Master production schedule

In Odoo Manufacturing, the Master Production Schedule (MPS) is used to plan long-term replenishment for products against a manually-adjustable demand forecast. While Make-to-Order (MTO) strategies or reordering rules are useful for immediately replenishing stock, products or components with long lead times or variable seasonal demands may require longer-term planning against an expected future demand to ensure continued availability of stock.

With the MPS, users can plan replenishment for specific products over future time periods, generating suggested replenishment quantities based on forecasted demand and on user-specified stock targets.

Important

Adding a product to the MPS does not automatically create a purchase or manufacturing order for it. The MPS only suggests the amount of product to be replenished, requiring the user to actually create the replenishing POs/MOs.

Because the MPS relies on manual replenishment, reordering rules should not be applied to products added to the MPS. Doing so creates inaccurate forecasts and unnecessary replenishment orders.

Example

A retail store sells artificial Christmas trees during the holiday season. It is currently September and the store has fewer than ten Christmas tree MOs confirmed for the month of December. The procurement manager knows that the demand for Christmas trees peaks in December. As a result, they manually enter a greater demand in the MPS to properly replenish ahead of this future customer demand.

Configuration

To use the MPS, the feature must first be enabled. Navigate to Manufacturing app ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings and select the Master Production Schedule checkbox in the Planning section.

After enabling the feature, two new columns appear below:

  • Default Time Range: Select the period of time over which the planning occurs, either on a Yearly, Monthly, Weekly, or Daily basis.

  • Number of Periods: Specify the number of periods to display for each time range.

Example

If the Default Time Range field is set to Monthly, and the Number of Periods field is set to 12, the MPS shows one column for each of the next 12 months, starting with the current month.

Finally, click Save to load the changes.

The MPS setting in the Manufacturing app's settings.

MPS dashboard

To open the MPS, navigate to Manufacturing app ‣ Planning ‣ Master Production Schedule. The MPS is arranged as a grid with the time periods represented as columns and each product added to the MPS as an individual grouping of rows.

By default, the group of rows for each product includes the following:

  • [Product] by [Unit] - [Company]: The header row with the name of the product, its unit of measure, and its company (if applicable). By default, cells in this row display the product’s starting stock quantity at the beginning of each time period. Clicking the [Product] link opens the product’s forecasted report.

  • - Forecasted Demand: The user’s estimated demand for the product during each time period. Cells in this row can be entered manually.

  • - Indirect Demand Forecast: The forecasted demand for the component from existing MOs. This row only appears if the product is a component of another product.

  • + Replenishment: The user-specified quantity of the product to be replenished through MOs or POs. Values in these cells are automatically suggested based on the Safety Stock Targets and replenishment minimums/maximums specified in the product’s schedule configurations. However, users can also manually adjust these values. Clicking the Order button manually replenishes the product based on the quantity suggested or entered.

  • = Forecasted Stock: The forecasted quantity of the product stock at the end of each time period, assuming that suggested replenishment numbers are fulfilled.

Additional rows and filters can be selected in their respective sections of the Search… bar drop-down menu at the top.

Important

While the MPS can be used with only the default categories, it may be useful to enable the Actual Demand category in the Search… bar.

With the Actual Demand option enabled, the - Forecasted Demand category changes to the - Actual / Forecasted Demand category, displaying both the confirmed demand for the product based on confirmed SOs and the forecasted demand.

The Master Production Schedule in the Manufacturing app.

Relationship between rows

Together, the starting stock, - Forecasted Demand, - Indirect Demand Forecast (if applicable), + Replenishment, and = Forecasted Stock values define the following relation:

\[\begin{split}\begin{align} \text{Forecasted Stock} &= \text{Starting Stock} \\ &- \text{Forecasted Demand} \\ &- \text{Indirect Demand Forecast} \\ &+ \text{Replenishment} \end{align}\end{split}\]

The - Forecasted Demand and + Replenishment cells can be manually adjusted for any of the time periods. Doing so updates the value displayed in the = Forecasted Stock cells according to the equation. Correspondingly, the starting stock quantity of each subsequent time period is updated with the previous period’s = Forecasted Stock.

