About Incremental Planning and ATP/CTP

This topic applies only to APS. When you create, delete, or make changes to any of the system's base manufacturing data, most types of system transactions, and certain planning parameters, the system does not instantly apply these changes to the APS plan. The next time you run APS Planning, all current data will be used. This "delay" allows you to choose when to disrupt the existing plan with the new information.

However, you can insert most types of demand-related transactions into the current plan individually. When you add or update these transactions, the system incrementally updates the plan at each APS gateway refresh interval. In most cases, these transactions involve changes that are not disruptive. The new demand uses any inventory, supplies, and capacity that were unallocated after the last run of APS Planning and any previous incremental plans.

This topic describes the two methods of inserting a transaction into the APS plan:

Saving the transaction.
Clicking the Get ATP or Get CTP button on the transaction.

Planning Demands by Saving Them

The system inserts the following types of demands into the plan incrementally when you initially create and save them, provided the Plan on Save field is selected on the record you are saving (see below for information about this field).

Customer order lines
Customer order blanket releases
Project resources
Transfer order lines
Job orders (whether created on the Job Orders form or Engineering Workbench form)

The system plans the demand using the inventory, supplies, and resource capacity that were not allocated to other demands during the last run of APS Planning or any previous incremental plans.

If you later make changes to an existing demand and want the changes to be updated in the plan, click the Get ATP/CTP button. If you want to delay replanning the changes until the next time you run APS Planning, make the changes and save the record, but do not click the Get ATP/CTP button.

The Plan on Save Field

The Plan on Save field appears on the editing forms for each of the above demand types. If this check box is selected, the record is incrementally planned when you save the record, as described previously. If it is not selected, the record is not incrementally planned when you save it; you must click the Get ATP/CTP button and accept the availability results in order to incrementally plan the record.

See the "Plan on Save" help topic for details about why you should select or clear this field.

Planning Demands Using Get ATP and Get CTP

The Get ATP/CTP button is available for several system demands. These buttons allow you to test the viability of a demand and possible availability date against the current state of your APS plan and then actually insert the demand into the plan. To perform this "test plan," the system inserts the demand into a copy of your plan, using the input date you enter. It returns a realistic projected completion date, which you can then accept or reject.

If you accept the projected date, the system incrementally plans the demand in your actual production plan using that projected date. The demand is planned using the inventory, supplies, and resource capacity that were not reserved by other demands during the last run of APS Planning or by demands that were previously incrementally planned. If the projected date is unacceptable, you can cancel the incremental planning or you can override the projected date and plan the demand using an earlier date.

The Get ATP/CTP function is available for the following system demands:

Customer orders
Estimates (only for getting a projected date; estimates are not incrementally planned)
Customer order lines
Estimate line items (only for getting a projected date; estimate lines are not incrementally planned)
Customer order blanket releases
Project resources
Estimate project resources (only for getting a projected date; estimate project resources are not incrementally planned)
Transfer order lines
Job orders
Forecasts (but not forecasts for MPS items)
Master production schedule

Note:

If you're using Infinite APS, the Get ATP button is available. If you're using APS, the Get CTP button is available.
See the "Infinite APS vs. APS" section of the APS Overview for a discussion of the differences between Get ATP and Get CTP.
If the demand is associated with a warehouse in which the Dedicated Inventory field is selected, you cannot perform the Get ATP/CTP process. The error message "Availability cannot be checked for demands from warehouses with dedicated inventory" displays.
Availability of MPS items can be checked only on the MPS Orders and Job Orders forms.

Planning Remote Components

During an incremental planning or ATP/CTP process that involves a component produced at a remote supply site, the system contacts the supply site to perform the incremental planning. A planned transfer supply order is created at the receiving site and a planned transfer demand order is created at the supply site. If no supply sites are defined on the APS Sites and Alternate Management form (for example, you might be using replication categories to make transfer demands visible at the supply sites), the system plans the transfer demand order using the item's lead time and the transit time specified on the Inter-Site Parameters form. See Setting Up Planned Transfer Order Replication.

If supply sites are defined on the Planning Parameters form, all incremental planning runs in global mode, including ATP and CTP processes, and transfer orders are planned at the supply sites.