The MENTOR game: stock control and production planning in manufacturing industry

Hiley, Nigel and Wynn, Martin G ORCID: 0000-0001-7619-6079 (1988) The MENTOR game: stock control and production planning in manufacturing industry. Industrial and Commercial Training, 20 (1). pp. 6-9.

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Abstract

In 1979, a new production planning and stock control computer system was introduced at Glaxo Pharmaceuticals. This system, known as MENTOR, was implemented in stages at the company's three major secondary manufacturing sites in the UK (Ware, Speke and Barnard Castle), and at the central administration site at Greenford, London. The system centres on forward planning of estimated demand whereby forecast orders are placed on the system up to nine months in advance of required delivery date. There are approximately 1,000 on-line programs and training courses were held at Greenford for staff from all four sites, in which full blown simulations of the live network were run on a separate "test" minicomputer. While this worked well enough in familiarising staff in the use of their critical day-to-day computer programs, it did not adequately get over the broader principles of company production planning and stock control on which MENTOR had been based. This article reports on a follow-up initiative that involved the development and running of a gaming-simulation to provide staff with a wider awareness of the concepts involved and an appreciation of the significance of the data available to them, enhancing their ability to act effectively in consequent data enquiries and updates.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Subjects:	T Technology > T Technology (General)
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Creative Arts
Research Priority Areas:	Applied Business & Technology
Depositing User:	Martin Wynn
Date Deposited:	28 Jun 2022 10:13
Last Modified:	03 Aug 2023 12:39
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/11242

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