Reverse Planning is an app for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that simplifies material planning. It splits standard MRP into two focused tasks: creating new supply and moving existing supply. You avoid the cancellations, reschedules, and combined quantity-and-date changes that the standard planning worksheet generates.
You run the simple MRP only to create new supply orders. You can even create new supply through direct replenishment in situations where standard planning would not, because standard planning only creates supply when there is an actual requirement.
The simple MRP runs up to 20 times faster than the standard planning worksheet when you calculate only for critical items.
You can combine Reverse Planning with the standard planning worksheet. Use the standard worksheet for items you have set up carefully, and use the simple MRP and move worksheets for your daily planning.
How Reverse Planning differs from standard MRP planning
Reverse Planning is normal MRP planning made simpler. Instead of doing everything at once, it limits itself to two actions: creating new supplies and moving supplies. In the standard planning worksheet, the planning engine cancels orders, reschedules them, creates new orders, and changes quantities, sometimes rescheduling and changing quantity on the same line.
That behaviour is theoretically smart. In real life it is often disturbing and makes things too complex for the user. The standard planning worksheet requires quite a bit of maintenance and careful setup to work properly. Reverse Planning removes that complexity by keeping the two jobs apart.
What the standard planning worksheet produces
When you run the requisition worksheet or the planning worksheet in standard Business Central, it works well if you set it up correctly. But on a simple data set, the result is a long list of suggestions: new orders, quantity changes, multiple lines on the same item, and cancellations all mixed together.
The parameters are not very flexible. If you run it without forecast, meaning you only look at the requirements you have right now, it produces something quite different. Because earlier orders were created using the forecast, running without forecast then wants to cancel those orders. You end up with a result that is hard to read and act on.
The simple MRP worksheet for creating new supply
The simple MRP only creates new orders. You run it with one of the available templates. The most restrictive template is called Find Critical Items, which looks only at items that truly break below zero in inventory on the same location.
In a real example, this template returns only two lines. Those two lines are the only critical items you need to plan for, because you do not have enough supply to cover them. For each line you can suggest a quantity to order using a template, set the action message, and carry it out.
When you carry out the lines, they transfer to the reverse planning worksheet. This worksheet works like the MRP journal, except it only creates new lines. Everything else in your supply situation can be handled by moving orders around rather than creating new ones.
The move demand worksheet for adjusting dates
The move demand functionality exists only to create movements. It looks at the dates and helps you figure out whether you have conflicts. You can see whether you need to postpone supplies, or whether you should look at your vendors and push them a little to get better dates.
This worksheet also returns very few lines. When you set the action messages and carry out, some lines go to the sales handling journal and some go to the reverse planning worksheet.
The reverse planning worksheet
The reverse planning worksheet works like the standard planning worksheet, except every action message is a reschedule. So with this app you create either new orders through the simple MRP, or rescheduled orders through the move demand worksheet. Nothing is cancelled or rebuilt unexpectedly.
Combining Reverse Planning with standard planning
You do not have to choose one approach. You can use the standard planning worksheet for the intelligent planning of items you have set up carefully, and use the two Reverse Planning worksheets, move demand and simple MRP, for all your daily work. This gives you the smart behaviour where you want it and a clean, predictable workflow everywhere else.
Q&A
What does the Reverse Planning app do in Business Central?
It simplifies MRP planning by splitting it into two tasks: creating new supply through a simple MRP worksheet, and moving existing supply through a move demand worksheet. It avoids the cancellations and combined quantity-and-date changes that the standard planning worksheet produces.
How is Reverse Planning faster than the standard planning worksheet?
When you calculate only for critical items, the simple MRP runs up to 20 times faster than the standard planning worksheet.
What is the Find Critical Items template?
It is the most restrictive template in the simple MRP. It looks only at items that truly break below zero in inventory on the same location, so it returns just the items you genuinely need to create new supply for.
Can I use Reverse Planning together with the standard planning worksheet?
Yes. You can use the standard planning worksheet for items you have set up carefully and want the full intelligent planning on, and use the simple MRP and move demand worksheets for your daily planning.
What is the difference between the simple MRP and the move demand worksheet?
The simple MRP creates only new supply orders. The move demand worksheet creates only movements, helping you adjust dates, resolve conflicts, and push vendors for better dates without creating new orders.
Why is the standard planning worksheet harder to work with?
It cancels, reschedules, creates new orders, and changes quantities all at once, sometimes on the same line. This is theoretically smart but often disturbing in practice, and it requires careful setup and ongoing maintenance to work properly.