An optimisation approach for capacity planning: modelling insights and empirical findings from a tactical perspective

Abstract

The academic literature presents a research-practice gap on the application of decision support tools to address tactical planning problems in real-world organisations. This paper addresses this gap and extends a previous action research relative to an optimisation model applied for tactical capacity planning in an engineer-to-order industrial setting. The issues discussed herein raise new insights to better understand the practical results that can be achieved through the proposed model. The topics presented include the modelling of objectives, the representation of the production process and the costing approach, as well as findings regarding managerial decisions and the scope of action considered. These insights may inspire ideas to academics and practitioners when developing tools for capacity planning problems in similar contexts.