Detailed planning in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central covers the short horizon, typically from today and up to two weeks ahead. It focuses on releasing production orders at the right time, making sure materials and capacity are available, and optimising the use of capacity and labour. You can do detailed planning with MRP, with Gantt charts for visual overview, or with third-party apps for bottleneck and capacity planning.
The planning horizon depends on your company and how far ahead you fix your plan. Detailed planning also handles items with very short lead times, including day-to-day procurement.
What detailed planning means in Business Central
Detailed planning normally runs from today and about two weeks ahead. How far you go depends on your company, the way you work with your planning schedules, and how far along you fix your plan.
The goal is to get a clear overview and make concrete decisions about your production. You want to know when you can actually release each production order. To do that, you need to ensure two things: that the items you need are available, and that the capacity is available.
On top of availability, you also want to optimise. That means making the best possible use of your capacity and labour, not just checking that the bare minimum is in place.
Tools for detailed planning
You have several options for handling detailed planning in Business Central:
- MRP planning to calculate requirements and timing.
- Gantt charts that give you a clear overview of your production schedule.
- Shortage analysis on your production orders to work out when each order can be released.
There are also apps on the market that let you do bottleneck planning or other kinds of capacity planning. These help you optimise your capacity and labour use and make sure the materials each order requires are actually there.
Short lead time items
Detailed planning also covers items with very short lead times, meaning day-to-day lead time. Handling these items is part of the detailed planner’s job, alongside scheduling and releasing production orders.
Q&A
What time horizon does detailed planning cover in Business Central?
Detailed planning typically runs from today and up to about two weeks ahead. The exact horizon depends on your company and how far along you fix your plan.
What is the goal of detailed planning?
The goal is to determine when you can release each production order, ensure that both the required items and the capacity are available, and optimise the use of capacity and labour.
Which tools can you use for detailed planning?
You can use MRP planning, Gantt charts for an overview, shortage analysis on production orders, and third-party apps for bottleneck or capacity planning.
Does detailed planning include short lead time items?
Yes. Items with very short, day-to-day lead times are part of detailed planning and fall under the detailed planner’s responsibilities.