Entering Planning Rules and Definitions

Follow these steps

This section describes the activities included in the process.

1. Enter basic rules for master production Schedule

   In order for the master production schedule to create a proposal according to business needs, at least one planning method and one period template must be created.

   Information about the planning method and template are entered for each item in 'Item. Connect Warehouse' (MMS002). Information about orders and the on-hand balance are entered in 'Item. Connect Facility' (MMS003).

   • Planning method

     Planning methods determine how orders are managed in the material plan. The planning method helps to determine the setting of status, order releases, and action messages.

     Planning methods are entered in 'Planning Policy. Open' (MMS037).

   • Period template

     A period template defines how periods are divided. Periods are used for allocating loads and forecasts.

     Period templates are entered in 'Period Frame. Open' (MMS083).

2. Enter advanced settings for master production Schedule

   Advanced settings for the master production schedule are entered to define in detail how the schedule should work to meet business needs. These settings are optional.

   Examples of additional master production schedule definitions:

   • Time phased safety stock

     Time phased safety stock is used to further increase an item's safety stock during a limited time.

     Different demand bases can be used to calculate how the safety stock is increased.

     These are the demand base options:

     • Material plan, including late orders
     • Material plan, not including late orders
     • Forecasted quantity
     • Budgeted quantity

     Time phased safety stock is entered for each item in 'Safety Stock. Open Time Phased' (RPS040).

   • Planning entity

     A planning entity is a fictitious item on a higher level that is used for planning purposes. An example of a planning entity can be "pasta," which consists of the actual items spaghetti, macaroni, and tagliatelle.

     The planning entity is used to make forecasts on an aggregated level. The demand created in the forecast can then be driven down to the item level and used as a basis to buy critical material.

     Planning entities can be used for both non-fashion items as well as for styles and stock keeping units (SKUs).

     A planning entity is defined in two steps:

     • You define the planning entity for each warehouse in 'Planning Entity. Open' (RPS045).
     • You connect the items to the planning entity in 'Planning Entity. Connect Item' (RPS046).
   • Production rate

     Periodically increased and decreased production can be regulated by defining an altered production rate during a period.

     A minimum and maximum rate per day and a normal rate are entered for the period. The production volume is controlled by these values during the specific period.

     The production rate is entered in 'Production Rate. Open' (RPS030).

   • Point of time table

     If you want to use a different time bucket than a day for your MRP/ERP, the point of time table allows you to freely define the dates and times when a bucket should start and end. In 'Point of Time Table. Open' (RPS080), define a table that should be used when planning an item and connect it to the item/warehouse settings in (MMS002). Another prerequisite is that the item must have order policy 15. In 'Planning Policy. Open' (MMS037), there are also two parameters that control this feature.