MRP (Material Requirements Planning) Software
Plan the Optimal Raw Material Inventory Levels Needed for Production
Maintaining the minimal amount of inventory to satisfy current and future demand is the goal of any manufacturing company, but it also represents a significant challenge. MRP (material requirements planning) software calculates accurate raw material and component inventory requirements based on bill of material (BOM), inventory and master production schedule data to sustain production capacity while minimizing both excess inventory and shortages. With effective MRP software, companies can improve productivity and efficiency, increase quality, and reduce the overall cost of manufacturing, allowing them to better meet the needs of the market and increase revenue.
But for most companies, an MRP system alone is not enough. MasterControl Manufacturing Excellence solutions deliver significant added value to MRP software by automating manual processes, integrating disparate systems, and unlocking unprecedented production insights.
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What Is MRP Software?
MRP software is an inventory control and management system that helps to orchestrate the inventory levels of dependent demand items such as raw materials, components, subassemblies or parts that go into a finished product. For these items, the inventory needed is directly dependent on the production schedule of the finished product. Thus, MRP software uses input from bills of materials (BOM), inventory records and the forecast-driven master production schedule and works backward to precisely calculate which dependent demand items are needed, in what quantity and when.
MRP systems can help your company:
- Accurately plan and coordinate manufacturing activities, delivery schedules and purchasing activities.
- Ensure the availability of materials, components and parts for planned production or customer delivery.
- Maintain the lowest possible level of inventory and avoid excessive carrying costs.
- Determine accurate and competitive pricing for the finished product.
The functionality provided by MRP systems is a subset of that offered by enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, but is specialized for manufacturing whereas ERP encompasses the entire enterprise. MRP solutions can be stand-alone or incorporated into an ERP system as a module. They typically work in tandem with ERP systems, manufacturing execution systems (MES), manufacturing resource planning (MRP II), distribution resource planning (DRP) and production planning systems.
How Can MRP Software Benefit You?
Having more inventory on hand than production or delivery requires ties up valuable cash flow and often leads to waste. On the other end of the spectrum, running out of inventory can delay production and prevent you from fulfilling orders, driving your customers to purchase elsewhere. A good MRP system will help you avoid both.
Due to the complex nature and large amount of data being consolidated, coupled with constantly changing production and demand conditions, software-based MRP systems afford many advantages over a paper-based or partially electronic system. For example, critical data points such as BOMs, lead times, inventory levels and sales forecasts tend to change frequently. A good MRP software system can automatically detect, document and track these changes, allowing production managers to make informed decisions on the fly.
Because an MRP system is only as good as its input information, companies with poorly maintained or erroneous inventory records or BOMs often encounter serious and costly errors in output data. Integrated electronic MRP solutions can tap into and synchronize data from various departments and systems in real time, providing novel insights that can be imperceptible in more rudimentary systems.
Streamline Your MRP Processes With Automation
Whether as stand-alone solutions or integrated with your existing production systems, MasterControl’s innovative Manufacturing Excellence solutions support and optimize MRP programs by providing new levels of automation, efficiency and insight for smart manufacturing.
MasterControl Manufacturing Excellence software empowers you to:
- Improve manufacturing data integrity and visibility: Fully digitize, integrate and automate your manufacturing information, processes and workflows.
- Release product to market faster by automating documentation: Automatically generate accurate, compliant and customizable manufacturing documentation such as batch records, device history records (DHR), production travelers, history records, batch production records (BPR) and more.
- Optimize production processes in real time: Enhance process visibility and leverage predictive analytics to quickly adapt to dynamic production and market conditions.
- Bridge the gap between your technology and your people: Gain a holistic overview of your operations by merging machine and human performance data all in one convenient interface.
- Avoid production delays and downtime: Easily identify, troubleshoot and address bottlenecks and quality events such as nonconformances, deviations, out-of-specifications and failed lots.
- Accelerate your company’s digital transformation: Replace error-prone and costly paper-based documentation practices.