Abstract
Industrial companies must strive to achieve operational excellence; and developing and deploying concepts, principle and tools for production control is essential in this. Globalization, sustainability and ICT development are key trends changing the manufacturing environment. The ability to develop control processes and systems that adapt manufacturing to customer demand and requirements without increasing costs is becoming more important. The concepts of mass production and Lean Manufacturing must be combined with a true value chain perspective and manufacturing strategy must be translated into operational execution. Differentiation, real time control and execution, and the enabling role of ICT are vital factors. This paper describes trends, state-of-the art and research agendas for operational excellence through production control.