18.3 Running Master Planning, Analyzing Results, Planned Orders Firming, and Supply Schedule

18.3 Running Master Planning, Analyzing Results, Planned Orders Firming, and Supply Schedule

Quick Answer: Executing master planning in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (Master planning > Master planning > Run > Master planning) calculates supply and demand balances across legal entities. Planners can run a full Regeneration (recalculating all requirements from scratch) or a Net change (recalculating only items with inventory, demand, or BOM changes). The resulting Planned orders (Purchase, Production, Transfer) are analyzed via the Pegging tree and transitioned into operational documents through Firming—either manually or automatically via the Firming time fence. Planners evaluate time-phased balances across dynamic period buckets using the Supply schedule workbench.

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1. Executing Master Planning Runs

Master planning can be launched interactively for specific items or scheduled as an unattended background batch job.

• Navigation: Master planning > Master planning > Run > Master planning.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    MASTER PLANNING RUN PARAMETERS                       |
+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Field / Parameter     | Configuration & Operational Impact              |
+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Master plan           | The specific plan ID (e.g., Static or DynPlan)  |
|                       | being calculated.                               |
+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Principle             | Regeneration, Net change, or                    |
|                       | Net change minimized.                           |
+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Filter (Records to    | Restricts calculation to specific Items, Sites, |
| include)              | Warehouses, or Coverage groups.                 |
+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Batch processing      | Executes planning asynchronously via the batch  |
|                       | framework with multi-threading.                 |
+-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------+

Calculation Principles: Regeneration vs. Net Change

1. Regeneration:
   • Mechanism: Deletes all existing planned orders that have not been approved, purges existing net requirements, and recalculates the entire supply and demand network from scratch.
   • Application: Typically scheduled as a comprehensive nightly or weekend baseline run to eliminate orphaned planned orders and realign all master schedules.
   • Protection Rule: Planned orders that have been manually set to Approved status are not deleted during a regeneration run; master planning preserves them and recalculates surrounding orders.
2. Net Change:
   • Mechanism: Only evaluates items that have experienced a transaction or master data change since the last planning execution (e.g., a new sales order line entered, a purchase receipt posted, an inventory adjustment journal created, or a BOM updated).
   • Application: Executed intraday (e.g., every 15 to 60 minutes) to capture emerging demand shifts with minimal system workload.
3. Net Change Minimized:
   • An optimized variation of net change that only processes items where demand changes directly impact the coverage horizon, bypassing items with distant future changes.

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2. Planned Orders Analysis and the Pegging Tree

When master planning completes, it generates proposed supply transactions in the Planned orders workbench.

• Navigation: Master planning > Master planning > Planned orders.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                          PLANNED ORDER TYPES                            |
+-------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Planned Order     | Upstream Trigger & Downstream Target Document       |
+-------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Planned Purchase  | Triggered by purchased item deficits. Converted to  |
| Orders            | confirmed Purchase Orders (`PurchTable`).           |
+-------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Planned Production| Triggered by manufactured item deficits. Converted  |
| Orders            | to Production Orders (`ProdTable`) with BOM/route.  |
+-------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Planned Transfer  | Triggered by warehouse replenishment hierarchies.   |
| Orders            | Converted to inventory Transfer Orders (`InventXfer`)|
+-------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+

Planned Order Status Lifecycle

1. Unprocessed: The default state upon creation by master planning. Planned orders can be modified, deleted, or rescheduled by subsequent regeneration runs.
2. Approved: Set manually by a planner or through automated approval rules. Approving a planned order locks it against deletion during master planning regeneration runs, preserving order quantity and timing.
3. Firmed: The order is converted into an actual operational document (Purchase Order, Production Order, or Transfer Order) and removed from the planned orders list.

Pegging Tree View: Tracing Demand Origin

Planners must frequently answer: "Why did the system generate this planned purchase order for 500 units on October 12?"

• Navigation: From the Planned orders form or the Net requirements form, select Pegging (or open the Pegging tree).
• The Pegging tree displays a hierarchical graphical trace linking supply to requirement:

[Planned Purchase Order: Item RM-100 (Qty: 500)]
      └── Pegged to: [Planned Production Order: Item FG-200 (Qty: 250)]
            └── Pegged to: [Sales Order Line: SO-004921 (Customer: Contoso, Qty: 250)]

If safety stock caused the order, the pegging node explicitly states Safety stock. If a sales forecast caused it, the node displays Demand forecast.

