What Are Constraint?
Constraints are limitations. A supply chain is replete with constraints. These include:
- A maximum amount of material that can be placed in a truck
- A maximum number of miles a truck can drive in a day
- A maximum output from a piece of machinery
- A maximum amount a bin at a warehouse can hold
- A maximum amount of material a warehouse in total can hold
Constraint based planning came from academics to industry when computerization allowed for the incorporation of limiting factors into software. Previous to computers, these constraints were — and in many cases are still — manage with manually intensive methods.
Where Are They in SCM?
Constraints are an essential part of advanced planning, and in fact are the heart of advanced planning. Constraints find their expression in resources in SCM. To read more about resources, see this post.
