Question

Driving Earlier Demand

  • 14 July 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 136 views
M

My company currently has a large backlog and is looking for a solution to drive demand sooner in Epicor then we'd typically see. Here's the breakdown of our scenario.

- Once a quote is won, within two weeks we have the complete list of the raw materials needed to build the part, but not what sub assemblies they're going into. 
- Our Mechanical Engineers need several more weeks to build the model and define the final job structure, including sub assemblies. At that point they create the part masters for the sub assemblies and the finished good part, then they create the Job. 
- These materials have either a long lead time or we need a large quantity of them, so to drive demand earlier they cut RMAs for all of the materials. 

RMA's have been working ok, but the biggest issue is that they're cutting them to stock because the Job isn't built, but when they build the job, if the RMA hasn't fulfilled yet, they're getting double demand. 

Any idea's on another way to do this? MPS came to mind, that seems difficult to manage when dealing with hundreds of parts. 

Thanks!

Matt
 

4 replies

A

Matt,

We create a Top Level Part when we get an order. That TLP will eventually have all of the sub-assemblies for the job. If we have a long lead time item we add that material to the TLP and set the engineer flag. We then create a job using the emerging TLP.  We add a Req’d By date and set the engineer flag on the job. We use a different tool to notify purchasing that the job has been engineered for long lead item procurement.

Meanwhile, we engineer the TLP with the sub-assemblies. When they’re ready, we bring the updated TLP into the job. We will usually just set the engineer flag until we are actually ready to start production.

A job with the engineer flag set and a Req’d by date will create purchasing demand.

For what it’s worth, we schedule all jobs forward, not backward.

John

T

Have you tried using Forecasts on the materials? I import forecasts for our top 100 parts and set the forecast dates to 30 days. 

Ex. Forecast is made for part ABC on 9/1 for 1000 pcs. Any demand due within 30 days prior to 9/1 will reduce the forecast and if it’s not consumed by 9/1 that demand goes away. It also lets me run a report showing my previous forecasts and how much was actually consumed.

Trudie

 

K

We setup a planning contract for the long lead items with a project specific bin. Those are released to purchasing to buy. When the job is ready and the full BOM is entered, the long leads are issued to the job. We typically only have a few long lead items like motors or fans so this works well for us. 

 

Kathie

L

In a recent post, we discussed strategies for handling long-lead materials that are parts-on-the-fly.  There may be some ideas there that could inspire you, whether you’re using POTF or not.  There are certainly a lot of ways to make it work, but they’re not always straightforward!

Liz Braden ERP Manager CSI Springfield MO

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