mass production

High-quantity production characterized by specialization of equipment and labor. See: continuous production.

The document that consolidates all other budgets of an organization into an overall plan, including the projection of a cash flow statement and an operating statement for the budget period as well as a balance sheet for the end of the budget period. Syn: static

master file A main reference file of information, such as the item master file and work center file. See: detail file, item master file.

A group of business processes that includes the following activities: demand management (which includes forecasting and order servicing); production and resource planning; and master scheduling (which includes the master schedule and the rough-cut capacity plan).

A grouping of business processes that includes the following activities: demand management, which includes the forecasting of sales, the planning of distribution, and the servicing of customer orders; sales and operations planning, which includes sales planning, production planning, inventory planning, backlog planning, and resource planning; master scheduling, which includes the preparation of the master production schedule and the rough-cut capacity plan.

The master production schedule is a line on the master schedule grid that reflects the anticipated build schedule for those items assigned to the master scheduler. The master scheduler maintains this schedule, and in turn, it becomes a set of planning numbers that drives material requirements planning. It represents what the company plans to produce expressed in specific configurations, quantities, and dates. The master production schedule is not a sales item forecast that represents a statement of demand. The master production schedule must take into account the forecast, the production plan, and other important considerations such as backlog, availability of material, availability of capacity, and management policies and goals. See: master schedule.