How to: Plan for New Demand

This planning task can be performed in the Order Planning window, which displays all new demand along with availability information and suggestions for supply. It provides the visibility and tools needed to effectively plan demand from sales lines and component lines and then create different types of supply orders directly.

You can enter the Order Planning window in two ways depending on your focus.

To plan for new production order demand

  1. In the Search box, enter Production Orders, and then choose the related link. You can perform these steps for a planned, firm planned, or released production order.

  2. Open the production order you want to plan. On the Navigate tab, in the Order group, choose Planning.

  3. In the Order Planning window, on the Action tab, in the Functions group, choose Calculate Plan.

The window displays planning lines according to the view filter Production Demand, meaning unfulfilled component lines of all existing production orders. Demand for only the one production order is not shown because t is necessary to plan for one production order with an overview of demand for potentially earlier components lines. Planning lines for the production order in context are expanded.

To plan for any new demand

  1. In the Order Planning window, on the Action tab, in the Functions group, choose Calculate Plan.

    The window displays planning lines according to the view filter All Demand, meaning sales order lines as well as production component lines with insufficient availability. You can change this filter as you like.

    When the plan is being calculated, any new demand that has arisen since a plan was last calculated is analyzed. The quantity needed is calculated based on total availability of each demand line found. This calculation is done order-by-order, meaning that the order that includes the demand line with the earliest due date or shipment date is considered first, and all other demand lines in that production order, irrespective of their individual due dates or shipment dates, are also calculated for that order. Therefore, all planning lines under one order header line have the same demand date. When the calculation is completed, all unfulfilled demand is displayed as planning lines, sorted by the earliest demand date, with the various quantity fields filled in.

    The Order Planning window is filled with order header lines representing orders with unfulfilled demand.

    1. The Demand Date field contains the earliest shipment or due date of a demand line in the order.

    2. The Demand Type field shows whether the demand is from sales lines or component lines.

    3. The Description field contains the following depending on the demand type.

      Demand type Description

      Production

      The description of the produced item.

      For production demand for a project production order, the customer name is displayed. For more information, see How to: Plan Project Orders.

      Sales

      The customer name.

    The first planning line has the earliest demand date, and therefore you should plan this line first. To see the actual demand lines, either sales order lines or component lines, of each order header line, you must expand the line.

  2. Choose the Expand (+) button in front of the date in the Demand Date field to see the underlying planning lines that represent demand lines with insufficient availability.

  3. For each expanded planning line, that is, demand line, you can see values in information fields at the bottom of the window.

    Option Description

    Qty. on Other Locations

    Shows if the item exists on another location. You can then look up and select it.

    Substitutes Exist

    Shows if a substitute item is created for the item. You can then look up and select it. Note that this feature only applies to components, that is, from demand lines of type Production.

    Quantity Available

    Shows the total availability of the item, that is, the Projected Available Balance.

    Earliest Date Available

    Shows the arrival date of an inbound supply order that can cover the needed quantity on a date later than the demand date.

  4. In the Replenishment System field, select which type of supply order to create.

    The default value is that of the item card, or SKU card, but you can change it to one of three options:

    Option Description

    Purchase

    Creates a purchase order.

    Transfer

    Creates a transfer order.

    Prod. Order

    Creates a production order.

    In the Supply From field you must select a value according to the selected replenishment system.

    Note

    If the field is not filled in, the system will display an error message when you use the Make Supply Order function, and no supply order will be created for the planning line in question. This, however, is not the case if the replenishment system is Prod. Order.

  5. From the Supply From field, you can look up in the relevant list and select where the supply should come from:

    • If replenishment system is Purchase, the look-up button in this field looks up in the Item Vendor Catalog window.

    • If replenishment system is Transfer, the look-up button in this field looks up in the Location List window.

    In case the item exists in another location, the Qty. on Other Location field at the bottom shows a value and you can then look up and select the location from which the item should be supplied when you make the transfer order.

    If a substitute exists for the demanded item, the Substitute Exists field is set to Yes, and you can then look up to the Item Substitution Entries window and select the substitute.

  6. Select the Reserve check box if you want to make a reservation between the supply order you are creating and the demand line that it is created for. It is empty by default.

    Note

    You can only select this check box if the item has Optional or Always in the Reserve field on its item card.

  7. In the Qty. to Order field, you can enter the quantity that will go on the supply order you are creating.
    The default value is the same quantity as that in the Needed Quantity field. But you may decide to order more or less than this quantity based on your knowledge of the demand situation. If, for example, you see in the Order Planning window that several unrelated demand lines are for the same purchased item, and they are due around the same date, you can consolidate these by entering the total needed quantity in the Qty. to Order field of one line, and then delete the other, obsolete planning lines for that item.

  8. In the Due Date and Order Date fields, you can enter the dates that should apply to the created supply orders.

    These two fields are interrelated according to the Default Safety Lead Time field, which can be found in the Manufacturing Setup window. By default, the due date is the same as the demand date, but you can change this as you like.

Note

If you enter a date later than the demand date, you will receive a warning message.

To make supply orders

  1. In the Search box, enter Production Orders, and then choose the related link. You can perform these steps for a planned, firm planned, or released production order.

  2. Open the production order you want to plan. On the Navigate tab, in the Order group, choose Planning.

  3. Place the cursor on a relevant planning line. In the Order Planning window, on the Action tab, in the General group, choose Make Orders.

  4. In the Make Supply Orders window, on the Order Planning FastTab, in the Make Orders for field, select one of the following options.

    Option Description

    The Active Line

    Make a supply order only for the line where the cursor is placed.

    The Active Order

    Make supply orders for all lines in the order where the cursor is placed.

    All Lines

    Make supply orders for all lines in the Order Planning window.

  5. On the Options FastTab, define what kind of supply orders, or requisition worksheet lines, should be made.

    Note

    The settings you last made in the Make Supply Orders window will be saved under your user ID so that they are the same the next time you use the window.

  6. Choose the OK button to make the suggested supply orders or requisition worksheet lines.

You have now planned for the unfulfilled demand by making respective supply orders. Details about specific work flows when using the Order Planning window would depend on a company’s internal policies.

When you have finished your planning work in the Order Planning window, for example defined an alternative way to supply the quantity, you can proceed to create supply orders for one or more of the planning lines.

Note

The supply orders you create may introduce new dependent demand, for example for underlying production orders, and you should therefore choose Calculate Plan again to find and resolve this before moving down the list.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Refresh Production Orders
How to: Replan Production Orders
How to: Run MPS and MRP

Concepts

About Planning Functionality

Other Resources

Reserve
Design Details: Supply Planning
Setup Best Practices: Supply Planning