Evaluation of Production Planning Systems in a Diversified Manufacturing Conglomerate in Lagos State

This research evaluates the production planning systems employed across the manufacturing subsidiaries of a diversified conglomerate headquartered in Lagos State, South West Nigeria, assessing consistency, effectiveness, and alignment with group strategic objectives. Diversified manufacturing conglomerates present unique production planning challenges arising from the diversity of product types, process technologies, and market demand characteristics across their business units, requiring both subsidiary-level planning effectiveness and group-level coordination. This study employs a multi-site assessment methodology, conducting structured evaluations of production planning systems at five manufacturing subsidiaries operating in the food processing, personal care, and industrial chemicals sectors. Assessment dimensions include demand management, master production scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity planning, and production scheduling execution. Data were gathered through management interviews, system demonstrations, and analysis of planning performance records at each subsidiary over an eight-week evaluation period. Results reveal significant inter-subsidiary variation in planning maturity, with enterprise resource planning adoption ranging from fully deployed to spreadsheet-based planning. Three subsidiaries show persistent misalignment between sales forecasts and master production schedules, contributing to frequent plan revisions. Recommendations propose a group-wide sales and operations planning process to align demand, supply, and financial plans across subsidiaries. Keywords: production planning, sales and operations planning, manufacturing conglomerate, Lagos State, material requirements planning