A STUDY ON MANUFACTURING RESOURCE PLANNING (MRP-II) PRACTICES IN SINGAPORE

In response to the increasing regional and international competition, many manufacturing companies in Singapore have adopted MRP II systems to improve on their business operations. Despite its growing popularity, very little work has been done to monitor how companies are actually using MRP II. This paper presents the largest survey study ever undertaken on the state-of-the-art application of MRP II in Singapore. It describes the major survey findings on the practices, costs and benefits obtained, and implementation process in MRP II companies. This study provides useful information to managers, current users, potential users, vendors and promoters of MRP II. The study also serves as a basis for future research. International readers are presented with valuable insights into how manufacturing companies in a successful newly industrializing nation (NIE) like Singapore are exploiting a powerful technology like MRP II to manage their operations. A comparison of the survey findings with that of a similar study in the United States reveals an interesting difference.