Launch a Supply Plan
Material Requirements Planning (MRP) helps production managers schedule and place orders for items that depend on demand. NetSuite Supply Planning helps supply planners determine how to establish criteria to fulfill demand plan requirements.
After a supply plan is created you can refresh the Planning Repository to create a new, updated planning repository schedule and review existing schedules. After refreshing the planning repository schedule, you can then run one or more plans and launch a plan immediately after the refresh completes. Refreshing the planning repository schedule prompts the system to automatically and repeatedly launch the repository refresh.
However, you do not always need to run the planning repository before launching every plan definition. You only need to run the refresh one time to ensure that you are working with the most up-to-date data. After that, you can define, test, update, and adjust all your plans without running the repository each time.
Scenarios for Launching a Supply Plan
The following describes supply plan launch scenarios that do not require you to refresh the repository:
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If the planning repository is up-to-date, you can define a new supply plan definition and test it without refreshing the repository. This plan would be launched from the plan definition page.
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If the planning repository is up to date, you can adjust the plan definition and test it without refreshing the repository. This plan would also be launched from the plan definition page.
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After you release and implement a planned order, run the repository refresh before you run the planning engine. If you do not run the repository refresh, the engine will not be able to identify the new transactions and will suggest them again.
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If you have multiple plan definitions, run the repository refresh to include the plan definitions in the list of plans to run after the refresh completes (on the same screen).
Alternatively, you could run the repository refresh from within the plan definition page. You can only run individual plans from the plan definition screen, not the repository refresh.
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When there is a problem with the original plan definition, NetSuite enables you to copy the plan definition, modify it, and re-launch it. For example, you could designate one plan as a test plan and use the other plan as the production plan.
After running the MRP, you can firm planned orders, create planned orders, or create change orders in the Supply Planning Workbench. Because firmed planned orders do not require a repository refresh, you can use the same repository version when you are ready to run the supply planning engine, to see the impact of the additions/changes you made to firm planned orders.
Note:It is important to understand that nothing happens in the NetSuite transaction system to a copied plan until you release planned orders or actions from the plan. There is no downside to creating a copy of a plan.
The main message these scenarios emphasize is that when the planning repository is up to date, you can do anything on the planning side.