Material Requirements Planning (MRP) Features and Functions
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Variables for Which Schedules May Be Determined
Determine Schedules for: The end result of MRP/ERP is the determination of the best production schedule given a number of variables. This question tries to determine the depth of the planning process supported by the MRP functions.
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Situations for Schedule Alteration
Alter Schedule Depending Upon: It is rare that a planned production schedule doesn't need to be modified. This question lists many of the common causes of production planning problems, and asks if the system can handle each situation.
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Forecasting Methodologies
Forecasting Methodologies Supported: The thing that drives all production planning is the demand forecast. Since there are any number of forecasting methodologies that can be used, this question tries to highlight which ones are supported by the system.
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Time Buckets
Time Buckets Supported: When planning functions are carried out, the total amount of information can become very significant. MRP systems operate in two basic ways. Either they group time into specific buckets representing X number of days, or each day is considered to be an unique planning moment.
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Requirements Generation Mode
Requirements Generation Mode: As time passes, the demand, whether it is actual customer orders, forecasted orders, or both, will change the need for material. Generally speaking, MRP functions support one of three different methods of handling these changing requirements. Either the entire material forecast is regenerated from scratch, or only the net change between the current demand and the past demand are considered. If only the net change is taken into consideration, the new material forecast can be produced on-line as the demand changes or it can be produced in batch mode at regular or user-defined intervals.
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MRP Planning Basis
MRP Planning Basis: There will always be tradeoffs when production schedules are being determined. The set up costs of particular machines and operations will affect the total unit cost of each item being produced. Since the planning process is so complex, particularly if many items need to be produced, some rules have to be applied so the system itself can generate the schedule automatically. This question lists many of the rules that might be applied in an MRP system.
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Pegging Options
Pegging Options: Pegging is the freezing of material forecasts so that accurate production plans can be generated. Once the demand for an item has been "pegged", it will not change until users tell it to change. This enables users to take a snapshot that can then be used to create an accurate production plan.
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Requirements Segregation Basis
Segregates Requirements by: The process of creating a workable production plan involves many customer orders, purchased parts, manufactured parts, outside partners, and work groups within an organization. Once the "plan" has been created, it needs to be shared with all interested parties, and segregated by type of operation for further planning by each partner. This question lists some of these partners and plan divisions that might make sense.
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MRP (General)
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Manufacturing Features and Functions
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