The function of a manufacturing enterprise responsible for the planning, scheduling, and coordination of all production activities. The planning phase involves forecasting demand and translating the demand forecast into a production plan that optimizes the company's objective, which is usually to maximize profit while optimizing customer satisfaction. The twin objectives of maximum profit and maximum customer satisfaction are not always compatible. Sometimes, a highly-valued customer may request a product that must be made under high-cost conditions. During the scheduling phase the production plan is translated into a detailed, sometimes hour-by-hour, schedule of products to be made. During the coordination phase, actual product output is compared with scheduled product output, and this information is used to adjust production plans and production schedules.