Master Planning in Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations

Also called Master Scheduling and MRP, or Material Requirements Planning, Master Planning in Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is a complex engine with a very simple purpose: to have the right resource, at the right place, at the right time.

Master Planning takes all supply, all demand, and the related dates to return planned orders and action messages. Planned orders are suggestions to optimize supply and demand, and can be firmed into actual orders, or ignored, or changed.

Planned orders can be set to tell a business:

• What to buy (Procurement, sub-contracted production steps)
• What to make (Production, projects)
• What to move (Transfer orders, Kanbans)
• What to change (expedite, cancel, move in, move out)

In order to get useful planned orders, Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations relies on a disciplined user process to keep the information it relies on up-to-date.

Note: Even though most customers, commentators, and consultants still call it Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, Microsoft now technically licenses it as Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management.

Questions To Help Your Business Begin Preparing for Master Planning

• What is your company expecting from a Master Planning system? When you say you want a planning system, what does that mean to the stakeholders?
• Who are the stakeholders and who is the “tie breaker” in discussions around processes for purchasing, scheduling, and production?
• How will you make time for those resources to participate in training and implementation sessions?
• Who will monitor if key information in Dynamics 365 is being maintained after go-live? How will you present that process so it is accepted by users?
• If there is turnover during the project in any key area, what is the risk and impact to the project? Is there a backup user to step in as the Subject Matter Expert?
• Who will be tasked with understanding Master Planning overall and the related parameters in the business? There can be a steep learning curve to be able to understand and own Master Planning.

During requirements gathering and solution modeling, Encore can help your business prepare a list for each area of what is needed and what will have to change and be maintained. It will be important for the business to have a process in place to address the shifts in roles and processes. For Master Planning more than almost any other area, managing change and facilitating user adoption will be the biggest determiner of success.  Interested in starting your Master Planning journey? Please contact us.