Structures & MRP

Bills of materials, recipes and kits as one dated graph, with demand and supply planning built on it.

Bills of Materials, Recipes and Kits

A structure says what an item is made of. Manufacturing calls it a bill of materials, food production a recipe, distribution a kit: one model covers all of them, with revisions and dates so you can always answer what something was made of on a given day. The Structures console is where you maintain, explode and check them.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → ERP - Operations:

Structures — the console: maintain, explode, where used, validate, cost roll-up and a requirements preview
Structure Records — the underlying structure headers
Standard Costs — rolled-up costs per structure

Architect Panel → ERP - Reference Data:

Structure Types — bill of materials, recipe, kit and phantom

Admin Panel → Inventory & Production:

Structures — the same console for planners and production staff

Who can use it

ERP: Inventory or ERP: Reporting can open the console; changing structures needs ERP: Inventory (or ERP: Administration) and write access to the company. Components must exist in the item master once the company uses it.

Kinds of structure

Bill of materials and Recipe: made on work orders and planned by MRP.
Phantom assembly: a sub-assembly that is never stocked or made on its own work order; its components take its place wherever it is used.
Kit: a sales bundle, never built or planned, only exploded on request.

Creating a structure

Open Structures, choose the Company and click New structure on the Structures tab.
Enter Makes (the item code), a Name if it differs from the item's, the Kind, Revision, Valid from and, if it ends, Valid to.
Set Makes how many (line quantities are for this many) and the Unit, and choose Status: Active, Draft or Obsolete. Only active structures are exploded, costed and planned.
Choose Applies to: This company only or Every company in the group. A company's own structure beats a group-wide one.
In Components, fill each line: Line (the sequence), Component, Qty per, Unit, Scrap %, Phantom and the line's own From and To dates. Use Add a component for more.
Click Create structure.

Scrap grosses a line up: 10% scrap on 2 per means 2.22 are issued. A save that would make an item contain itself, through any level on any date, is refused before anything is written.

Changing a structure over time

To change a structure from a date, open it and click New revision…, enter Effective from and click Create the revision. The current lines (and its routing) are copied into a revision numbered one higher, and the old revision now ends the day before. Edit the new revision. Where two active revisions overlap, the higher one is used. Make obsolete… keeps a revision on record but stops anything exploding, costing or planning it; work orders already raised keep their components.

Explode, where used and validate

The bar at the top takes an Item and an Effective on date, used by every tab:

Explode: enter a Build quantity, choose Explode as (Bill of material / recipe, or Sales kit) and click Explode. The tree shows every level with quantity per, scrap and required quantity; scrap compounds level by level and phantoms are blown through. Download CSV exports it.
Where used: the structures that name the item directly, one level up, on that date.
Validate: checks for cycles, depth over 25 levels, zero or negative quantities, scrap out of range, components missing from the item master, and gaps between revisions. Leave Item blank and click Validate every structure before go-live.

What goes wrong

"This would make X contain itself (A > B > A).": a loop; fix the lines.
"Revision N of X already exists - use the next number, or New revision."
"Item X is not in the item master. Create it on the Items console first."
"Effectivity gap: X has no structure from D1 to D2": work orders and MRP find nothing for those dates.
An explosion looks wrong: check the Effective on date before the structure.

Worked example

A manufacturer replaces a fastener from 1 November. In October the planner opens the pump assembly, clicks New revision… with Effective from 1 November, swaps the fastener line in the new revision and saves. Explode on 31 October shows the old part; on 1 November, the new one. Validate every structure confirms there is no gap or loop. When a defect notice later covers the old fastener, Where used on dates before November shows exactly which assemblies used it.

Recommendations

Change structures with New revision, not by editing lines in place.
Validate every structure before go-live and after bulk changes.
Use scrap only for real, predictable loss.
Load structures deepest level first, so components exist before parents.

Demand, Supply and Planning

MRP takes demand, explodes it through the structures, nets off stock and what is already coming, and proposes planned orders: what to make or buy, how many, and when to release the order. It suggests and never acts. A planner reviews the planned orders on the Production console, firms the ones to keep, and converts them into work orders or purchase requisitions.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → ERP - Operations:

Production — the console: the Planned orders (MRP) and Demand tabs
Demand — the demand MRP plans against
Supply — purchase supply already on order
Structures — the read-only Requirements preview

Admin Panel → Inventory & Production:

Production — the same console for planners

What MRP reads

Demand up to the horizon. Past-due demand counts as due today. Demand is entered on the Demand tab; sales orders do not feed it automatically.
Open work orders: their remaining output is supply and their remaining components are demand.
Purchase supply: committed purchase orders, relieved when an order is closed or cancelled, and planned buy orders already converted to a pending requisition.
Firm planned orders, which count as supply.
Stock that can be netted, less safety stock.
Planning settings from the item: lead time, safety stock, lot sizing, reorder, minimum and maximum quantities, and make or buy (an item with a structure is made unless it says otherwise).

