Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is a computer-aided system for planning and controlling material requirements in production. It calculates the temporal and quantitative demand for raw materials, parts, and components based on production plans, bills of materials, and inventory levels, and automatically generates procurement and manufacturing orders for demand-oriented material supply.
Primary Demand: Demand for end products based on customer orders or sales forecasts. Starting point for all further requirements calculations.
Secondary Demand: Derived demand for assemblies and components for manufacturing end products. Calculation via bills of materials and production quantities.
Tertiary Demand: Auxiliary materials, operating supplies, and wear parts for the production process. Often planned based on consumption.
Gross and Net Demand: Gross demand minus available inventory and planned receipts yields actual procurement requirements.
Production Plan: Temporal and quantitative planning of end product manufacturing. Basis for all material requirements calculations.
Bills of Materials: Structured listing of all components and their quantities per end product. Multi-level representation of complex product structures.
Inventory Data: Current stocks and planned receipts and issues of all materials. Real-time information for precise requirements determination.
Lead Times: Procurement and manufacturing times for all materials and components. Timely order triggering.
Scheduling: Backward scheduling from desired completion date considering all lead times. Optimal order timing.
Program Planning: Breakdown of primary demand to all production levels. Synchronization of entire manufacturing chain.
Capacity Reconciliation: Feasibility check considering available production capacities. Bottleneck identification and resolution.
Lot Size Optimization: Calculation of economic order quantities considering ordering and storage costs. Cost minimization.
Bill of Materials Explosion: Systematic breakdown of end products into all required components. Consideration of scrap rates and safety stocks.
Requirements Netting: Gross demand minus inventory minus planned receipts yields net demand. Quantity determination for procurement or in-house production.
Timing: Backward calculation from requirement date minus replenishment time. Optimal order timing.
Inventory Management: Continuous updating of all inventory and order stocks. Consistent database for planning runs.
Bill of Materials Accuracy: Precise and current product structures are prerequisite for correct requirements determination. Regular maintenance and validation.
Inventory Accuracy: Exact inventory levels through physical inventories and ongoing inventory management. High data quality for reliable planning.
Lead Time Maintenance: Realistic procurement and manufacturing times based on current experience values. Continuous adjustment.
Item Master Data: Complete and correct material information including suppliers and conditions. Basis for automated procurement.
ERP Integration: Seamless connection to production planning, purchasing, and warehouse management. Continuous information flows.
Supplier Connection: Electronic transmission of orders and delivery calls. EDI interfaces for automated data exchange.
Production Control: Direct connection with manufacturing orders and machine scheduling. Coordinated material provision.
Controlling Connection: Automatic valuation of material consumption and stocks. Integrated cost accounting.
Make-to-Stock: Production for stock based on sales forecasts. High delivery readiness for standard products.
Make-to-Order: Customer order-related manufacturing with specific material planning. Reduced inventory for individual products.
Assemble-to-Order: Final assembly from prefabricated components after customer order. Flexibility with limited variant diversity.
Engineer-to-Order: Complete new development and manufacturing according to customer specification. Project-related material planning.
ABC Analysis: Classification of materials by value for differentiated planning strategies. Effort-appropriate control.
XYZ Analysis: Categorization by consumption regularity for adapted planning procedures. Consider demand characteristics.
Safety Stocks: Buffer stocks to cushion demand and supply fluctuations. Optimal balance between service and costs.
Dynamic Lot Sizes: Flexible order quantities according to current demand situation. Situation-appropriate optimization.
Complex Product Structures: Multi-level bills of materials with variants require powerful planning systems. Configuration management.
Fluctuating Demands: Volatile demand complicates precise planning. Flexible planning approaches and risk management.
Supplier Reliability: Uncertain delivery dates affect material availability. Supplier monitoring and alternative sources.
Change Management: Frequent design and planning changes require flexible systems. Version control and change control.
Real-time Planning: IoT sensors provide current consumption data for dynamic demand adjustment. Real-time MRP runs.
Artificial Intelligence: Machine learning improves demand forecasts and optimizes planning parameters. Self-learning systems.
Blockchain Integration: Transparent supply chains with immutable documentation. Trustworthy collaboration.
Cloud Solutions: Scalable MRP systems with flexible cost structure. Fast implementation and updates.
Service Level: Percentage of materials available on time. Indicator for planning quality.
Inventory Turnover: Ratio of consumption to average inventory. Efficiency of materials management.
Planning Accuracy: Deviation between planned and actual demands. Quality of forecasting methods.
System Performance: Computing time for MRP runs and data currency. Technical performance capability.
Manufacturing Resource Planning: Extension with capacity planning and cost control. Integrated production planning.
Enterprise Resource Planning: Comprehensive enterprise planning of all resources. Holistic system integration.
Advanced Planning Systems: Optimization algorithms for complex planning scenarios. Simultaneous planning of material and capacity.
Supply Chain Planning: Cross-company material planning along the value chain. Collaborative optimization.
Material Requirements Planning continuously evolves into intelligent, networked planning systems that ensure precise and adaptive material supply through digitization, AI, and real-time data.