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3. Firming Planned Orders: Manual vs. Automated

Firming is the decisive operational bridge between planning and execution. Converting a planned order creates an active transaction in procurement, manufacturing, or distribution.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    FIRMING WORKFLOW AND CONSOLIDATION                   |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   [ Planned Purchase Orders ] (Multiple lines for Vendor US-101)        |
|                  │                                                      |
|                  ▼                                                      |
|        [ Firming Parameters ]                                           |
|        - Group by Vendor: YES                                           |
|        - Group by Buyer Group: NO                                       |
|        - Target Status: Open Order                                      |
|                  │                                                      |
|                  ▼                                                      |
|   [ Single Purchase Order Header: PO-00892 ]                            |
|        ├── Line 1: Item A (Qty: 100)                                    |
|        └── Line 2: Item B (Qty: 250)                                    |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Manual Firming Workflow

1. Open Master planning > Master planning > Planned orders.
2. Filter or select the desired planned order lines.
3. Click Firm in the action pane.
4. The Firming dialog opens, offering critical parameters:
   • Group by vendor: When checked, multiple planned purchase orders assigned to the same vendor are consolidated into a single purchase order header with multiple lines, reducing vendor freight charges and administrative invoice handling.
   • Group by buyer group: Consolidates orders based on purchasing agent assignments.
   • Group by period: Consolidates orders with delivery dates falling within the same time bucket.
   • Target document status: For production orders, choose whether to firm into status Created, Scheduled, or Released.

Automated Firming via Firming Time Fence

• When the Firming time fence is configured on Coverage groups (Master planning > Setup > Coverage > Coverage groups) or Master plans, master planning automatically firms all planned orders that fall within the firming horizon during the batch run.
• Example: If the firming time fence is 2 days, any planned purchase order with an order date within the next 48 hours is automatically transformed into an open purchase order without manual human intervention.

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4. The Supply Schedule Form

The Supply Schedule workspace provides a dynamic, time-phased matrix for master schedulers to visualize and manipulate supply and demand balancing.

• Navigation: Master planning > Master planning > Supply schedule.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         SUPPLY SCHEDULE MATRIX                          |
+-----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Supply / Demand Node  | Week 38 | Week 39 | Week 40 | Week 41 | Week 42 |
+-----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Projected On-Hand     |   120   |    40   |   150   |    80   |    20   |
| Gross Requirements    |   180   |   160   |    90   |   120   |   100   |
| Scheduled Receipts    |   100   |     0   |     0   |     0   |     0   |
| Planned Orders        |     0   |   200   |   100   |    50   |   100   |
+-----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+

Core Capabilities of the Supply Schedule

• Period Template Association: The horizontal time buckets (days, weeks, months) are dynamically rendered based on the selected Period template.
• Interactive Supply Editing: Planners can double-click any cell in the Planned orders row to manually alter order quantities, split orders across periods, or drag supply between time buckets.
• Direct Firming: Planners can trigger the firming process directly from the supply schedule grid for specific time periods without returning to the planned orders workbench.

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5. Implementation Scenarios and Exam Traps

[!IMPORTANT] Exam Tip — Approved Planned Orders During Regeneration: If an exam question describes a scenario where "a planner manually adjusts the quantity of several planned purchase orders and does not want master planning's nightly regeneration run to overwrite or delete them," the correct action is to change the status of the planned orders to Approved.

[!WARNING] Exam Trap — Firming Without a Designated Vendor: Planned purchase orders cannot be firmed into actual purchase orders unless a Vendor account is assigned. If an item lacks a default vendor on the released product master, trade agreement, or item coverage, the firming process will throw an error. The planner must assign a vendor in the planned order workbench prior to firming.

[!TIP] Best Practice — Vendor Consolidation on Firming: Always train buyers to use the Group by vendor toggle during firming. Creating distinct purchase orders for every line generates unnecessary purchase order headers, separate EDI transactions, and fragmented freight charges.