Ok we are really struggling with MPS and Forecast. We are having issues using both. We think we should not be using both but Operations is arguing with us that we can. We have parts that have a forecast and MPS but the Forecast is not getting consummed.
So who uses both and should both be used??
Any experts on this I can pick brain offline.
Hi, Which Version are you on. Basically forecasts should net off against orders and MPS drives jobs,.
We are on Version 10.2.300.5
I know this is an old thread, Did you ever find a resolution to this ? We are on 10.2.3. I had the same issues on 10.1 ( or was it 9.05 ??) . I am now revisiting this because I am trying to find a way “in Epicor” instead of a way to “fool the system” in order to get the results we want to see.
Right now our solution is not to use MPS only forecast.
We were looking at going the other way, MPS instead of Forecast. From what I can tell, as soon as you put an MPS in, the forecast numbers will not consume, they even disappear from Time Phase.
We have had a mix of staying or not in Time Phase. it seems it is better to use one or the other not both.
Wow, have I gone down this road! Please understand that most of my work has been in V8, but we have a working installation of V10 and I’ve run planning in that environment.
MPS does have some bugs (in 8), I’ve posted about those before. Our environment is a bit unusual in that we don’t build strictly to customer demand. We have a lot of flexibility with most of our customers, and can get them to adjust their schedule as we complete material. So, we frequently make material earlier (or, in some cases later) than the initial demand signal.
We build our own internal plan, and I create a forecast in Excel based upon that. Prior to running MRP, we remove all open sales order lines, import the forecast and run MRP.
After MRP runs, we remove the forecast, and the customer schedule comes back in every weekend. The net result is that we can see (in Time-Phase) that our internal plan either meets or does not meet customer demand.
We run MRP for a two year period every weekend.
We also use MPS, but we do not use both MPS AND Forecast for the same item. Haven’t tested how well they play together. We use MPS on items for which we do not receive customer schedule.
Our environment is small, only about 150 end items, with a BOM that is (at the most) three levels deep.
Generally, operations folks do not understand how planning works. I have those conversations almost every day. The key to making the entire thing work properly is good routings, good labor reporting, and a thorough look at each part’s settings with an understanding of what they do (min/max/multiple, days of supply, min/max on hand for purchased items, proper lead times for purchased items).