This chapter, authored by Henk Zijm and Alberto Regattieri, focuses on the essentials of manufacturing planning and control systems, particularly in discrete manufacturing. It begins with an introduction to basic concepts such as the Economic Production Quantity (EPQ) for efficiency-driven production under deterministic demand. The chapter then delves into more advanced topics, including Materials Requirements Planning (MRP), Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II), and capacity-oriented Hierarchical Production Planning (HPP). It also introduces the Just-in-Time (JIT) and Lean Manufacturing (LM) philosophies, which propose a different approach to organizing manufacturing and assembly processes. A case study on the Toyota production system is used to illustrate key concepts of Lean Manufacturing. Additionally, the chapter covers Workload Control and the Theory of Constraints, which help maintain stable and predictable internal lead times. Finally, it provides an overview of state-of-the-art and future developments, emphasizing digital and cloud manufacturing.This chapter, authored by Henk Zijm and Alberto Regattieri, focuses on the essentials of manufacturing planning and control systems, particularly in discrete manufacturing. It begins with an introduction to basic concepts such as the Economic Production Quantity (EPQ) for efficiency-driven production under deterministic demand. The chapter then delves into more advanced topics, including Materials Requirements Planning (MRP), Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II), and capacity-oriented Hierarchical Production Planning (HPP). It also introduces the Just-in-Time (JIT) and Lean Manufacturing (LM) philosophies, which propose a different approach to organizing manufacturing and assembly processes. A case study on the Toyota production system is used to illustrate key concepts of Lean Manufacturing. Additionally, the chapter covers Workload Control and the Theory of Constraints, which help maintain stable and predictable internal lead times. Finally, it provides an overview of state-of-the-art and future developments, emphasizing digital and cloud manufacturing.