This paper considers the nonidentical parallel machine scheduling problem in which n jobs having different due dates are to be scheduled on m nonidentical parallel machines. For the make-to-order manufacturing environment, the objective is to minimize the number of tardy jobs. A 0-1 nonlinear programming model is formulated and a heuristic algorithm that allocates and sequences jobs to machines is developed. The proposed algorithm makes use of the concept of assignment problem based on the suitability measure as the cost coefficient. Computational experiments show that the proposed algorithm is superior to the existing one in some performance measures such as number of tardy jobs. In addition, this algorithm is appropriate for solving real industrial problems efficiently.