Macro Orders

This document explains what a macro order is, how and why it is used, how it is created, and how its content (materials and operations) is aggregated into the macro order.

Outcome

Understanding the macro order functionality can help you working with macro orders and carry out planning in M3 Business Engine (BE) and M3 Planning Workbench (M3 PWB).

Information about macro orders is saved in the following tables:

  • Macro order header (MMAOHE)
  • Macro order relations (MMAODE)
  • Macro order material (MMAODM)
  • Macro order operations (MMAODO)
  • Macro order details relations (MMAODR)
  • System parameters (CSYPAR) (macro order settings)
  • Macro order policy (MMAPOL).

Before you start

To use macro orders, the functionality must be activated and basic settings must be defined. This process is described in Enabling Macro Orders.

What Is a Macro Order?

A macro order is an aggregated order that summarizes information from several manufacturing orders and/or supply chains that refer to the same group of items.

Macro orders can be used for planning purposes if M3 PWB is integrated with M3 BE. Macro orders are especially suited for planning performed on a medium-term horizon or long-term horizon.

Why use Macro Orders?

The planner's work in M3 PWB is considerably simplified by macro orders for the following reasons:

  • Only the macro orders – and not the individual orders and/or supply chains themselves – need to be processed in M3 PWB. This means that the number of transactions sent from M3 BE is reduced, thereby keeping the transfer volumes down to a minimum.
  • A macro order acts as a filter and extracts only planning information from the orders and/or supply chains, and furthermore only the planning information that is considered as critical. This means that the amount of data in each transaction sent from M3 BE is reduced, which enables the planner to focus on the important information.

One effect of this is that system performance is improved and the transfer time to M3 PWB greatly reduced.

Basic facts about Macro Orders

An order or supply chain can automatically be connected to a macro order if the order or supply chain meets the following conditions:

  • Lies within a certain time frame
  • Refers to a certain item or group of items
  • Refers to a certain demand (if applicable)
  • Refers to a certain organizational entity.

When the content of the macro order is generated, only the materials and operations from the connected orders and/or supply chains that are considered critical are aggregated. The content can be regenerated whenever needed, which means that the information in the macro orders always is kept up to date.

The aggregation rules are user defined. This makes it possible to tailor the macro orders according to the planning requirements and routines at your company.

Processing Macro Orders

The following section provides an overview of how the macro orders are processed through the system.

  1. Macro orders are generated and maintained in M3 BE. The macro order header and its relation to orders and/or supply chains are generated automatically, while the information about materials and operations can be generated both automatically and manually. A number of programs further described below are used for this.

  2. The macro orders are then transferred to M3 PWB as API transactions. The program used for this purpose is RPS300MI.

  3. The planner in M3 PWB uses the macro orders for planning. The results of the planning are different types of decisions. Examples of decisions are to change planning dates or to move the entire production of an item or parts of the production to another date.

  4. When the planning has been carried out, only the decisions that were made – and not the macro orders themselves – are sent back to M3 BE. This is done in the form of an action log. The API program used for this purpose is CMS050MI.

  5. The action log is then displayed in M3 BE and the decisions are implemented. The concept of the action log is not further described in this document.

The building blocks of Macro Orders

This section describes the building blocks of a macro order as well as when the different blocks are generated and where they are displayed.

  • Macro Order header

    The macro order header contains general information such as status, time frame, and the item and demand level on which the aggregation is performed as well as general planning information such as safety time and summarized order quantity.

    When?

    The macro order header is created automatically when an order or supply chain that should be aggregated into a macro order is created and there is no existing valid macro order.

    The macro order header can also be re-created manually in 'Macro Order Connections. Re-create' (RPS370).
    Where? The macro order header is displayed and maintained in 'Macro Order. Open' (RPS300).
  • Macro Order relations

    This is a list of the orders and/or supply chains that are connected to the macro order. Some general information is displayed for each connected order and supply chain, such as the valid item, start and finish date, and the quantity. Note that both orders and supply chains can be connected to the same macro order.

    When?

    Every order and supply chain is automatically connected to the macro order when created.

    The relation list can be recreated manually in 'Macro Order Connections. Re-create' (RPS370).
    Where? The relation list is displayed in 'Macro Order Relations. Open' (RPS301).
  • Macro Order details

    This is all the materials and operations from the connected orders and supply chains that have been aggregated into the macro order. Each material or operation line contains summarized information such as the item level on which the aggregation was done, the valid time frame, and the quantity. For operation lines, information about the work center and run time is also displayed.

    When?

    The aggregation of materials and operations can be started in one of the following ways:

    • Manually for a selection of macro orders in 'Macro Order Details. Generate' (RPS390).
    • Manually for a single macro order in 'Macro Order. Open' (RPS300).
    • Automatically if (RPS390) was defined as a scheduled job.
    • When API program RPS300MI is run.

    The aggregation can be done many times, which means that the macro orders always can be kept up to date.
    Where? The macro order materials are displayed in 'Macro Order Material. Open' (RPS302), and the operations in 'Macro Order Operation. Open' (RPS303).
  • Macro Order detail relations

    This is a list displaying the connection between the structure sequence number of aggregated materials and operations in the macro order and the orders and/or supply chains from which the material and operations originate.

