Using item acquisition schedules

Use an acquisition schedule to restrict the application of lead time for an item during a push or pull plan (for example, to represent the concept of business days). For example, the interval of the acquisition schedule could represent the time between an order being placed and the time it is satisfied, including paperwork, transit, unpacking, etc. During this interval, the demand does not consume any capacity.

Specify an acquisition schedule for each purchased item and for each manufactured item-site combination (for manufactured items, this feature is useful for transferred items).

Any item can use the same acquisition schedule. For example, during pull-planning, the Planner starts at the item's need date and searches backward in time until it finds a lead-time (standard and expedited) amount of "working time" in the acquisition schedule's shift interval.

The Planner interprets the lead time for a purchased item (or transit time, for a manufactured item produced at another site) as working time on the acquisition schedule. A lead-time amount of working time from the item's need date offsets the time the purchase order or transfer order must be placed at the vendor or supply site.

For example, consider these conditions:

• An acquisition schedule is assigned to item 123, in which the interval is 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

• Item 123 has a fixed lead time of 0.0 and a variable lead time of 1 hour.

• There is an order for item 123 with a quantity of six, which is due in three weeks.

Given the shift interval of 12-5, one day per week, the Planner has 15 hours of working time within the three-week window. To determine the latest time the order can be placed to satisfy the requirement, the Planner looks three weeks into the future and then searches backward until it finds six hours of working time. The result is 4 p.m. on the second Saturday.