Do You Understand What Your MRP System is Doing?

It's always a trick when it comes to operating an ERP or MRP system... knowing what it is trying to do.

I was in a situation today where there were at least three frustrated parties, all frustrated by the output of their MRP system.

Changes had been made to their master BoMs (Bill of Materials), this had been done correctly.

The Stores Team were frustrated by a lack of change to the information, they couldn't see the change.

The Planning Team were annoyed too. They could see that the changes hadn't taken effect either.

None of the three parties realised that they had to delete the kitting orders from their system and re-create them in order for the new information to appear.

Now, you're probably thinking that this information would appear in time and you would be right. Unfortunately these guys would have had to wait about four months if they hadn't followed through with the right actions.

My point here is not to try and explain a basic principle of MRP, but that if you are getting stuck with your own system a quick phone call to your MRP vendor can save a lot of time.

MRP systems don't work on magic, make sure you understand your system's logic!

If you are getting stuck with the outputs of your MRP system then please stop going round in circles and find out why your MRP system is doing what it is doing.

MRP systems can be brilliant when they are setup and used properly (and an absolute nightmare if they aren't!).

If you recognise any of the above frustrations I urge you to make a call to your vendor today,

Giles

About the author Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping businesses to grow and improve through better business processes. Giles is also the author of Business Process Re-Engineering and creator of the 'Making It Happen' continuous improvement toolkit.

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