Determining the optimal product mix in multiple constraints manufacturing environment: an application in the textile industry

Abstract

Theory of constraints (TOC) is an approach to production planning and control by focusing on the constraints of an organization to increase throughput by effectively managing constraints. TOC approach has been applied in many sectors, and efficient results have been taken. One of the application areas of TOC is product mix decisions. Product mix decisions are important for multi-product manufacturing systems because they affect the performance measures of the companies. This study aims to present how TOC is applied to determine the optimum product mix in a multiple- constraint environment in the textile industry. To achieve this, we first select three basic products of a textile company and examine the production processes of these products from TOC perspective. Next, we perform a bottleneck process and identify three bottlenecks for the problem. Then, based on our bottleneck process results, we generate three scenarios. Upon assessing these scenarios, we determine the most appropriate product mix by implementing the TOC approach. Finally, we employ a goal programming approach to solve the product mix problem and compare its results with those obtained by the TOC.