Production planning and control tools

There are numerous tools available to be used for production planning and c ontrol purposes. The number of tools is ever increasing, and so are the lev els of sophistication as well as complexity. For the specific manufacturing firm, the task of selecting the most appropriate set of tools is not trivi al. However, in recent years, the understanding of the relationship between tools and manufacturing environments for which they are suitable has incre ased. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of production pla nning and control tools available today, as well as new trends, issues and ideas.