Scheduling Production Jobs Using MRP
MRP (Materials, Requirements, Planning) is a production planning and inventory control system used by companies to manage their manufacturing processes. MRP systems are designed to ensure materials are available for production and to ensure products are available for delivery to customers. In addition, MRP helps companies maintain the lowest possible material and product levels, plan manufacturing activities, and manage delivery schedules. DEACOM’s MRP approach is to provide a filtered list of only those items requiring action by the user. These items include those that are purchased from outside suppliers and subassemblies that are components of other items produced internally.
Configuration
For requirements to enter and schedule Jobs, please refer to the Configuration sections of Entering Production Jobs and Scheduling Production Jobs. In addition, any item that needs to be taken into consideration when using MRP needs to be setup properly on the Item Master record within DEACOM via Inventory > Item Master. Item Master setup includes:
- On the General tab:
- Define a "Scrap %" - Defines the scrap percentage for this item and allows users to define the material used to complete the Job versus the final amount actually produced. For more information, refer to the Utilizing Scrap Factors page.
- On the Properties tab:
- Check the "Include in MRP" flag
- Check other MRP Job flags as desired - Split MRP Jobs By Job Quantity, Create Separate MRP Job. For more information on these flags, refer to the definitions available on the Item Master Encyclopedia page.
- On the MRP tab:
- Define items as desired. Information on the MRP tab is used when running MRP reports in the system. If running MRP for a specified facility and facility-specific MRP information is present in the Facilities tab and set as active, MRP will use the information on the Facilities tab instead. If MRP is run without specifying a facility, or the facility specified does not have MRP information loaded, the information on the item master MRP tab is used. The table contained in the Item Master Encyclopedia page has details regarding the fields available on the MRP tab and an example is detailed below.
- On the Facilities tab:
- Optional; the facility tab on the item master allows companies to manage inventory in multiple locations as well as offering the ability to configure MRP options that will apply to this specific facility when MRP reports are filtered by facility.
Example: Splitting MRP Jobs and the Job Minimum/Maximum fields
The below example illustrates the use of the job minimum and job maximum fields.
Example 1:
- MRP suggested quantity to satisfy demand = 10,000 units
- Job Minimum field = 1,500
- Job Maximum field = 3,000
- “Split MRP jobs by job quantity” flag is checked for this item.
If using the “Create Job” or “Auto Job” button the system will create four jobs for 3,000 – 3,000 – 2,500 – 1,500 (the last job size is set to the minimum and the difference is subtracted from the second to last job).
Example 2:
- MRP suggested quantity to satisfy demand = 10,000 units
- Job Minimum field = 0
- Job Maximum field = 3,000
- “Split MRP jobs by job quantity” flag is checked for this item.
If using the “Create Job” or “Auto Job” button the system will create four jobs for 3,000 – 3,000 – 3,000 – 3,000 (total is 12,000 because no minimum is set).
Note: The “Split MRP Jobs By Job Quantity” and “Create Separate MRP Job” flags may be used together when desired.
Process
- Navigate to Inventory > MRP to display the MRP pre-filter.
- Fill in the appropriate selections or fields. The MRP Pre-filter section contained in the link above contains details regarding the different fields and options available on the pre-filter form.
- Click the "View" button to generate the MRP report form. Users may wish to generate multiple MRP reports to view different item types such as raw materials, components, or finished goods.
- Once the report form has been generated, the buttons may be used to view additional information for the selected items or create the appropriate production, purchase, or inter-company transfer orders to satisfy demand for these items. Additional information is available in the MRP Buttons section contained in the link above.
- Once users have completed the necessary analysis or performed the necessary transactions, they may click the "Exit" button to close the report form. In some cases users may choose to leave the MRP report form displayed for longer periods. In these cases, the "Refresh" button located on the DEACOM toolbar may be used to update the report without re running the pre-filter.
FAQ & Diagnostic Tips
What sales order types are taken into consideration for MRP?
