> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arcuserp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MRP Planning

> Run material requirements planning, review demand sources, inspect component shortages, and create selected draft work orders and purchase orders.

<Note>
  MRP suggestions are planning recommendations. Running MRP does not create work
  orders or purchase orders until you select suggestions and create them.
</Note>

## Run MRP When Demand Needs A Plan

Use **Manufacturing**, then **Production Planning (MRP)** when inventory,
manufacturing, and purchasing teams need to decide what to build and what to buy
inside a planning horizon.

<Frame caption={"MRP summarizes analyzed products, buildable work, parts shortages, and purchase suggestions inside the selected planning horizon."}>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/arcuserp/MrJkb10V6EpIZu0o/images/support/screenshots/manufacturing/mrp-planning.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MrJkb10V6EpIZu0o&q=85&s=65c8341d48ea33137494f6063f18847d" alt="Production Planning MRP page with horizon, include safety stock toggle, Run MRP button, summary cards, suggested work orders, and suggested purchase orders" width="1660" height="980" data-path="images/support/screenshots/manufacturing/mrp-planning.png" />
</Frame>

MRP looks at manufactured products with active default BOMs, current stock,
allocations, open purchase orders, open work orders, sales demand, run-rate demand,
dependent demand from work order components, component availability, vendor setup,
lead time, and safety stock when included.

## Choose Planning Inputs

1. Enter the **Horizon** in days.
2. Turn **Include safety stock** on when MRP should plan to keep safety stock filled.
3. Click **Run MRP**.
4. Review the summary cards before selecting rows.

* **Products analyzed**: active manufactured or hybrid products that have active default BOMs.
* **Can build now**: suggested work orders with all required parts available.
* **Waiting on parts**: suggested work orders with one or more component shortages.
* **PO suggestions**: purchase suggestions that close component or product shortages.

<Tip>
  Use a shorter horizon for urgent production planning and a longer horizon for buying
  ahead. A long horizon can surface more demand from run rate and safety stock.
</Tip>

## Read Suggested Work Orders

A suggested work order means Arcus found demand for a manufactured product and a
default active BOM that can satisfy it.

Each row can show:

* **Quantity**: the net quantity MRP thinks should be built.
* **Start by**: the suggested start date based on horizon and lead-time assumptions.
* **Estimated cost**: the BOM-based planning cost for the suggestion.
* **Parts ready**: components are available for the suggested quantity.
* **Waiting on parts**: at least one component is short.
* **Demand**: the sources that created the need, such as sales orders, forecast, dependent work order demand, or safety stock.
* **Open**: opens the New Work Order page with the suggested BOM selected.

Select only suggestions the team actually wants to create now. Review floor capacity,
open work, due dates, and known vendor delays before creating a large batch.

## Understand Demand Sources

* **Sales order demand**: open customer demand inside the horizon.
* **Run-rate demand**: forecast demand derived from historical daily demand.
* **Dependent demand**: component demand created by Released or In Progress work orders.
* **Safety stock**: stock target added when **Include safety stock** is enabled.
* **Current supply**: available stock, open purchase orders, and open work order supply that offset the need.

If the suggested quantity looks too high, check whether safety stock, run rate, or
dependent demand is driving the row. If it looks too low, check whether open POs or
open work orders already cover part of the need.

## Review Component Shortages

Rows marked **Waiting on parts** list the short components. MRP calculates required
component quantity from the BOM, scrap factors, and suggested build quantity, then
compares it with available stock and open PO quantities.

For phantom BOMs, Arcus plans through the phantom parent and surfaces the lower-level
components. For normal manufactured subassemblies, MRP can treat the subassembly as
a requirement so the team can decide whether to build or buy it separately.

<Warning>
  Do not create a work order just because it appears in MRP. If key components are
  short, create or review the purchase suggestions first, or plan a later release date.
</Warning>

## Read Suggested Purchase Orders

Purchase suggestions are grouped by vendor when records are created. They are meant
to close component or product shortages found inside the planning horizon.

Each row can show:

* **Vendor**: the default vendor for the item, when one exists.
* **No vendor**: the product needs purchasing setup before the draft PO will be useful.
* **Quantity**: the suggested buy quantity, honoring minimum order quantity when configured.
* **Order by**: the date implied by vendor lead time and the manufacturing need.
* **For**: the suggested work order products that created the component need.

<Warning>
  Fix no-vendor rows before creating a purchase order. Add the default vendor, cost,
  lead time, and minimum order quantity on the product purchasing setup, then run MRP
  again.
</Warning>

## Create Suggested Records

1. Run MRP with the correct horizon and safety stock choice.
2. Review **Suggested Work Orders**.
3. Select only the work orders that should be created now.
4. Review **Suggested Purchase Orders**.
5. Select only the purchase suggestions that should be created now.
6. Click **Create suggestions**.
7. Open created work orders for normal review, approval, release, completion, or cancellation.
8. Open created purchase orders for vendor review, approval, sending, receiving, billing, and close-short decisions.

What Arcus updates:

* Selected work order suggestions become draft work orders using the suggested BOM, quantity, and planned start date.
* Selected purchase suggestions become draft purchase orders grouped by vendor.
* Created records follow normal permissions, approvals, receiving, fulfillment, and accounting behavior.
* MRP refreshes after creation so the same demand is less likely to be suggested again.

## Common Blocks

* **No work orders are suggested**: confirm the product is active, tracks inventory, has manufactured or both supply method, and has an active default BOM.
* **MRP ignores a BOM**: confirm the BOM is active, default for the product, and not archived.
* **Parts are always short**: review component balances, open POs, safety stock, lead times, and whether the component is also manufactured.
* **Suggested quantity looks too high**: check safety stock, open sales demand, run-rate demand, dependent demand, and whether old open work should be completed or cancelled.
* **Suggested quantity looks too low**: check open POs, open work orders, and available stock that MRP is counting as supply.
* **No-vendor PO suggestions appear**: complete purchasing setup for the product before creating the PO.
* **Create suggestions returns errors**: create fewer suggestions, fix missing vendors or locations, confirm active BOMs, and retry.
* **MRP differs from the Reorder Report**: MRP includes manufacturing demand and BOM dependencies, while the Reorder Report focuses on product-level reorder signals.

## Related Articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Bills of Materials" href="/support/manufacturing/boms">
    Create BOM recipes for assemblies, disassemblies, conversions, revisions, defaults, costs, and availability.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Work Orders" href="/support/manufacturing/work-orders">
    Create, release, start, complete, close, or cancel manufacturing work from active BOMs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Supply and Demand" href="/support/inventory/supply-demand">
    Review stockout pressure, demand signals, reorder timing, safety stock, and suggested reorder quantity.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reorder Report" href="/support/purchasing/reorder-report">
    Find low-stock products, review vendor grouping, and generate draft purchase orders from reorder settings.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create and Manage Purchase Orders" href="/support/purchasing/create-manage-pos">
    Create POs, add vendor items, receive inventory, and handle approval, cancellation, billing, and close-short blocks.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manufacturing Reports" href="/support/manufacturing/reports">
    Review WIP aging, cost variance, build history, and component usage from work order activity.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>
