Online Consumption for MS Handled Parts

A forecast consumption for Master Scheduled (MS) parts take place either when you run the MS Level 1 calculation, or when you enter or change a customer order line/sales quotation line. Forecast consumption for Material Requirement Planned (MRP) spare parts takes place when you enter or change a customer order line or a sales quotation line.

This document only describes the forecast consumption that takes place when you enter or change a customer order line or a sales quotation line. This is called online consumption. This document only describes online consumption for MS handled parts.             

Registering a Customer Order Line or a Sales Quotation Line

The essence of online consumption is that the forecast, together with actual demand, forms a composite picture of the total demand over the planning horizon. The actual demand consumes forecast in the online consumption process.

The online consumption process works, when you select the Online Consumption check box for the inventory part, and the part you select should be a MS handled part with a forecast. In addition, for a sales quotation line, you must select the Release for Planning check box, on the sales quotation line.

The online consumption happens:

• When you enter a new line.
• When you increase the quantity of an existing line.
• When you change any data on an existing line, that affects the due date.
• When you decrease the quantity for an existing line.
• When you cancel an existing line.

The online consumption functionality is dependent on the Promised Method in the MS Level 1 Part window. The promised method can be either Available to Promise or Unconsumed Forecast. The process consumes forecast within and without the forecast consumption window, for both the methods. Forward consumption will only consume forecasts within the forward forecast consumption and is only allowed in combination with the promise method Available to Promise (the details are given below). The consumption process does not consume into the future, it only goes back from the due date of the demand. The process validates towards the MS plan for both the methods. The entry or the change you make can be either accepted or refused.

• Available to Promise:
  • You can only enter or change a line inside the Planning Time Fence (PTF) if the sum of the stock-on-hand plus open supply, i.e., the total supply, exceeds the demand quantity. When the line is beyond the Planning Time Fence (PTF), if the demand quantity exceeds the total supply an information message will be given. But you are allowed to save the record.
  • You are not restricted by the time fences; i.e., you can enter or change a line within the Demand Time Fence (DTF).
• Unconsumed Forecast:
  • You can only enter or change a line if sufficient unconsumed forecast exist.
  • You are restricted by the DTF; i.e., you cannot enter or change a line for consumption within the DTF.

Forecast Consumption Window

This is a range of periods, defined for each part, in which forecast could be consumed for a customer order or a sales quotation. If for example a value of 5 is entered in this field, then when demand is entered for this part, forecasts are consumed going back up to 5 periods from the due date of that demand. If further forecast/supply needs to be consumed to satisfy the demand order, then they are consumed outside the 5 period window, and an action message is written for the part. Forecast consumption does not consume into the future, only goes back from the due date of the demand.

The forecast consumption window is always bounded behind the order due period by the demand time fence; this overrides the lower bound in the forecast consumption window, if this has been defined for the part.

If no forecast consumption window has been defined for the part, the lower bound defaults to the demand time fence for the part.