Inventory Planning with MRP: Forecasts and Master Production Schedule

Forecasts and the master production schedule (MPS) provide data for inventory planning. In this topic, you will find details about forecasts and the MPS in MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing Edition.

Master Production Schedule

A master production schedule (MPS) is a plan for the production of finished goods in the nearest period of time (such as a week or a month). In the schedule, you specify which items must be produced and when they should be produced. A master production schedule should take into consideration forecasts, sales order backlog, desired inventory levels, storage constraints, and production resources. MPS orders may depend on open production orders. In this case, the system reduces the quantity of the MPS order by the quantity of the item in the open production orders. To make the MPS orders dependent on production orders, you select the Dependent check box for the needed MPS type on the MPS Type (AM203000) form.

You create MPS orders manually by using the Master Production Schedule (AM201000) form.

Forecasts

A forecast predicts future demand (that is, sales orders that will be placed by customers) based on historical data. Forecast may depend on seasonality.

You can generate forecasts automatically by using the Generate Forecasts (AM502000) form or create a forecast manually by using the Forecast (AM202000) form. Forecasts may depend on the sales orders created in the system; that is, the quantity of items in the sales orders will reduce the forecast quantity. For dependent forecasts, you select the check box in the Dependent column on the Forecast form. For example, suppose that the forecast is an item quantity of 200 for September 1 to September 30, and sales orders with promised dates between September 1 and September 30 have a total open quantity of 150. Then the remaining forecast of 50 is used by inventory planning.

If you specify a particular customer on a forecast, and the check box in the Dependent column is selected, this forecast will be used by only sales orders for that customer. We do not recommend mixing both customer specific and non-specific forecasts for an inventory item because both forecasts will be applied to sales orders for that customer.