Infor LX & BPCS Tip: MPS Planned vs. MRP Planned
Determining whether to use Master Production Schedule (MPS) planning or Material Requirements Planning (MRP) planning for items in Infor LX and BPCS involves understanding the nature of the items and their demand characteristics.
Master Scheduled Items typically encompass finished goods or service items. These items receive their requirements either from Independent demand, Dependent demand, or a combination of both.
- Independent Demand: This refers to demand that originates from sources such as forecasts or actual customer orders. Items sold directly to customers fall under this category.
- Dependent Demand: Derived from higher-level demand within the product structure, dependent demand comprises components, raw materials, and sub-assemblies. These items are not typically designated as Master Scheduled Items.
- Service Parts may exhibit both independent demand, originating from forecasts or customer orders, and dependent demand, stemming from their use in other sub-assemblies or products.
- A crucial concept in MPS is the Cumulative Lead Time, which combines fixed and variable lead times required to produce a product. It represents the longest path through a given Bill-of-Materials (BOM). In Infor LX (ERP LX), the system calculates the cumulative lead time, also known as the Critical Path, based on setup options. Utilize the "indented BOM" display in BOM300 to identify the item with the longest lead time. Additionally, you may need to use Action 21, Line Detail, to view the lead time ("L/T") for each item.