Abstract
Abstract : Production planning is a key component of the growth of any business in ensuring that day-to-day production operations run smoothly. Over the last decades, the food-processing sector in South Africa has been recognised as one of the biggest manufacturing sectors in terms of job creation and has also made a significant contribution to the country’s gross domestic product. The sector’s economic performance is directly linked to the overall rate of the country’s economic growth and key exports markets. In order to guarantee that this sector is properly positioned to survive within the current highly competitive global market, the sector will benefit from growth in demand for food locally and globally. The aim of this study was to assess the challenges affecting the production planning of the South African food manufacturing sector. Two-fold methodological research approach was adopted, Firstly a literature review was conducted on production planning and food processing from a local, regional and international perspective. Then, a quantitative research approach was adopted to assess the challenges affecting production planning in the manufacturing sector, using the South African food processing industry as a case study. Various analyses such as descriptive, exploratory factor and theoretical reliability were carried out on the data collected from the respondents through a questionnaire survey. The study findings reveal the following challenges affecting the South African food processing industry in effectively planning for production :increases in procurement costs; high taxes on imports and exports; problems with local procurement of raw materials; inefficient production procedures for quality products; limited cost-cutting measures available; insufficient production capacity; no appropriate systems for employee training; political situation of the companies; unavailability of water supply; unavailability of machinery are the factors. The study recommends that because of the immense revenue that is generated from this sector and its huge contribution the country’s economy growth, decision-makers should develop a culture of knowledge-sharing, in order to build an efficient production plan framework.
M.Tech. (Operations Management)