Material and Resource Planning
Sicon Material & Resource Planning (MRP) is designed for businesses needing to streamline their decision making processes and simplify stock planning. Used in conjunction with Sicon Works Order Processing (WOP), there are two sides to the MRP solution; the first relates to stock movements and the second Rough Cut Capacity Planning.
From a stock perspective, demand is taken from a number of sources, including existing sales and purchase orders, forecast sales orders, free stock and minimum stock levels. Running Material Planning generates a list of suggestions for both what you need to order and what you need to make. These can then create purchase orders, kits or works orders as required.
Rough Cut Capacity Planning provides a number of options for the user to view a daily/weekly schedule of labour and machine capacity based on existing live works orders. These graphical views, with a drag and drop interface, enable users to adjust the production plan by moving works orders and sub-assemblies in real-time.
Material Planning can only be run by one user at a time. Previous results can be reviewed, but only for the most recent run, regardless of which user generated that run. Users do not need to come out of Sage while Material Planning is running; it’s also possible for the user running it to minimize the screen in order to use other areas of Sage while it is running. However, given that Material Planning is using current stock levels and existing orders in its calculations, if these change mid-run, then the suggestions may not reflect those changes.
Material Planning
Material planning is based upon calculations of stock movements on stock items. The stock movements are basically a timeline of incoming and outgoing stock on a stock item. When stock levels fall below certain levels, or there isn’t enough stock to meet the demand from a sales order/works order/kit/forecast, then a suggestion is raised.
The stock movements for a particular stock item can be viewed from a number of places in the Sicon Manufacturing module. One place to view these stock movements is on a stock item in stock control. If a stock item is amended or viewed in Sage, then there will be a button called Stock Movements at the bottom of the screen. This screen is described in the Future Stock Movements section of this guide.
Having an understanding of stock movements will help when reviewing and investigating suggestions in material planning.