Tip

Changing the value in the + Replenishment cell highlights the value and displays an (reset) button next to the cell to reset it back to the default value calculated by the MPS.

Adding products to MPS

To use MPS to manage the replenishment of a product, navigate to Manufacturing app ‣ Planning ‣ Master Production Schedule. At the top of the MPS page, click Add a Product to open the Add a Product pop-up window.

Important

Products must be properly configured to be replenished through the MPS.

For manufactured products, the Manufacture route must be selected in the Routes section of the Inventory tab on the product’s form.

For purchased products, the Buy route must be selected in the Routes section of the Inventory tab on the product’s form. Additionally, a vendor pricelist must be configured on the Purchase tab.

Enter product details

On the pop-up window, select the product to add in the Product drop-down menu.

Then, specify the following information about the product:

  • Indirect Demand: Select this optional checkbox if the product can be hidden when the To Forecast filter is selected in the Search… bar drop-down menu.

  • Bill of Materials: Select the product’s BoM if the product is manufactured.

  • Route: Select the replenishment route for the product (e.g., Buy for purchased products, Manufacture for manufactured products).

  • Vendor: Select the vendor for the product. This field only appears if the Buy option was selected in the Route field.

Note

Selecting a BoM when adding a product also adds any components listed on the BoM to the MPS. If it is not necessary to manage the replenishment of components through the MPS, leave the Bill of Materials field blank.

If the database is configured with multiple warehouses, a Production Warehouse field appears on the Add a Product pop-up window to specify which warehouse the product is replenished to.

Enter product replenishment options

Next, specify the product’s replenishment options to configure how the MPS calculates suggested replenishment quantities for each product. Enter the following information:

  • Safety Stock Target: Specify the minimum quantity of the product to be available across all time periods.

  • Minimum to Replenish: Specify the minimum quantity of the product to replenish for each period.

By default, the MPS suggests the replenishment quantity needed to reach the Safety Stock Target while accounting for the starting stock and forecasted demand. In other words, the suggested quantity in the replenishment row is calculated by the following relation:

\[\begin{split}\begin{align} \text{Replenishment} &= \text{Safety Stock Target} \\ &- \text{Starting Stock} \\ &+ \text{Forecasted Demand} \\ &+ \text{Indirect Demand Forecast} \end{align}\end{split}\]

If a Minimum to Replenish value is set, the MPS always suggests this minimum replenishment quantity, unless Safety Stock Target - Starting Stock + Forecasted Demand ≤ 0.

Note

In general, the MPS suggests a quantity of 0 if Safety Stock Target - Starting Stock + Forecasted Demand ≤ 0.

Specify replenishment trigger

Finally, in the Replenishment Trigger field, specify how the product should be replenished:

  • Manual: Manually replenish the product from the MPS.

  • Automatic: Automatically schedule a replenishment order for the product.

  • Never: Never replenish the product from the MPS.

Click Save to add the product to the MPS. The product now appears on the MPS page, along with any components (if applicable).

The Add a Product pop-up window in the MPS.

Edit a product

To edit the planning schedule for a product on the MPS, click the (Forecasted) button next to the product’s header row.

In the Edit Production Schedule pop-up window, enter the desired modifications. Then, click Save to save the changes.

Note

The Product and Bill of Materials fields cannot be edited.

Remove a product

To remove a product from the MPS, select the checkbox next to its name. Then, click the Actions button at the top of the screen, and select Delete from the drop-down menu. On the Confirmation pop-up window, click Ok.

Suggest forecasted demand

Instead of an arbitrary value, the Forecasted Demand for each product and its time periods can be automatically suggested based on historical demand. To do so, click the (Suggest Forecasted Demand) icon next to the - Forecasted Demand row header. This opens the Suggest Forecasted Demand pop-up window.

In the Period field, select a time period. To suggest forecasted demand quantities for all periods, leave the field blank.

Next to the Based on field, select one of the following options from the drop-down menu to specify the source of the new estimate:

  • Actual Demand: Suggest based on previously confirmed or completed outgoing moves for the matching period one year ago.

  • Previous Year: Suggest based on completed outgoing moves only for matching period one year ago.

