Multi-period, multi-product aggregate planning model in an industrial firm

This study is about modeling the long-term planning system of an industrial firm and implementation of this aggregate planning model. Planning activities are vital for a firm that desires to be competitive in modern industrial conditions. The most productive use of inputs to make the desired output is necessary to minimize the total cost and achieve the maximum profit. Long term decisions about input variables of a firm can be given by aggregate plans that reflect the real systems. This study is written with the aim of finding the best model of aggregate planning activity in an industrial firm. Firstly, planning activity in general and aggregate planning procedure in detail are studied. Then, the most common aggregate planning techniques and necessary input data like costs relevant with aggregate planning or issues of forecasting the demand are considered. Lastly, implementation of one of these aggregate planning techniques that is most convenient for the firm is considered for the planning system of the industrial firm and the models are solved in a linear programming language to find the objective function that is minimizing the total cost of the industrial system.