Using JIT, you’ll get the raw materials just before you need them for production.

Likewise, the finished products are manufactured just in time to fulfill an order. You want to opt for this production planning tactic to lower your storage costs and enhance production efficiency by avoiding overproduction.

Best for: Businesses dealing with perishable goods, environments with a high volume and low inventory, and make-to-order approaches where customer orders are what trigger production.

Example: Toyota is a well-known user of JIT. The company receives components from suppliers just before they are needed on the assembly line. This leaves them with minimal inventory and faster production cycles while reducing storage costs.

You’ll always want to start with a single production planning strategy first to see how you progress and identify potential bottlenecks and things you need to improve. If you’re not producing goods efficiently, you won’t be meeting customer demand and you’ll end up with a lot of waste.

Production planning comes in to guide you so you can avoid these shortcomings. You will, however, need a well-structured plan in place. And sometimes that requires testing out two to three different production planning strategies. This will depend on what types of products you’re selling and what your production/storage capacity is.

In this section, we compare four different methods you can use to create a robust production plan that supports scalability, reduces costs, and positions you at the top in a competitive market:

Demand Forecasting

Demand forecasting is the process of estimating future customer demand for products or services by taking into account what historical data and market trends influence economic shifts and consumer behaviour. It’s used by companies that want to keep up with demand, ensuring they won’t end up with low (or too high) stock.

In fact, all organisations should use demand forecasting to improve the way they plan production, handle inventory, and allocate resources profitably. Retailers will also find demand forecasts useful for predicting sales trends, managing inventory levels, and preparing for seasonal or promotional events.

What sets demand forecasting apart from other planning methods is its forward-looking approach. Unlike static planning techniques, demand forecasting uses predictive analytics and algorithms to anticipate changes in demand with greater accuracy. It also relies on a combination of historical data, real-time insights, and advanced tools.

Tools like the Access manufacturing software further differentiate this approach by providing real-time data insights and automated forecasting capabilities.

Capacity Planning

Capacity planning determines what resources you need to meet production or demand. By looking at the current capacity, forecasting future needs, and aligning resources, organisations can use capacity planning to prevent resource underutilisation or overloading.

This type of planning gives better output without giving up on quality or burdening manufacturers with waste. Thanks to its main focus on resource optimisation, you can use it to address short-term scheduling or inventory levels.

Capacity planning also compares resource availability against projected demand. To do this, digital solutions give you real-time insights into resource utilisation and forecasting future needs with accuracy. This makes this approach perfect for businesses that want to turn or stay agile, adapt to predictable or unexpected changes, and keep their operations stable.

Read our blog post on The importance of production capacity strategic planning to learn more.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS)

Advanced planning and scheduling is a process best used by organisations that want to optimise their production planning so they can better allocate resources, reduce lead times, and lower costs or remove unnecessary expenses.

APS systems use real-time data, demand forecasting, scenario planning, and detailed production modelling to give you a schedule that aligns with your available capacity, materials, and workforce.

Manufacturers can utilise integrated APS solutions to automate how they manage workflows, tell when a potential disruption is bound to occur, and make informed, data-driven decisions—through all product lifecycle stages.

Monitoring and Optimising

Monitoring and continuous improvement may be often overlooked but it’s the stage where the most important production planning changes happen. Organisations use this step to ensure they’re always tracking performance metrics such as throughput, downtime, and resource utilisation.

Businesses can also opt for monitoring to identify bottlenecks, quality issues, and areas where they need to improve production to stay efficient. Think of this ongoing feedback loop as a surefire way to optimise operations, reduce costs, and increase productivity.

Access ERP software designed for manufacturing supports this process by providing real-time visibility into all your vital performance indicators so you can make data-driven decisions that drive continuous improvement and speed up production planning, without the extra costs.

Access Orchestrate, together with Access FactoryMaster MRP software, gives you a full suite of features that let you manage all aspects of production planning and scheduling.

By automating repetitive tasks, you and your team will save time and reduce human errors. This is done as the software natively integrates across all production stages—from material procurement to final delivery, ensuring better coordination and efficiency.

Specifically, you can use Access Orchestrate for all use cases including:

• Automating repetitive manual tasks that distract your team from focusing on what matters most—strategic initiatives and value-added activities.
• Reducing the time spent on manual data entry to minimize human errors.
• Simulating different production scenarios so you can assess how changes in production inputs or resources will impact the outputs and avoid investing in non-productive strategies.
• Keeping your production data in a single place, giving your team access to accurate and reliable data that will make it easier for them to make decisions.
• Giving managers and employees access to real-time metrics so they can monitor production, spot bottlenecks, and manage risks without the guesswork.
• Tracking where every component is and where progress on your production processes is heading for better quality control and compliance (where applicable).
• Making sure your resources (human or material) are properly utilized.

Need more insights and guidance on the best ways to implement technology-enabled manufacturing solutions in your facility? Get a personalised demo from our manufacturing software experts to optimise your processes, reduce waste, and adapt to changing conditions faster than ever.