How to use item fields in Business Central for the planning department?
As a planner of supplies in Business Central, there are quite many fields on the item that are relevant, for me as a planner, and they’re all based on the tab planning and they’re all used, if the replenishment system is production order up here or purchase order or assembly order.
This is what happens in the video
If you plan supplies in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the planning tab on the item card holds the fields that control when supply arrives and in what quantities. The replenishment system field only controls where the item comes from, whether that is a production order, a purchase order, or an assembly order. The planning tab controls the dates and quantities.
Your reordering policy determines which planning fields are editable. Use Order to plan each demand separately, so one sales order line creates one supply order. Use Lot-for-Lot to bundle demands within a period while still reacting to actual demand. Use Fixed Reorder Quantity or Maximum Quantity for classic minimum/maximum planning.
The dampener period and dampener quantity prevent the planning engine from rescheduling supply for small changes in demand. The rescheduling period decides whether the system moves an existing supply order or cancels it and creates a new one. Safety stock quantity is treated as the zero point in the requisition and planning worksheets, so the item must always be in stock at that level.
For Lot-for-Lot, a common setup is to combine a safety stock quantity with a minimum order quantity and an order multiple. This makes the item behave a bit like a fixed reorder point while still accounting for extraordinary or seasonal demands.
The planning tab versus the replenishment system in Business Central
As a supply planner in Business Central, you work with quite a few fields on the item card, and the ones relevant to planning all sit on the planning tab. They apply regardless of the replenishment system you have chosen at the top of the card, whether that is production order, purchase order, or assembly order.
The distinction is simple. The replenishment system only tells you where you get the item from. The planning tab tells you how to calculate when the supply should be in-house and in what quantities. So every field on the planning tab has to do with quantities and dates, and every field in the replenishment area has to do with how you replenish the item.
Reordering policy and how it controls the editable fields
The reordering policy is the field that sets the tone for everything else, and you find it at the top. As you change it, the system enables and disables the other fields accordingly.
- Fixed Reorder Quantity is for the typical minimum and maximum functionality with order size, Wilson’s formula, and similar. When you select it, the reorder point fields become editable.
- Order plans each demand specifically. One sales order line creates one production order or purchase order. With this policy, several other fields become uneditable.
- Maximum Quantity plans up to a top level of inventory.
- Lot-for-Lot bundles supplies into one pile per period while still respecting the actual demands. The forecast and all supply orders within a period are bundled together. This is a very common reordering policy to use.
Reserve, order tracking, and stock keeping units
The reserve field lets you choose Never, Optional, or Always. This determines whether the system creates reservations automatically, never makes them, or makes it possible to reserve the item.
Order tracking policy determines whether you use order tracking in the planning journals, so you can see where all supplies and demands come from and how they are correlated. Be aware that order tracking affects performance, because it creates all the applications that bind supplies and demands together.
Stock keeping unit is a calculated field that simply shows whether you have stock keeping units. If you do, you set up items per location and can distinguish between different planning parameters at each location.
Dampener period and dampener quantity
The dampener period is a date formula and the dampener quantity is a quantity. Together they define a frame within which you do not need to replan the item. For example, if you have a demand of 100 with matching supply, and that demand suddenly moves ahead in time or becomes smaller, the dampener period can tell the planning engine not to react and to leave the supply orders as they are.
This way you avoid constantly changing supply orders, whether those are production orders, purchase orders, or transfer orders.
Critical items and available to promise
You can mark an item as critical, which affects the available to promise (ATP) functionality from the sales order line. When a salesperson calculates available to promise, this setting defines whether the item should be included in that calculation.
Safety lead time and safety stock quantity
Safety lead time is a date formula you set up if you want to stretch your supply away from your demand to gain some extra time.
Safety stock quantity is the normal safety stock you define, for instance when you use the Wilson calculation formula or other formulas. This is the minimum quantity you want to have. When you calculate in the requisition worksheet for purchasers or the planning worksheet for purchasers and planners, the system interprets the safety stock quantity as the zero point. In other words, the item has to be on stock at that level.
