Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP): A systematic review and classification

Abstract

Purpose: Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) aims to deal with variability by adjusting inventory levels while maintaining, or even increasing, customer service levels. This approach bridges the push and pull approaches. Even though it first made its appearance in 2011, research in this field remains relatively limited. This paper aims to measure the spatiotemporal evolution of the DDMRP, its scope and context of implementation, and the research lines studied in that field in order to identify areas that still need to be addressed by future researchers.

Design/methodology/approach: The systematic literature review approach adopted in this paper examines research dealing with the DDMRP approach published in different languages between 2009 and 2020. To-date papers focused on the performance analysis and comparison, what differentiates this study is the focus on the scientific evolution level of DDMRP, the parameters, and contexts that should be more studied.

Findings: The results show that DDMRP is not yet a mature method and that the robustness of the approach still needs to be tested. More research is also required to determine scientifically some setting parameters, how the proposed DDMRP could be implemented in different industrial contexts with existing information systems.

Originality/value: Based on the evolution analysis of DDMRP, this study outlines its current state of maturity and its different shortcomings under a broader vision to make this method more complete on the scientific and industrial level.