Planning Workbench

This process is used to display the support available in M3 for implementing a Material Plan. The largest part of the work is done in ‘Material Plan. Open’ (MMS080).

To meet the demand date, distribution, purchasing and manufacturing are controlled via the action messages given for every planned order in the material plan.

Monitoring in the material plan can be categorized as order-related or demand-related, depending on the type of acquisition. When dealing with order-related monitoring, pegging in M3 is used. This is found by using option F11=Pegged requirements in ‘Material Plan. Open’ (MMS080).

You can also decide how to break down the product structure, depending on whether breakdown is done on a semi-finished product that belongs in the main structure.

To find out if a certain demand can be met as far as material is concerned, use ‘Component Availability. Check’ (RPS010). This way, the planner can quickly get necessary information in order to plan order proposals.

Before you start

A material plan must exist before the process can be used.

Follow these steps

The section below describes the scope of the process.

  1. Select Order with Action Messages

    Ordering begins when certain Action Messages are selected for processing.

    The selection depends on the reason for the action; for example, manufacturing could be blocked in certain work centers or a supplier cannot deliver certain items.

  2. Display Action Message per Stock Unit

    To make a correct judgement of planned orders, the orders are displayed with order quantity entered in the item’s basic unit of measure. In this manner, a better overview of the actual situation is obtained.

  3. Analyze Material Plan

    By analyzing the material plan and the load it shows, necessary changes can be made for time and quantity.

    If the analysis is performed on a regular basis, an appropriate balance can be reached between requirements and load.

  4. Change and Release Order

    If necessary, an order can be changed with regard to time and quantity to better match current or future demands. Overloads can also be a reason for changing and/or releasing an order.

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