Sales orders, Forecast orders, Inter-company Transfers, Cross Facility and Block orders. Credit Memos (orders with negative amounts) are not taken into account or displayed in the "-Sales" column of MRP reports.
Are scrap percentages taken into consideration when running MRP?
Yes, scrap percentages are considered when calculating requirements.
Do inter-company transfers show in both the sending and receiving facilities when running MRP?
Yes, the shipping facility will show a record in the (-)Sales column as soon as the order is created and the receiving facility will show a record of the transfer in the (+)ICXFER column as soon as the order is created. If there is a facility filter on the MRP pre-filter, drilling into the (+)ICXFER column will show no results because the ICXFER has the sending facility in the facility field of the order and not the receiving facility.
Besides forecast sales orders does DEACOM provide a tool to load sales forecasts?
Yes, DEACOM offers the users the ability to generate forecasts from sales history or by entering forecast information manually. This feature was designed to handle situations where customer demand is not present, including items such as raw materials that have long lead times. The path is Sales > Forecasts.
Do you need to use the “Optimize Prices” button before using the “Auto PO” button in MRP?
Yes. When you initially run MRP the purchase price for all items is 0. This will change when the optimize pricing feature is used. The Auto PO function will only work correctly after the optimize pricing feature has been run. In cases where optimize pricing is not desired the “Create PO” button may be used.
What can I check if demand is not showing up on MRP that should be?
Check the following.
- Are items set to Include in MRP on properties tab in Item Master?
- Are Jobs using the correct BOM revision?
- Are MRP dates filled in on the order or job headers?
Do lead times go on the finished goods or the raw materials?
All items need lead times. The lead time of the finished goods is the amount of time from when the job is entered to the time it is available to send out the door. The lead time of the raw materials is the amount of time from when the purchase order is placed to when they’re available for production. Therefore, the lead times include QC and any other intermediate steps that need to be complete before the items become available.
Can I plan what items to produce based on customer-specific QC specifications?
Yes, the MRP QC Planning feature can be used to plan and create jobs within MRP based on customer-specific QC specifications.
Why is MRP doubling my Ordered quantity when looking at Indirect requirements? The job is showing half that quantity.
If the BOM has an item listed twice, it will double the job quantity so it will calculate the correct quantity needed.
When filtering by Part Starts With or by Category does this reduce the load on the MRP request? In other words does it still search across ALL active items or does it perform the MRP search with only the filtered items you request? If we reduce the active items in our item master would that help reduce the load?
MRP has to run the internal calculations for every item in the item master to properly compute indirect requirements. There is not any way around that except to reduce the number of days you are running, or reduce the number of active item masters you have. You could inactivate items that have not been used in a while and re-activate them if you ever need them again.
Sometimes when we run and get this error, OLE IDispatch exception code 0 from Deacom.Reporting: Failed to gather the grid data: Exception of type 'System.OutOfMemoryException' was thrown...., within 5-10 seconds after the error pops up, we actually get an MRP results screen. Should those results be considered credible?
While porting to .Net, there was a mechanism that if a new .Net grid failed to load it would fall back and run the old fox pro code for the same grid. The MRP results that pop up might help you, but the code is out of date and likely cannot be trusted. Do not trust any business decisions off of data returned after the error message.
Can I run an MRP report for the both the child and parent parts on a bill of material?
Yes, the "BOM MRP" button on the View BOM form will display this type of information. Additional information on this feature is available in the "Bills of Materials Button" section via Inventory > Bills Of Material.
How are daily forecast quantities, which exist prior to the start date specified on the MRP pre-filter, handled when running MRP Reports?
If the forecast quantities exist that are prior to the start date of the MRP report, the forecast quantities prior to the MRP report start date are ignored. For example, assume a forecast has a starting date of Monday, a bucket type of "Days" and the number of buckets set to "5". Next, an item is added to the forecast with a quantity of 20 for each day. If an MRP is run on Wednesday, with a start date of Wednesday, then a quantity of 20 will exist in the forecast column for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The system will not add the quantities for Monday and Tuesday to the first day of the MRP report which is Wednesday.
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