Lot sizing is Lot-for-lot (exactly the net requirement), Fixed order quantity (multiples of the reorder quantity) or Min / max (up to the maximum), never below the minimum order quantity. The due date is the date of the shortfall; the release date is the due date less the lead time.

Entering demand

On Production, go to Demand.
Under Add demand, enter the Item, Quantity and Needed by, optionally a Location, and choose the Source: Forecast, Customer order, Safety stock or Manual.
Click Add. Demand shows under Demand MRP plans against; Remove takes it out.

Running MRP and working the plan

Go to Planned orders (MRP), set Horizon (days) (1 to 730) and Location, and click Run MRP. Each run replaces the earlier unfirmed planned orders; firm and converted ones are kept.
Review the list: Item, Type (Make or Buy), Order qty, Net need, Due, Release by (a Past due pill means it is already late), Level, Status and Pegged to / exception.
Click Firm on orders you want kept as they are.
Click Make work order on a make order or Raise requisition on a buy order. Use Convert selected, Firm selected or Cancel selected for many at once (up to 200).

A converted row shows the work order or requisition it became. A buy order becomes a purchase requisition, never a purchase order directly; the requisition then goes through Purchasing (see Transactional Documents). Nothing runs MRP on a schedule: it runs when someone clicks Run MRP.

On the Structures console, the Requirements tab runs the same calculation as a read-only preview, with Open the MRP workbench to go to Production.

What goes wrong

"Release date D is already past - expedite or reschedule.": the lead time cannot be met.
"Plan between 1 and 730 days ahead."
Nothing to plan: there is no demand inside the horizon, or stock and open orders already cover it.
MRP suggests buying what is on order: the purchase order is not committed yet, so it is not supply.
Surprising suggestions: usually stock accuracy, a lead time, or a structure date. Treat the first runs as a data-quality exercise.

Worked example

A planner adds a forecast of 500 pump assemblies needed by 15 December and runs MRP for 90 days. MRP proposes a make order for 500 assemblies releasing on 1 December, and, one level down, a buy order for 800 seals (1,000 needed, 200 on hand) with a 21-day lead time releasing on 10 November. They firm both, convert the seals into a requisition for the buyer, and convert the assemblies into a work order nearer the release date.

Recommendations

Fix stock accuracy before trusting MRP.
Enter achieved lead times, not quoted ones.
Firm what you intend to keep, so the next run does not replace it.
Run MRP in parallel with your old method for a cycle or two first.

Inspections and Non-Conformances

Inspections record whether received or produced stock passed a check; a failure moves the stock into quarantine so it cannot be picked. A non-conformance (NCR) records what is wrong, opens a corrective action task, and its disposition decides what happens to the stock. Both are on the Stock console's Quality tab.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → ERP - Operations:

Stock — the console: the Quality tab
Inspections — every inspection recorded
Non-Conformances — every NCR, with its disposition and CAPA task

Architect Panel → ERP - Reference Data:

Inspection Types — goods in, in process, final, pre-shipment and periodic
Severities — critical, major, minor and cosmetic, with the hours that set when the CAPA task is due

Admin Panel → Inventory & Production:

Stock — the same console for quality and stores staff

Before you start

Create a location of type Quarantine on the Stock console's Set-up tab. Recording inspections and NCRs needs ERP: Inventory and write access to the company.

Recording an inspection

On the Stock console go to Quality.
Under Record an inspection, choose the Inspection type.
Choose the Goods receipt it relates to; that fills in the item, lot, serial, location and quantity. Otherwise enter the Item, Lot and Serial number yourself.
Choose the Result: Pass or Fail, and optionally an Inspection plan reference.
For a fail, check From location, choose the Quarantine location and the Quantity (blank takes the receipt quantity).
Click Record inspection.

A failure transfers the stock to quarantine and marks the lot as quarantined, so it cannot be issued until an NCR disposition releases it. If the message says NOTHING was quarantined, the from-location, quarantine location or quantity was missing, and the stock is still pickable.

Raising a non-conformance

Under Raise a non-conformance, enter the Item and Lot or serial.
Choose the Severity (it sets when the CAPA task is due: 4 hours for critical, 24 for major, 72 for minor, 14 days for cosmetic) and the CAPA owner.
Describe What is wrong (required) and, if known, the Root cause.
Click Raise non-conformance. It gets a number and a CAPA task.

Dispositioning and closing

In the NCR list (Show: Open, Closed or All), click Disposition, choose what to do, optionally a Quantity to act on and locations, and click Record:

Use as is (release the stock) and Concession (release with a deviation): release the lot from quarantine; with a quantity, move it back to the Back to (use as is) location.
Scrap (write the stock off): a scrap movement, posted to the scrap account.
Return to supplier: an issue movement back against goods received not invoiced.
Rework and Regrade: record the decision only.

