After going through this step, you would learn about the available planning control parameters to choose when you run MRP using various transaction codes in SAP. 

MRP can be run for a material or it can be run for a plant or it can be run for multiple plants configured in a scope of planning run. 

Planning is defined to run at single item level, i.e., for the header level materials only (along with explosion of dependent requirements directly below the header material in the BOM structure, levels below are neglected) or at multiple item level where planning is carried out for the header level as well as for all the dependent BOM levels. 

When you run the planning in SAP through the various available transaction codes, the selection screen gives you an option for selecting values for the following parameters. The selection screen shown below is a typical transaction code to run MRP. The Planning control parameters would be the same in all the SAP MRP Run Transaction codes. 

The following transaction code as shown in the screen shot below is MD01, which is one of the transactions used for running MRP in SAP.  

Processing Key for a Planning Run

The Processing key decides the type of planning run that needs to be carried out for the material – net change planning or net change planning in the planning horizon or regenerative planning. You have to choose one of the given options, when running MRP. 

Selection of Materials for Planning - Method 1: 

SAP MRP Run can use the NETCH planning or Regenerative Planning or the NETCH in the planning horizon method, to evaluate which materials are to be considered for planning. This is the recommended planning method. 

Whenever there is a change in the situation of a material, i.e., any change relevant to SAP MRP, the system creates a “planning file entry” in order to have SAP MRP consider it for an MRP Run. This is called “Net change planning” (NETCH). The Net change method - NETCH can be used for running MRP because planning all the materials regardless of a change would overload the system. These changes are categorized as an introduction of a demand put for the material or creation of reservation for the material or the material has a sales order created, or the material is issued for production or the material is issued to the sales order delivery or the material is received from a purchase order or production order or the receipts or demands are deleted. 

This is the recommended processing key, though when you start to use MRP for the first time, it is always nice to use the method 3 called regenerative planning in which the system plans all the materials in the plant or plans for all the materials in the scope of planning run. 

Selection of Materials for Planning - Method 2: 

Planning all the materials for a plant (all the materials included in the planning file) in an MRP run is called “Regenerative Planning (NEUPL)” which is used when you go-live for the first time and when you would be using the system for the first time. 

Selection of Materials for Planning - Method 3: 

You can alternatively use the “Net change planning in the planning horizon – (NETPL)” where the SAP MRP run takes place for only those materials which have undergone changes within the predefined Planning Horizon.

Transaction code to Create Planning File Entry – MD20 / Transaction code to Display Planning File Entry – MD21 

This planning control parameter can control, whether you want the procurement proposal to be created as a purchase requisition rather than planned orders (Purchase requisitions are created for the externally procured materials) in the planning horizon or in the opening period. You also have an option to have the system always create planned orders instead of purchase requisitions.  

When the requirement lies in the opening period and you have an option of “creation of purchase requisitions in the opening period, MRP would process creation of requisitions instead of planned orders, though when the requirement lies outside the opening period, the system would always create planned orders. Opening period is the number of workdays before the order start date accounted as buffer time for the MRP controller to process the planned orders in to purchase requisitions. 

The procurement proposals can be created as purchase requisitions only if the procurement type in MRP views is set as “X” (both external procured and in house production) and “F” (externally procured) 

Delivery Schedules in a Planning Run

This control parameter is used for controlling the automatic creation of schedule lines (for scheduling agreements).

You can control whether you want the schedule lines to be created in the planning horizon or just in the opening period or you never want it to be created. 

Creation of MRP List for a Planning Run

The results of the planning run are included in the MRP list after the planning run. This control parameter controls whether the system should create the MRP list for all the planned order or whether it should not at all create MRP lists or whether it should create MRP list only for the planned order which are in exception. 

You determine for which exception messages the system should create MRP lists in the configuration for MRP - Define and group exception messages. 

Planning Mode in a Planning Run

Scheduling types for a Planning Run

For in-house manufactured materials, the system offers two types of scheduling:

Basic Date scheduling – where the lead times in the material master are used to calculate the planned order start and end dates. You can use this scheduling type if the lead times are pretty much constant for a product and the detailed scheduling is not what you seek for. In such cases building of Routing/Recipe is not required and you can live with the timings set in the material master. 

Lead time Scheduling – where the addition of all the operation times in the Routings/Recipes are used to calculate the planned order start and end dates. The capacity requirements are also calculated for the planned order. This type of scheduling is used when you are interested in detailed scheduling and capacity allocation on the work centers. In organization where you have to build Routings/Recipes and carry out detailed time study so as to create the task lists.   

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