JIT and material requirements planning (MRP)
As we saw in section 6.1, material requirements planning (MRP) was conceived in order to answer the questions how many? and when? in ordering parts that are directly used to manufacture end products. MRP is a logical and systematic way of planning materials. It links downstream demand with manufacture and with upstream supply. It can handle detailed parts requirements, even for products that are made infrequently and in low volumes.