The MRP and APS systems create one planned order for each requirement that is not satisfied by existing on-hand inventory or other receipts. You can consolidate these planned orders into more manageable increments by specifying parameters on the Planning Parameters form and on the Items form.
The consolidation options allow you to generalize the planning detail progressively as the planned orders are due later. For example, you may want to plan carefully all requirements due within the week, but group everything due after that into larger groups that are easier to track.
NOTE: MRP consolidates only according to the Days Supply value defined on the Items form, and always with a value of at least 1. Although you can enter 0 in the Days Supply field, MRP treats 0 as 1 day.
The system follows these steps to determine how to combine the planned orders for a given item. In MRP mode, the MRP Planning activity performs the steps. In APS mode, the system performs these steps in one of the following ways:
| Consolidation Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| None (default) | The system does not consolidate the planned orders. There will be one planned order for each unsatisfied requirement for the item. MRP does not support this option; it always consolidates with a Days Supply of at least 1. |
| One Day | The system consolidates all planned orders due on the same day into a single planned order. There will be one planned order for each day's requirements for the item. |
| Days Supply | The system consolidates all planned orders due within the item's
Days
Supply number of days into a single planned order. For example,
suppose an item with Days Supply = 5 has four planned orders:
PLN01 due October 10, Qty=500 PLN02 due October 13, Qty=100 PLN03 due October 17, Qty=500 PLN04 due October 22, Qty=50 The system consolidates PLN01 and PLN02 into one planned order for quantity of 600 due October 10. PLN03 and PLN04 are consolidated into a single planned order for quantity of 550 due October 17. The due date of the earliest requirement is used as the due date of the consolidated planned order. Use the Days Supply option with caution. It is designed for use with Purchased/Transferred items. Problems may occur when consolidating the PPLNs (parent planned orders); this situation may cause material not to be ordered on time for a given order. |
PLN10 due December 20, Qty=100
PLN11 due December 23, Qty=50
PLN12 due January 6, Qty=200
PLN13 due January 10, Qty=100
PLN14 due January 31, Qty=100
All of these planned orders are due within the same 30-day period. The system combines these orders into a single planned order for 550, due December 20.
Note: Typically, the 90-day Bucket Fence is set to a larger number of days than the 30-day Bucket Fence, to create a logical progression of detail in your planned orders.
If you are using APS, you can disable consolidation for a specific item while using consolidation for the rest of your items. Enter 0 in the Days Supply field on the Items form for the item for which you want to disable consolidation. Planned orders for this item will not be consolidated (however, consolidation happens as specified for all other items). If you are using MRP, the system always consolidates with Days Supply of at least 1.