Materials Resource Planning (MRP) Using Purchase Methods

The EBMS software contains many tools to manage inventory stock levels. These tools are used to purchase raw materials, parts, or other product required to manufacture an item or create a mix.

Prerequisites

The following steps are prerequisites before continuing with the MRP step:

1. Create inventory items within the EBMS product catalog for the finished goods as well as the sub-assemblies or raw material. Verify that the default Purchase Method is set within each item. Items that are ordered from the supplier after the manufacturing batch is created should contain a Count tab > Purchase Method setting of Sync Quantities or Associated like a special-order item. Items that are stocked and purchased before the manufacturing batch is created should have a Count Purchase Method of Stocked. Review the Purchasing > Purchase Methods section for more details on different purchase methods. Review the Product Catalog > Entering New Products section for more details on creating product records.

2. Create a bill-of-materials (BOM), mix, or component list for the finished item. Note that optional components can be configured within a component list. Review the Components and Accessories Overview section for more details on creating these materials lists.

3. Create manufacturing batches for the planned finished goods as shown below:
   
   Only populate the Quantity column of the Finished Goods list and let the Manufactured column blank. Review the Manufacturing > Creating a Batch > Creating a Simple Batch section for more details.

4. Set the proper Purchase Method as shown within the circled settings shown above. Items that are ordered from the supplier after the manufacturing batch is created should contain a Count tab > Purchase Method setting of Sync Quantities or Associated like a special-order item. Items that are stocked before the manufacturing batch is created should have a Count > Purchase Method of Stocked. The default Purchase Method can be set within the Count tab of the product record so the setting does not need to be set within the batch. Review Purchasing > Purchase Methods for more details on different purchase methods.  

5. Enter the Start Date or other batch dates to schedule the batch as shown above. Review Schedule Dates for more details on batch dates.

6. Manufacturing dates and other information can be changed from a batch list. Review Scheduling a Batch for more details on the batch scheduling tool.

Purchasing

The purchasing process of the parts or raw material used within the manufacturing batch should only be attempted after the manufacturing batch is entered including the Consumed Items. Complete the following steps:

1. Open the Purchasing tool for the first step in the MRP process by selecting Product > Purchasing from the main EBMS menu as shown below:
   
   The materials resource planning (MRP) process within the purchasing window depends on the source of the Consumed Goods within the batch.

1.  Items that are in stock: Use the Purchasing tool to maintain inventory stock levels. Click on the Create > Purchase Order option to create a purchase order for items needed for manufacturing. Review the Creating a Batch > Purchasing the Required Materials section for details on how to create a purchase order based on the stock level settings needed raw materials.

2. Items that are manufactured as sub-assemblies or sub-mixes: Use the Purchasing tool to maintain inventory stock levels of manufactured items as shown above. Select Create > Manufacturing Batch from the purchasing window instead of the Create > Purchase Order option.

3. Items that are special ordered from the supplier after the manufacturing batch is created: Unlike options A & B, the Special Orders tab allows the user to query batches based on the manufacturing batch's Start Date to only identify the batches scheduled within a user specified date. Complete the following steps to create purchase orders for items that special orders for specific manufacturing batches:

Special Order Purchasing

1. Click on the Special Orders tab within the Products > Purchasing tool as shown below:
   

2. Enable any query options such as the Vendor option to only show the items for a specific Vendor, Folder, Manufacturer, or Purchase Method. Review the Purchasing > Special Orders and Drop Ship Items > Purchasing Special Orders section for more details on this purchasing tool.

3. Enable the Only Include Ship Dates Within __ Days option to only list the items that are needed in the next __ days. For example, if the user enters 14 Days the system will ignore any manufacturing batches that are scheduled in the future beyond 14 days.

4. Click Find F5 to list all the items within the selected query settings.

5. Select the items to purchase but clicking on the Selected column. Click Select All to order all items.

6. Click Create PO to create a purchase order for the selected items. Special order details lines that are purchased on a purchase order will be removed from the Special Orders list. Review the Purchasing > Special Orders and Drop Ship Items > Purchasing Special Orders section for more details on the purchasing process.

The EBMS software will list all consumed items entered within all manufacturing batches unless batches are queried by the batches' Start Date within the Special Orders tab. It is recommended that the user wait to enter and schedule manufacturing batches until the consumed items that are stocked should prompt the purchase of the inventory items. For example, if the Finished Goods within a batch are not needed for a few months, the batch should not be entered until the Consumed Goods, parts, or raw material should affect the purchasing process. Review the Purchasing > Inventory Stock Level Settings section for more details on how sales orders and manufacturing batches affect the purchasing process.