Planning for Base Processes
MRP plans for a base process by determining the unsatisfied co-product demand for all co-products that reference the base process as their BOM/Formula code. MRP then creates planned orders to fill the unsatisfied co‑product demand without regard to projected quantities on hand for the base process.
Unlike the planning process for regular items, MRP does not consider base process inventory. There should never be an on-hand balance for a base process. Use item status codes to prohibit inventory movements, sales, purchases, and repetitive orders on base process items.
MRP does use the order policy and order modifiers for the base process, except safety stock, when creating planned orders. If the order policy is not period order quantity (POQ) or fixed order quantity (FOQ), MRP uses an order policy of POQ. If no order period is specified, MRP uses an order period of seven days.
When MRP plans a base process, it searches for the first unsatisfied demand record for a co-product. Then, depending on whether the order policy is POQ or FOQ, MRP evaluates unsatisfied demand records for all co-products of the base process:
POQ
MRP searches from the first unsatisfied demand record through the end of the order period.
FOQ
MRP looks at all unsatisfied demand records for all co-products that fall on the same date as the first unsatisfied demand record.
MRP creates one or more planned orders to satisfy demand for the co‑product that presents the greatest demand for the base process for a specific date or date range. As a result, planned orders for the other co‑products of the base process are also created.