Leave the quantity blank to record the decision without moving stock. Then click Close, enter the Root cause (required to close), leave Mark the CAPA task done ticked if it is finished, and click Close the NCR. Reversing a disposition's stock movement reopens the NCR.

What goes wrong

"Record a disposition before closing" or "Record the root cause before closing".
"The CAPA task for NCR-… is still '…'.": finish it, or close with the task marked done.
"Choose the location the released stock goes back to."
"Disposition not recorded - the stock movement was refused: … is in quarantine" on Return to supplier: a return with a quantity is currently refused while the lot is still quarantined, because a return is an issue and quarantined lots cannot be issued. Record the decision without a quantity and raise it with your ERP administrator.

Worked example

A delivery of 400 seals fails a goods-in check on diameter. Quality records a failed Goods in inspection against the receipt, quarantining 400 into UK-QUAR. They raise a Major NCR with the buyer as CAPA owner, so the corrective task is due in 24 hours. The supplier agrees to credit the delivery and asks for the seals to be destroyed, so Quality records a Scrap disposition for 400 from UK-QUAR, which writes them off to the scrap account. The NCR is closed with the root cause "supplier tooling wear".

Recommendations

Inspect against the goods receipt so lot and quantity are filled in for you.
Always set a quarantine location on a fail.
Record the root cause; NCRs by supplier are your most honest quality measure.
Inspect by risk, not everything uniformly.

Routings and Work Centres

A routing is the list of operations that make an item: in what order, at which work centre, with how many setup minutes per batch and run minutes per unit. A work centre is where the work is done, with a labour and an overhead rate per hour. Together they give each item a conversion cost (labour and overhead), and on a work order they are the operations people report against.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → ERP - Operations:

Production — the console: the Work centres tab
Structures — the console: the Routing card under each structure

Admin Panel → Inventory & Production:

Production — work centres, for planners and production staff
Structures — routings, for planners

The underlying datastores are Work Centres and Routing Operations under Data → Datastores.

Setting up work centres

Open Production, choose the company and go to Work centres.
Click New work centre.
Enter a Code (letters, digits, dots, dashes or underscores) and Name.
Enter Labour / hour and Overhead / hour, Capacity (h/day) and Efficiency % (run time is divided by this, so 80% makes each run take longer).
Leave In use (new routings can choose it) ticked and click Create work centre.

Only an architect can tick Shared by every company, and only when creating it. The list shows each centre's rates, capacity, efficiency and Open load: the hours still to do on operations of open work orders, also in days at its capacity, with a busy pill above five days. Capacity is for information only; nothing schedules work orders against it.

Adding a routing to a structure

Open Structures and open a saved bill of materials or recipe. Kits have no routing.
In the Routing card below the components, click Add an operation. Operations are numbered 10, 20, 30.
For each, enter a Description, choose the Work centre, and enter Setup min (batch) and Run min (unit). Leave Labour rate and Overhead rate blank to use the centre's, or enter an override.
Set the Costing lot size: the batch the setup time is spread over. 0 uses the item's reorder quantity.
Click Save routing.

The card then shows the Conversion cost of one unit: minutes per unit, labour and overhead per operation. Roll up the cost to make it the item's standard (see Production & Costing). A new revision of the structure copies its routing.

How the cost is worked out

Minutes per unit for an operation are the setup minutes divided by the costing lot, plus the run minutes adjusted for the centre's efficiency. Labour is those minutes in hours times the labour rate, and overhead the same at the overhead rate. A work order takes a snapshot of the routing when it is created, charging the full setup once for the order's quantity.

What goes wrong

"Choose a work centre." or "Work centre X is switched off.": pick an active centre. A group-wide structure needs a centre every company shares.
"An operation takes some time: enter setup or run minutes."
"Operation N at C has no labour or overhead rate, so it costs nothing.": set the rates on the centre.
"No work centres yet" on the Routing card: create them on the Production console first.
"A group-wide structure's routing is changed by an administrator."

Worked example

A pump assembly has two operations: 10 Assemble at centre ASSY (labour 32.00, overhead 18.00 an hour, 100% efficiency) with 30 minutes setup and 12 minutes run, and 20 Test at centre TEST (28.00 and 12.00) with 0 setup and 6 minutes run. With a costing lot of 50, Assemble is 12.6 minutes a unit and Test 6, so conversion is 9.52 labour (6.72 + 2.80) and 4.98 overhead (3.78 + 1.20) per pump. The planner rolls up the cost and sets it as the standard.

Recommendations

Keep work centres few and real: one per group of machines or people that share a rate.
Use achieved times, measured from operation reports, not estimates.
Set a realistic costing lot, or setup cost is spread too thinly or too thickly.
Roll up costs after changing a routing, so the standard matches.