The operational characteristics and management logic of repetitive production greatly differ from those of intermittent manufacturing. Notwithstanding this, there are still few packages specifically developed for manufacturing planning and control in repetitive contexts, and often those that are available have been derived from adaptations and/or extensions of packages originally designed for intermittent manufacturing. Starting from an in-depth examination of three cases, a framework for the analysis of the characteristics of manufacturing planning and control (MPC) systems utilized in repetitive contexts has been developed. The proposed framework includes all three basic production control sub-systems, i.e. planning, inventory control and shop floor control. Based upon this framework the main functions that characterise production planning and control systems for repetitive manufacturing are examined. Among the most important functions described are: production planning with 'control orders' and 'flow orders' versus 'work orders', picking lists for 'floor stocks by daily rate' versus 'work centre by work order', resources and materials consumption by 'backflushing' versus 'work order'.
