Running Material Requirements Planning (MRP)

In this unit, you will learn how to streamline the procurement process by automating steps.

The following video provides an overview of automation options and introduces the first step in an automated stock procurement process: the planning run.

The central function of Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is to ensure material availability. The quantities needed for production and sales must be procured in a timely manner. To ensure this, the MRP controller performs planning runs in the system.

Planning runs can be scheduled and executed automatically at regular, recurring intervals.

For materials that are procured externally, the procurement elements that can be generated as a result of a planning run are purchase requisitions or scheduling agreement schedule lines. A scheduling agreement is a long-term agreement with a supplier to purchase a specified quantity of material in a given period. The scheduling agreement schedule line specifies when exactly a partial quantity is to be delivered.

For a material to be planned, MRP data must be maintained in the corresponding material master record. This MRP data determines, among other things, which MRP procedure is used to plan a material and which lot-sizing procedure the system uses to calculate the quantity to be procured when MRP detects a shortage.

In addition to determining the requirements for a material, the MRP run can also determine a source of supply for the material. The prerequisite for this automatic source determination is that a valid source of supply for the material exists in the system.

In the following demo, you will learn how to perform a planning run using the Check Material Coverage app.