Material Planning
Generate production and material plans from multi-layered material requirements documents. Optimize supply timing based on inventory targets and increase financial efficiency.
Planner Problems
Challenges encountered in material planning and supply processes.
Key Expectations and Challenges
Direct material purchases used for production (or trading) constitute the most significant part of a company's financial expenses. The expectation from the planner is to provide the right materials at the right time, in the right quantity, and of the right quality. The cost incurred for those steps should be kept to minimum.
Goods should be delivered using the most cost-effective logistics method possible and should not remain in inventory for extended periods. Furthermore, the goods delivered should meet basic criteria such as expiration dates (if any), and should be consumed in a timely manner to avoid becoming scrap.
Constantly Changing Demands
The constant changes in production plans due to demands from the sales department cause some materials to become critical. They need to be provided quickly, but senior management constantly questions the expenditure.
Supplier Problems
Suppliers may fail to ship orders on time, delay deliveries, or deliver incomplete orders. That directly impacts the production flow and requires crisis management.
Production Uncertainties
Long-term plans may not be forthcoming from production, they may be uncertain; the planner may be misled. Materials may be lost in the warehouse, and production department may consume more than expected.
Blocks from Quality Department
The quality department can block the supply of materials. That can suddenly lead to a shortage of materials and create urgent supply requirements.
Complex BOM Structure
Material usages may become complex in multi-layered production facilities. BOMs may be updated constantly by design changes and become harder to manage.
Perpetual Crisis Environment
The planner is expected to monitor all these variables beyond their control and address them at minimum cost. This is often impossible, and the planner constantly operates in a crisis environment.
Planner Gains
Tangible advantages you gain in your material planning processes with Arkhon.
Arkhon Manages All The Complexity
Arkhon absorbs all this complexity within itself and presents the planner with the best plans. It generates production plans for semi-finished products from multi-layered material requirements and calculates the required material quantities.
Transfer Optimization and Managing Alternatives
If the planner is responsible for multiple facilities and material transfers are possible between them, Arkhon also manages this transfer optimization process.
Problem Identification and Preventing Crisis
Arkhon shows the planner which of the material groups they manage have problems; it helps them calculate when a crisis will occur and how much additional material will be needed to overcome it, thus assisting them in resolving the issue.
Arkhon Material Planning Process
Use the materials planning module to generate a material plan that aligns with the production schedule, considering supply and inventory parameters.
Data Entry
Material information, parameters and plans
Material Descriptions
- Purchasing groups
- Supplier information
- Basic purchasing parameters
Planning Criteria
- Inventory targets
- Stock data
Plan Data
- Purchasing orders
- Production BOM
- Mid-to-long-term production plans
Outputs
Requirement tables and supply plans
Requirement Tables
- Material requirement tables
- Semi-finished goods requirement tables
- Subcontracting manufacturing plans
Supply Plans
- Material purchase plans
- Contract usage quantities
- New contract requirements
Multiple Facilities
- Facility-specific plans
- Consolidated master plans
- Simulation environment
Reports
Primary, financial, and supply reports
Primary Reports
Reports affecting non-supply departments such as critical materials, shelf life, and sales order confirmation.
Financial Reports
Reports showing the plan's effect on the company's cash flow, such as inventory, turnover, and overstock reports.
Supply Reports
Purchase orders, transfer and supply proposal lists, contract usage analysis, and warehouse utility reports.
Optimize Your Material Planning
Manage your material requirements planning, inventory management, and supply processes from a single platform with Arkhon. See the difference with our free demo.