Reverse planning is an add-on app for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that lets you run MRP-style replenishment planning without setting up safety stock, reorder points, or other planning parameters on your items. You download it from AppSource or directly through Extension Management in Business Central.
You activate the app from a notification bar in the header or through the assisted setup, where you enter your email address. The setup also gives you access to an introduction video on reverse planning that runs about half an hour.
The app ships with ready-to-use templates. The “Find critical items” template shows only the items where the ending inventory goes below zero, so you can focus on the most urgent replenishment first. You can also create templates that trigger on safety stock or on any negative inventory within a period.
When you run a calculation, the app suggests quantities to order, and you accept the action messages you want. The lines move into a reverse planning worksheet that works like the standard planning worksheet, and you carry them out into purchase orders, production orders, or transfer orders.
What reverse planning is and how to install it
One of the best things about reverse planning is how easy it is to get started. You don’t need to set up safety stock, reorder points, planning parameters, or anything else. You download the app and you’re up and running.
Go to AppSource, or download it from Extension Management directly in Business Central, and install the reverse planning app. After installation, a small notification bar appears in the header where you can activate it. You can also go into the assisted setup and activate reverse planning manually. This does the same thing as clicking the notification bar.
During activation you enter your email address. You then get access to videos and teaching material, including a full introduction to reverse planning that takes about half an hour. When you’re done, you can choose “don’t show again” so the video doesn’t keep popping up.
Running simple MRP without item setup
Once activated, you’re ready to plan. At its simplest, you run a basic MRP calculation to see which items you need to replenish. You can run simple MRP directly, or open the cockpit again from the setup.
Out of the box, the app activates a set of templates for you. Each template has a template card that defines exactly how it behaves and what it includes or excludes.
Using the Find critical items template
The first template worth trying is “Find critical items.” On its template card, there’s a lot of setup for what to include and what to leave out, but the key point is that it triggers on inventory level. It looks at items that fall below zero.
This matters because your existing data may not be reliable. An item might have a safety stock of 20 simply because someone entered it, or because the item was copied from another item. That safety stock could be incorrect or just too old to trust. With this template, you ignore safety stock entirely and only look at whether the item goes below zero, since that’s the most critical situation.
The template also triggers on end inventory. That means an item that dips below zero temporarily within a period won’t show up if a purchase order or production order arrives and brings it back above zero before the end of the period. You only see items where the ending inventory is actually negative. This keeps the critical item list focused on real shortages instead of short-term dips that resolve themselves.
Reviewing and adjusting suggested quantities
When you run the template on your primary location, it shows only the items that end the period below zero. In a typical scenario this might be just two lines, for example two different bikes with shortages of 10 and 18 units.
If you install the free Graphical Inventory Profile app from AppSource, you can also get a graphical view of each item to see the demand driving it below zero.
The app suggests quantities in the “Quantity to order” column. You can have it calculate up to zero to fill the inventory back to zero, round up, and apply order modifiers if the item comes in fixed boxes or batch sizes. You then check the accept action message column for the lines you want to act on.
Carrying out orders through the reverse planning worksheet
When you carry out, the accepted lines move into a journal called the reverse planning worksheet. This worksheet looks and works like the standard planning worksheet in Business Central. It suggests the right replenishment type for each item, for example a production order for one item and a purchase order for another.
From the worksheet, carrying out uses the standard Business Central functionality you may already know from the requisition worksheet and planning worksheet. It creates the actual orders, such as a purchase order and a production order.
You can also adjust the lines before carrying out. Change the quantity manually, or change the replenishment system. If you’d rather buy an item than produce it yourself, or transfer it from another location, you can switch that directly in the worksheet. You can accept the action messages only for the lines you want, for example only the purchase lines, and then carry those out.
Planning with safety stock instead of zero
You’re not limited to the critical items template. You can try other templates depending on how you want to plan. For example, you can calculate according to safety stock instead of zero. You can choose to show items that go below safety stock at the end of the period, or below safety stock at any point in the period, or below zero in the period.
With a safety stock template, the suggested quantity to order fills from your ending inventory up to the safety stock level. You can still adjust quantities and replenishment systems manually before you accept and carry out.
The point is that without any setup on the item card or stockkeeping unit cards, you can look at the items that go below zero based on the demand and supply you already have, and start planning right away.
Q&A
Do I need to set up safety stock or reorder points to use reverse planning?
No. Reverse planning works without any setup on the item card or stockkeeping unit cards. You download the app, activate it, and plan based on the demand and supply you already have.
Where do I get the reverse planning app?
You download it from AppSource or directly through Extension Management in Business Central. After installation, you activate it from the notification bar in the header or through the assisted setup, where you enter your email address.
What does the Find critical items template do?
It shows only the items where the ending inventory goes below zero in the period you’re looking at. It ignores safety stock and short-term dips that are resolved by incoming purchase or production orders, so you focus on the real shortages first.
What is the difference between triggering on a period and triggering on end inventory?
Triggering on the period flags an item whenever it dips below zero at any point. Triggering on end inventory flags an item only if it’s still negative at the end of the period. Use end inventory when you don’t want to see temporary dips that get covered by incoming supply.
How do suggested orders become real orders?
You accept the action messages and carry out. The lines move into the reverse planning worksheet, which works like the standard planning worksheet. From there you carry out to create purchase orders, production orders, or transfer orders.
Can I change how an item is replenished before creating the order?
Yes. In the worksheet you can change the quantity and the replenishment system. If you’d rather buy an item than produce it, or transfer it from another location, you change that directly before carrying out.
Can I plan to safety stock instead of zero?
Yes. You can use a template that calculates up to safety stock and choose whether to trigger on safety stock at the end of the period, on safety stock within the period, or on zero within the period.
Is there a way to see why an item went below zero?
Yes. Install the free Graphical Inventory Profile app from AppSource to get a graphical view of each item and the demand driving it below zero.