Difference between production Planning and Control

Many people are of the view that production planning embraces both planning and control. In the broader sense, production planning also covers production control activities but if we take these two terms in their technical sense, production control comes after production planning and in this sense, these are two distinct activities. However both these activities of production management are complementary to each other and closely associated. One cannot exist without the existence of the other.

The planning function contributes to the smooth discharge of controlling function as it provides objectives standards programmes budgets etc. On the other hand control function contributes to the adoption of new plans, as production control is a regulatory or adjusting process after the operations are begin according to plans. Production planning is always tampered with production control information from current operations and it undergoes to adopt or adjust according to the current situations. Apart from the mutual interdependence production plans are required to be modified for successful production controlling and on the other hand production control system is bound to be modified for the successful implementation of the plans.

Thus these two terms should be used simultaneously as they are interdependent.