The Move Demand Date Journal in Business Central lets you push demand dates forward when supply cannot be delivered on time. Standard MRP and classic planning in Business Central always calculate backwards from the demand to determine when supply must start. When the purchaser concludes that supply cannot be moved any earlier, you need to move the demand instead. The Move Demand Date Journal handles exactly that.
The journal calculates the full hierarchy of items, both down and up through the low-level codes, to find everything that has to move because supply is not possible. It then transfers the resulting changes into two separate worksheets: a reverse planning worksheet for production orders, assembly orders, and transfer orders, and a sales order handling worksheet for sales orders.
How the Move Demand Date Journal Works in Business Central
Standard MRP in Business Central determines the supply date by calculating backwards from the demand. That is always the default way of planning. The Move Demand Date Journal works the other way around. When you cannot bring supply forward, you use the journal to move the demand to a date that can actually be fulfilled.
You normally run the journal after you have done as much as possible on the supply side and fixed the issues you can. It is the step you take when the purchaser confirms that no further improvement on supply is possible.
Running the Journal and Reviewing the Results
To run the journal, you select a template and optionally a location. The journal then calculates the low-level codes down and up to find everything that needs to move because it cannot be supplied.
The result is a list of items that need to be moved. For example, item number 1150 might need to be moved on a production order. The same item can appear on more than one order. In one example, the last two lines are the same item but on two different firm planned production orders, both of which need to move.
For each line you can drill down by clicking the line and viewing the supply chain. This shows you what causes the movement, so you can see the reason behind each suggested change before you act on it.
Carrying Out Actions and the Two Worksheets
You can check-mark the lines, set the action messages, and confirm the ones you want to apply. When you carry out the actions, the journal transfers the changes into two different worksheets depending on the order type:
- Reverse planning worksheet: Production orders, assembly orders, and transfer orders are transferred here. The lines have the type Reschedule. They are normal planning lines in Business Central, but they only contain reschedule action messages.
- Sales order handling worksheet: Sales orders are transferred here. In the example, one sales order is suggested for a move because it was the only sales order on the list.
In the sales order handling worksheet, if you scroll right you can see the current date, which is the existing shipment date, and the new date it suggests to move it to. This move is a consequence of the full hierarchy of movements that the journal has calculated.
Why This Matters for Planners
The point of the Move Demand Date Journal is to give you a controlled way to calculate backwards in Business Central and then move the demand when supply simply cannot keep up. Instead of leaving demand dates that can never be met, you get concrete reschedule suggestions across production, assembly, transfer, and sales orders, all derived from the same hierarchy.
Q&A
What is the Move Demand Date Journal in Business Central used for?
It moves demand dates forward when supply cannot be delivered on time. Standard MRP calculates supply backwards from the demand, but when the purchaser confirms that supply cannot be moved earlier, the journal lets you move the demand instead to a date that can be fulfilled.
When should you run the Move Demand Date Journal?
You run it after you have done as much as possible on the supply side and fixed all the issues you can. It is the final step when no further improvement on supply is achievable.
Where are the changes transferred when you carry out actions?
Production orders, assembly orders, and transfer orders go to the reverse planning worksheet as reschedule lines. Sales orders go to the sales order handling worksheet.
How do you see why an item needs to move?
Click the line and view the supply chain. This shows the cause of the movement for that specific line before you decide whether to apply the change.
Can the same item appear on multiple lines?
Yes. The same item can appear more than once if it sits on different orders, for example two separate firm planned production orders that both need to be moved.