An investigation on selection of simplified aggregate production planning strategies using MADM approaches

This paper discusses methods of selecting optimally efficient production plans to address aggregate production planning problems that involve fluctuations in product demand. Traditional single objective function approaches to this type of problem may prove complex or impractical in application. Thus, this paper begins by proposing a new model incorporating multiple production criteria, and then goes on to develop simplified production strategies via the new model. MADM approaches are used to select the most efficient APP strategy. A multiple-product fixed-workforce example presented in Thompson et al. (1990) is modified to demonstrate the methodology. Moreover, different MADM approaches to the evaluation of these simplified strategies are compared. Sensitivity analysis is carried out on variations of subjective weights assigned to the criteria.