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Frozen period in production schedule adversely impacts availability and freshness.
Many companies have the practice of keeping the first few days of the production schedule as frozen, which can’t be modified. It apparently brings semblance of stability to the production team. In reality, it is a cover up for production inflexibility.
If the demand for a particular product surges in the market, we can’t respond in time due to our inability to reschedule production. It could lead to stockouts. If we want to cover up for it and maintain service levels, we need to keep higher inventory buffers.
On the other hand, if the demand slumps and the item is on the frozen production schedule, we are bound to end up with excess inventory.
If you want to improve availability and reduce inventory simultaneously, one of the improvement areas is to reduce the frozen period and eliminate it completely, if possible.