Lot-for-Lot settings: include inventory and the period
If you plan with Lot-for-Lot, you can select Include Inventory, which is specific to this reordering policy. It defines whether the existing inventory should be included in the calculation.
You also define a period to bundle the demands into. If you have several demands, this period decides how far ahead the system should calculate and bundle them together into one demand.
Rescheduling period: move existing orders or create new ones
The rescheduling period is a date field, so you could add one month, for instance. This period determines whether the system can reschedule an existing supply order, or whether it should suggest cancelling the existing orders and creating new ones. In short, it answers whether the planning engine moves existing orders or creates new ones.
Reorder point parameters for minimum/maximum planning
If you use Fixed Reorder Point or Maximum, you can select a reorder point and a reorder quantity that the order should be suggested for. If you use Maximum Quantity, you can set a maximum inventory level. These are the normal minimum and maximum calculation parameters.
You can also define an overflow level. If demands suddenly disappear because orders are cancelled, the overflow level defines how high an inventory you accept before the system suggests cancelling orders. Like the dampener settings, this is about not creating too many planning lines in the planning journals and keeping things simpler.
Time bucket for simpler planning
The time bucket is one week by default, but you can change it. It defines the time period the planning is bucketed into. If you use reorder point parameters, meaning Fixed Reorder Quantity or Maximum Quantity, bundling buckets together, for instance every Monday, makes the calculation a little simpler and reduces the number of changes in the journals.
The reorder parameters are meant to keep things simpler. For example, in my kitchen, when I buy flour, it is not important whether I buy another 2 kilos on Monday or Tuesday, because it is controlled by a reorder point.
Order modifiers across all reordering policies
Order modifiers apply to all reordering policies. Here you can set a minimum order quantity, a maximum order quantity, and an order multiple to adjust your orders after the planning calculation.
We often suggest to clients that they use Lot-for-Lot with a safety stock quantity, then add a minimum order quantity and an order multiple to make it behave a bit like a fixed reorder point. The advantage is that this setup still takes extraordinary demands into account when you have seasonal demands.
These are the fields on the item that are relevant for planning in Business Central.
Q&A
What is the difference between the planning tab and the replenishment system in Business Central?
The replenishment system only controls where the item comes from, such as a production order, purchase order, or assembly order. The planning tab controls how to calculate when the supply should be in-house and in what quantities. The planning tab is about dates and quantities, while replenishment is about the sourcing method.
When should you use the Order reordering policy?
Use the Order reordering policy when you want each demand planned specifically, so that one sales order line creates exactly one production order or purchase order. With this policy, several other planning fields become uneditable.
What does the Lot-for-Lot reordering policy do?
Lot-for-Lot bundles supplies into one pile per period while still respecting the actual demands. The forecast and all supply orders within a period are bundled together. It is a very common reordering policy.
What does the dampener period and dampener quantity do?
They define a frame within which you do not need to replan the item. If a demand moves ahead in time or becomes smaller, the dampener settings tell the planning engine not to react and to leave the supply orders unchanged. This prevents constant changes to production, purchase, and transfer orders.
How does Business Central interpret the safety stock quantity?
When you calculate in the requisition worksheet or planning worksheet, the system treats the safety stock quantity as the zero point. This means the item must always be on stock at that level.
What does the rescheduling period control?
The rescheduling period decides whether the system can reschedule an existing supply order, or whether it should cancel the existing order and create a new one instead.
How can you make Lot-for-Lot behave like a fixed reorder point?
Combine Lot-for-Lot with a safety stock quantity, then add a minimum order quantity and an order multiple. This makes the item behave a bit like a fixed reorder point while still taking extraordinary and seasonal demands into account.
Does order tracking affect performance?
Yes. Order tracking affects performance because it creates all the applications that bind supplies and demands together, which lets you see where they come from and how they are correlated.