The title creates high expectations. What is the answer to the question : when is someone a “good production planner”? Many give a different answer. It goes from “someone who knows all the concepts inside out and applies them meticulously, preferably supported by a state-of-the art planning system”. It can also go in the direction of “someone who knows the plant inside and out” and makes decisions based on their own understanding according to the demand and possibilities within the plant.
Martin Hendel answers the question through a business novella. In the style of “The Goal”, he outlines the story of a young man, Gabriel Wolf, who experiences a lightning career in Europe within planning. His new assignment at the Prague plant allows him to get all the planning components up and running. In the 280 pages, he briefly describes various aspects. He discusses several key concepts such as the balance between service level, inventory and cost. He briefly discusses different aspects such as master planning, material planning, S&OP, RCCP and indicates how he develops the team. In the story, despite good progress, Gabriel unfortunately has to support the closure of the plant. He experiences how the bad news is delivered, plans the stock build-up and guides the team towards collective dismissal.
I can stand behind a lot of the ideas expressed in the book, such as the importance of a stable plan and the importance of a strong S&OP process. In the book, the main character (Gabriel Wolf) also focuses on the aspects he can directly influence within the team. He avoids to start a never-ending story about what others would have to do before one could make progress.
The leadership lessons in the book are valuable. We witness a genuine effort to raise the bar in a constructive team atmosphere where personal development plays an important role.
Content is undoubtedly, like all the other sections in the book rather brief and too descriptive for someone to immediately translate it into ‘practical usage’. However, the book provides a nice summary of the various aspects and it reads very smoothly. No doubt it gives a view to people who are in the business or at the start of their careers. Have fun reading it!