FREEZING THE MASTER PRODUCTION SCHEDULE - IMPLICATIONS FOR FILL RATE

Previous research examining alternative ways of dealing with schedule instability has shown that freezing a portion of the master production schedule (MPS) is a cost effective way to reduce instability. While it is often argued that MPS freezing limits the firm's ability to react to changing customer needs, the impact of freezing on customer service is not well understood. We examined the impact of freezing a specified portion of the MPS on the average fill tate under a wide variety of conditions using controlled simulation experiments. The results show that freezing can be implemented without causing a severe reduction in customer service.