    When? This connection is created and updated automatically every time the macro order details are generated.
    Where? The detailed relations are displayed in 'Macro Order Relations. Open' (RPS304).

Creating Macro Order header and Macro Order relations

Every time a manufacturing order or supply chain is created in M3 BE, a check is made to determine whether or not the order should be connected to a macro order. For a connection to take place, one of the following conditions must be met:

  • If the order is part of a supply chain, then the item on the top-level demand of the supply chain must be connected to a macro order policy.
  • If the order is a manufacturing order, the item must be connected to a macro order policy and the order must contain critical materials or operations.

The following flow chart describes how the macro order header is created and how an order or supply chain is connected to the macro order:

  1. Retrieving Macro Order policy

    The macro order policy for the new order or supply chain item is retrieved.

  2. Checking if an existing Macro Order can be used

    A check is made to determine whether or not the new order or supply chain can be connected to an existing macro order. All conditions must be met for the connection to take place.

    • Is there a macro order in status 10 or 20?
    • Is there a macro order with macro order type 001? (In the current version of the system, this is the only valid type.)
    • Do they have the same macro order policy?
    • Do they have the same facility/warehouse?
    • Do they have the same ID for the item level that has been selected for the macro order policy?
    • If the aggregation is done for each customer, do they have the same customer number?
    • If the aggregation is done on a sublevel to the item level (according to the macro order policy), do they have the same attribute values?
    • Do they have the same order status, that is, preliminary or definite?
    • Does the order have a finish date – or the supply chain a due date on the top-level demand – that is later than the bucket start date and earlier than the bucket end date?

  3. Creating a new Macro Order

    If not all conditions are met, a new macro order is created. The macro order automatically receives the following:

    • A macro order number, according to the macro order number series in 'Number Series. Open' (CRS165).
    • Key values mentioned in the check above.
    • A time frame, according to the bucket lengths set in 'Settings – Macro Order' (RPS800).
    • Group technology, free item fields 1 to 5, item hierarchy 1 to 5, planning entity, procurement group, and schedule number from the item to which the order refers.

    Error Management

    In certain situations, the item level for the macro order can be automatically changed to the item number (MMITNO) instead of the item level on the macro order policy. This happens if an item that is connected to a macro order with

    • main product (MMHDPR) as the item level is not a stocked variant (that is, the item does not have configuration code 3).
    • planning entity (NHCCIT) as the item level is not connected to a planning entity.

    A message about the change of item level is then logged in 'Detailed Mail Message. Open' (CMS421).

  4. Connecting order or supply chain to Macro Order

    When the procedure above is completed, the order or supply chain is connected to a macro order.

    Manufacturing orders are always connected one by one, while a supply chain is always connected as a whole, using the supply chain number.

Generating Macro Order details

When the macro order details are generated, it affects not only the materials and operations. All of the components in the macro order are affected. The effects are described below.

  • Macro Order relations

    If an entire order or supply chain is reported as closed (status 90), it is removed from the macro order relation list.

  • Macro Order header

    The following fields in the macro order header are automatically recalculated and might therefore be changed:

    • Planning date. This date is set to the earliest finish date from the connected orders, or the earliest planning date from the top-level demand of the connected supply chains. The date is retrieved from the material plan.
    • Latest planning date. This date is set to the latest planning date from the connected orders.
    • Alternate planning date. This date is set to the earliest alternate planning date from the highest supply level, or the earliest planning date from the connected supply chains.
    • Quantity. This number is summarized from the planned quantity (according to the material plan) for the connected orders or the top-level demands of the connected supply chains.
    • Priority. This is set to the lowest value from the connected orders or from the top-level demands of the connected supply chains.
    • Safety time. This is set to the longest safety time from the connected orders or from the top-level demands of the connected supply chains.
    • Planner. This is set as the planner for the first connected order or supply chain. The planner is retrieved from the item in 'Item. Connect Warehouse' (MMS002).
  • Macro Order detailed relations

    All relations between the materials/operations that were aggregated into the macro order and the order or supply chain from which they originate are stored in a separate table.

    The information in the table consists of the order number or supply chain number as well as the structure sequence number that the aggregated materials or operations have received.

  • Macro Order operations

    All critical operations from connected orders and supply chains are retrieved into the macro order.

    Note: 
    • It is the planning or subcontracting group (a work center with resource type Operation (1) or Subcontractor (2)) that is added to the macro order. If the operation is based on resources (work center resource type 6 (Work center resource)), then the planning group entered for the resource in 'Work Center. Open' (PDS010) is automatically retrieved.
    • Operations are retrieved to the macro order even if they are closed as long as the order itself is not closed.
    • Operations are retrieved from all levels in a supply chain except from the order set as the lowest level in the used supply chain policy. This order is always connected to a separate macro order and not the one to which the supply chain is connected. The reason for this is that the lowest level order can be connected to multiple supply chains and could therefore be calculated multiple times.