  • Last 30 Days: Suggest based on the product’s average demand over the last 30 days, prorated to the length of one time period.

  • Last 3 Months: Suggest based on the product’s average demand over the last three months, prorated to the length of one time period.

  • Last 12 Months: Suggest based on the product’s average demand over the last 12 months, prorated to the length of one time period.

In the second field, enter the scaling factor to account for a (#) % increase or decrease in projected demand (e.g., 110% projects a demand growth of 10 percent).

Finally, click Apply to apply the suggested demand for the specified time periods, or click Discard to cancel.

Replenishing products with MPS

Products in the MPS can be replenished in one of three ways:

  • To replenish every product for the current time period, click the Order button at the top.

  • To replenish a specific product, click the Order button next to the + Replenishment row of the product.

  • To select and replenish multiple products, select the checkbox next to one or more products’ header rows. Then, click the Actions button at the top and select Order from the drop-down menu.

The type of replenishment order generated is determined by the route selected on the Add a Product pop-up window when adding a product to the MPS.

  • If the Buy route is selected, an RfQ is generated to purchase the product. Generated RfQs can be located by navigating to Purchase app ‣ Orders ‣ Requests for Quotation.

  • If the Manufacture route is selected, an MO is generated to manufacture the product. Generated MOs can be located by navigating to Manufacturing app ‣ Operations ‣ Manufacturing Orders.

Replenishment status indicators

The + Replenishment cells in the MPS are displayed using the following highlights, depending on whether the replenished quantities match the suggested quantities:

  • Green: The quantity is ready to be replenished.

  • Gray: A replenishment order has already been generated, and its ordered quantity matches the suggested quantity for the time period.

  • Yellow: A replenishment order has already been generated, but its ordered quantity is below the suggested quantity for the time period.

  • Red: A replenishment order has already been generated, but its ordered quantity exceeds the suggested quantity for the time period.

Additional rows and filters

With the Search… bar drop-down menu, users may further customize the MPS by configuring additional rows for products or by filtering existing records based on specific criteria.

Rows

The following rows can be added to the MPS in addition to the default rows shown on the dashboard.

  • Actual Demand: Changes the - Forecasted Demand row to - Actual / Forecasted Demand, comparing the product’s confirmed demand and its forecasted demand.

  • Actual Demand Y-1: Displays the Actual Demand one year before the current time period.

  • Actual Demand Y-2: Displays the Actual Demand two years before the current time period.

  • Indirect Actual Demand: Changes the - Indirect Demand Forecast row to - Actual / Indirect Demand Forecast, comparing the component’s confirmed demand and its forecasted demand.

  • Actual Replenishment: Changes the + Replenishment row to + Actual / Replenishment, comparing the product’s replenished quantity and its suggested quantity.

  • Available to Promise: Changes the = Forecasted Stock row to = ATP / Forecasted Stock, comparing the product’s available stock (Starting Stock - Actual Demand + Replenishment) and its forecasted stock. If the product is a component, the available stock is calculated by Starting Stock - Actual Demand - Indirect Actual Demand + Replenishment.

Filters

Users can filter records from the MPS based on the following criteria:

  • To Forecast: Filter by products that are manually or automatically replenished.

  • To Replenish: Filter by products that are ready to be replenished (i.e., with at least one + Replenishment cell highlighted in green).

  • Indirect Demand: Filter by products configured with the Indirect Demand option.

  • Replenishment Too Low: Filter by products with a replenished quantity below the suggested replenishment quantity (i.e., with at least one + Replenishment cell highlighted in yellow).

  • Replenishment Too High: Filter by products with a replenished quantity above the suggested replenishment quantity (i.e., with at least one + Replenishment cell highlighted in red).

  • Forecast Too Low: Filter by products with an actual demand greater than the forecasted demand (e.g., Actual Demand is greater than Forecasted Demand).

  • Manually Replenished: Filter by products with the Replenishment Trigger set to Manual.

  • Automatically Replenished: Filter by products with the Replenishment Trigger set to Automatic.

  • Not Replenished from MPS: Filter by products with the Replenishment Trigger set to Never.