How do you manage the risks and opportunities of MRP in a dynamic and competitive environment?

Avaliar o desempenho e a adequação do sistema MRP atual é de fato o primeiro passo essencial para garantir a eficiência e a eficácia das operações. É crucial garantir que o sistema seja preciso, confiável, flexível e escalável para atender às necessidades comerciais em constante evolução. A integração com outros sistemas e fontes de dados é fundamental para garantir uma troca suave de informações em toda a organização. Se o sistema atual não atender aos requisitos ou estiver desatualizado, considerar a atualização, atualização ou substituição pode ser necessário para garantir uma operação eficiente e alinhada com os objetivos estratégicos e as expectativas dos clientes.

It is important standard cost ,lead times for components, suppliers and manufacturing are maintained and correct. When updating data prioritize high volume and high cost item that have most impact for customers and inventory value.

Prioritize items that are most important to customers and profitability. Manage forecast closely so you can react quickly to changes in.demand. In addition to finished goods forecast for critical items the component ,raw materials suppliers and manufacturing work centers for the critical items will also need to be closely managed.

When possible share forecast updates with suppliers. Many suppliers accept EDI forecast from their customers. No your suppliers process lead times and review the changing forecast outside this lead-time with your suppliers so they know how to react to demand change. Do not forget the cheap high volume hardware items. You might want to dual source the items to reduce risk.

A key risk in MRP is mismatched capacity, where production capacity doesn’t align with demand. This can lead to inefficiencies, waste, and lost opportunities. To mitigate this risk, it’s crucial to align capacity with both demand and MRP outputs. Techniques like rough-cut capacity planning, capacity requirements planning, and load leveling help estimate and balance capacity. Additionally, methods such as overtime, outsourcing, subcontracting, and using a flexible workforce can provide the agility needed to adjust capacity based on fluctuating demand, ensuring optimal efficiency.

Prior to evaluating MRP success or failure there should be, or have been a plan to ensure Bill of Material and inventory accuracy. There should be a plan to certify vendor counts upon receipt. Checking the manufacturing process for raw material weight versus part output is essential for BOM accuracy. Simple waste from dropping small parts on the floor can lead to a line shut down for lack of parts left unchecked. Checking BOM's is a collaborate effort between production control, and the production line by meticulously detail. The investigation of negative inventory items also comes in to play by finding out what caused the negative number. BOM, and Inventory accuracy are key to a successful MRP process, or a successful MRP implementation.

Inventory control is key. The greatest MRP process can have a perfect set of parameters to operate under but if at the point of picking parts they're not there, the whole process falls apart Stock/cycle counts, accurate management and recording of stock transactions is fundamental to MRP effectiveness

Throughout my experience, I have always said if you cannot do the calculations “old school”, meaning with a spreadsheet, then you shouldn’t be relying on MRP. Why? Simply because MRP users must understand every aspect of data and parameters that impact the behind the scenes of MRP calculations. MRP is a great tool, but it’s not an excuse for miscalculations. Lead time, safety stock, MOQ, BOM, UOM, ABC classification, etc., must be managed correctly. Check your data, keep it up to date, and MRP will be your best friend.

John is correct. I worked at a company that failed, and was purchased by another, and I was hired to do the inventory transition. The new company was in the midst of a software transition from a legacy system to a modern SAP package. But we had a 2 month gap that we had to continue production, purchasing, and planning. I went old school, yellow sheets of paper, and PC based spreadsheets to track our inventories. Our BOM's were 3-4 levels deep, so no small task. The biggest hurdle was enforcing the disciplines to keep inventory integrity accurate. We made it, but I wasn't sure we could make it work. My APICS training served me well.