    All operations from different orders and supply chains are aggregated into the same operation line in the macro order if they

    • refer to the same warehouse on the order header
    • refer to the same planning or sub-contracting group
    • have a finish date that is later than (or equal to) the bucket start date and earlier than (or equal to) the bucket end date
    • have the same basic unit of measure on the order header
    • use the same operation number.
      Note: The operation number is always updated but only used as a key if selected in the macro order policy.)

    Each operation line in the macro order is assigned an operation sequence number. Note that these numbers are set according to the order in which the operation lines are created in the macro order, and have nothing to do with the sequence in which the operations will be performed. The operations are assigned sequence numbers starting with 0000001, unless they have the 'Critical resource' field set to 2 (Critical but non-controlling) in the product structure, in which case the sequence numbers starts with 900001.

    Certain data for the operation is calculated when the details are aggregated, such as the order quantity, manufactured quantity, and run time. See the help text in 'Macro Order Operation. Open' (RPS303) for information about this is done.

    When all operations are aggregated into the macro order, internal relations between the operations are generated. For each operation, a reference to a parallel operation and/or next operation might be added if the following conditions are met:

    • Parallel Operation

      Parallel operations are only managed within one order regardless of whether or not the order is included in a supply chain.

      For the parallel relation to be created, the 'Parallel operation overlap code' field must be activated for the operations in the product structure in 'Product. Connect Operations' (PDS002/I), and the controlling operation must have a higher operation number. This can only be done for facilities with the M3 SWB functionality which is activated in 'Facility. Open' (CRS008).

      If these conditions are met, the sequence number of the controlling parallel operation is displayed for the controlled operation.

    • Next Operation – Manufacturing Orders

      Next operations are created when the operations are within the same order, if the next operation has a higher operation number and is set as a critical operation.

      If these conditions are met, the sequence number of the next operation is displayed on the previous operation in the macro order.

    • Next Operation – Supply Chains

      Next operations are created if the operations are within the same supply chain, within the same leg of the supply chain and set as critical operations.

      The meaning of "within the same leg" is illustrated above. Both operation 1 and 2 will have operation 3 as next operation. However, there will be no connection between operation 1 and 2 even though operation 1 is at a lower level. This is because they exist on different legs in the supply chain.

      If these conditions are met, the sequence number of the next operation is displayed for the previous operation in the macro order.

    • Safety Time – Supply Chain

      A safety time can be calculated if the operation is retrieved from a supply chain. The safety time is set to the maximum safety time for all item levels between the operation in question and the next operation. The time is used during planning to determine how much the operation can be moved in time without delaying the top-level demand.

    • Shipping Buffer

      Normally a shipping buffer, expressed in production days, is calculated for an operation. The shipping buffer is the time spent between the operation and the next operation minus the transportation time. This includes time spent in non-critical operations, waiting time between operations or orders, and possible safety times.

      The time spent between operations' is calculated as the time between the original finish date for the operation and the original start date of the sub-sequential operation (next operation). If there is no next operation relation, the planning start date on the macro order header is used instead of the original start date. 'The transportation time' is calculated as the difference between the sending and receiving date/time in the material plan.

      Note: This calculation is not made if the shipping buffer was entered manually for the material and operation in the product structure. If the operations overlap, the shipping buffer can be negative.
  • Macro Order materials

    All critical materials from connected orders and supply chains are retrieved into the macro order. There is one exception: Materials are retrieved from all levels in a supply chain except from the order set as the lowest level in the used supply chain policy. This order is always connected to a separate macro order and not the one to which the supply chain is connected. The reason for this is that the lowest level order can be connected to multiple supply chains and could therefore be calculated multiple times.

    All materials from different orders and supply chains are aggregated into the same material line in the macro order if they

    • refer to the same warehouse
    • have the same ID for the item level that has been selected for details in the macro order policy
    • have the same attribute values (if the aggregation for details is done on a sublevel to the item level, according to the macro order policy)
    • have a reservation date that is later than (or equal to) the bucket start date and earlier than (or equal to) the bucket end date
    • have the same basic unit of measure, according to the item definition in (MMS001)
    • are connected to the same operation.

    Each material line in the macro order is assigned a material sequence number. This number is added in the same order as the material lines are created in the macro order and has nothing to do with the sequence in which the materials will be used.

    Some data for the material is calculated when the details are aggregated, as for example reserved and allocated quantity. See the help text in 'Macro Order Material. Open' (RPS302) for information about how this is done.

    • Material Related to an Operation

      A material can be connected to an operation. When this connection is made differs for orders and supply chains.

    • For Orders

      The connection is made if the operation is within the same order as the material, if it is set as critical, and if it has an equal or higher operation number than the material in question.

    • For Supply Chains

      Refer to the 'Next Operation – Supply Chain' section.

    • Safety Time – Supply Chain

      A safety time can be calculated for the material if it is retrieved from a supply chain. The safety time is calculated in the same way as for an operation.

    • Shipping Buffer

      A shipping buffer is calculated in the same way as for an operation.

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