Resources Fundamentals

What is production capacity planning?

Production capacity planning is working out the maximum number of finished units you can actually make with the materials, time and equipment you have right now. For a small maker it comes down to one honest number per product: how many can I make today before something runs out?

The short version

Start from stock, not hopeCount what is physically on your shelves in the units you buy them in. Guessed numbers produce guessed capacity.
Work per productEach product has its own recipe, so each product has its own ceiling. A shared ingredient links those ceilings together.
Find the limiting materialDivide the stock of every material by how much one unit needs. The smallest result is your capacity, and that material is your bottleneck.
Re-check after every orderCapacity is not a monthly report. It changes the moment you accept an order or receive a delivery.

Takeaway. Capacity planning turns a vague feeling of being busy into a number you can quote to a customer with confidence.

Put it into practice

Makeable does this arithmetic for you every time your stock moves. You can try the capacity calculator on the home page without an account, or compare plans for makers, including the free tier when you are ready to keep your own numbers.