MRP system with viewable master production schedule

Abstract

An MRP system that operates on a single data set containing records for all item demands and supplies. The file may be opened under a demand alias and a supply alias to expedite MRP regeneration. A second item master extension file includes data for each item which is subject to MRP, which further contributes to improved MRP regeneration time. Item low level codes for an item are recalculated in real time whenever a bill of material referencing the item is created or modified. Therefore, low level codes need not be calculated during MRP regeneration.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An improved MRP system comprising:

at least one item demand data set;

at least one item supply data set;

means for generating a Master Production Schedule ("MPS"), the means for generating being operable to perform the step of:

creating an MPS data set comprising data from the item demand and item supply data sets; and

wherein each such MPS data set record includes data indicating:

an item identifier;

a quantity;

a transaction time period; and

a "pass-through flag" which is set for those item supply records for which there is no independent demand in the MPS file for the same item;

such that the means for generating ensures that the MPS data set includes item supply information for items for which there is no independent demand;

means for viewing data in the records in the MPS data set for which the pass-through flag has not been set prior to performing materials requirement planning ("MRP");

means for performing time phased MRP netting on the MPS data set to thereby generate MRP action messages; and

such that means for generating ensures that it is unnecessary for such MRP netting means to access data from the item supply data set.

2. The MRP system of claim 1 further comprising:

an item data set wherein each record is uniquely identified by an item identifier, and wherein the item data set further comprises a low level code associated with each unique item identifier on which MRP is to be performed.

3. The MRP system of claim 2 further comprising:

a second item data set wherein each record is uniquely identified by an item identifier, and

wherein each record stores non-MRP data for the item, and

further comprising means for browsing item records in the second item data set.

4. The MRP system of claim 3 further comprising:

at least one bill of material data set defining parent-child relationships among items to thereby define a plurality of bills of material for items; and

wherein the first item data set comprises, for each item record in the file, a single low level code for the item.

5. The MRP system of claim 1 further comprising:

a first item data set wherein each record is uniquely identified by an item identifier, and

a second item data set wherein each record is uniquely identified by an item identifier, and wherein each record stores non-MRP data for the item, and,

means for browsing item records in the second item data set.

6. The MPS system of claim 1 wherein:

the step for creating the MPS data set comprising information from item demand and supply information further comprises the steps of:

inserting all demand records into the MPS data set before inserting supply records into the MPS data set.

7. The MPS system of claim 6 wherein each item identifier is the subject of a supply record, and wherein the need for setting the pass-through flag for a particular supply record in the MPS data set is determined by the means for generating a Master Production Schedule by performing a seek operation to ascertain whether any record for the item identifier which is the subject of the supply record already exists as a demand in the MPS table.

8. The improved MPS system of claim 1 wherein the MPS data set records for which the source of the supply or demand is a sales order, job order, purchase order document, further comprises a reference uniquely identifying the sales order, job order or purchase order document.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to systems for performing manufacturing requirements planning ("MRP"), which are software-based systems for performing time phased netting of manufacturing demands and supplies to generate action messages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of a MRP system is to generate a schedule of net requirements and planned order releases for the component parts and materials that are needed to satisfy the end-product demand represented by a master production schedule. Prior systems, such as Rembert, U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,352, are of limited capability for a make-to-order manufacturer. Moreover, most MRP systems require an extensive time period to perform MRP time phased netting of item demands and supply to thereby generate MRP action messages ("MRP regeneration").

One factor that contributes to slow MRP regeneration times in prior systems is the calculation of item low level codes. Most prior art MRP systems store low level codes in data base structures for bills of materials. Because an item can be referenced in different bills of materials, an items low level code may be different for different bills of materials. For such prior art systems, each MRP run necessitates that each bill of material for each item which is subject to the MRP run be exploded and the different low level codes for each item reconciled. This is usually done by setting the low level code for each item, as represented in multiple bills of material, to the greatest low level code of the item for all bills of material for the run. For example, suppose there are three bills of material records for items widget-1, widget-2 and widget-3. A component of each widget may be a valve, but because the different bills of material may have different hierarchies, the low level codes for the valve may be 5 in the widget-1 bill of material, 22 in the widget-2 bill of material and 76 in the widget-3 bill of material.

For MRP regeneration, the valve low level code for each bill of material should be set to its greatest value, or 76. Moreover, suppose further that the valve itself comprised of subcomponents, such as, a valve manifold and a valve seal, which would have low level codes of 6, 23 and 77 for widget-1, widget-2 and widget-3, respectively. The low level codes of these subcomponents would have to be reset to 77 for purposes of the MRP run. It can be readily appreciated for an MRP run that processes many items, and when items may have bills of materials that are hundreds of levels deep and hundreds of levels wide, a considerable amount of processing time can be spent exploding bills of material and calculating and possibly resetting low level codes. This contributes to undesirably slow MRP regeneration speed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An MRP system that operates on a single data set containing records for all item demands and supplies. The file may be opened under a demand alias and a supply alias to expedite MRP regeneration. A second item master extension file includes data for each item which is subject to MRP, and only those items subject to MRP, which further contributes to improved MRP regeneration time. Item low level codes for an item are recalculated in real time whenever a bill of material referencing the item is created or modified. Therefore, low level codes need not be calculated during MRP regeneration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a data entry screen displaying several values that may be specified for the item master extension record for an item.

FIG. 2 shows an overview of the data files and processing sequence of an improved MRP system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the criteria for including item demand and supply records in an MPS data set.

FIG. 4 shows a data entry screen for specifying variables for regenerating a master production schedule.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the application of an item pass through model for adjusting an item quantity for the MPS data set.

FIG. 6 shows a screen which maybe used to display and edit MPS results after MPS regeneration.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate screen which maybe used to display and edit MPS results after MPS regeneration in a calendar format.

FIG. 8 shows a screen for viewing a bill of material.

FIG. 9 shows a data entry screen for specifying MRP regeneration parameters.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an overview of the MRP regeneration process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process in MRP for processing stock item transactions.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the process in MRP for utilizing supply transactions to fulfill unmet demand(s) for items.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process for creating a planned order in order to fulfill unmet demand for an item.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the process for finishing a started planned order.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the process in MRP for processing non-stock item transactions.

FIG. 16 shows a screen for viewing the results of MRP regeneration.

FIG. 17 is a screen for viewing MRP action messages and for taking actions based on MRP results.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the process for updating low level codes for items in real time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment of the invention, the system includes means for storing information regarding items. In general, an "item" is any individually tracked product, component or subcomponent. Many businesses also include in their item master files information regarding items which are not subject to the business' manufacturing operations, such as information for tooling or office supplies the business regularly purchases. Including such information in an inventory file can slow down the MRP process because the MRP process generally accesses every item in an item master file.

The present invention accommodates both make-to-order and make-to-stock manufacturers. A make-to-order environment is a direct-line progression. If an item on a sales order is a "make" item, then there is a one-to-one relationship created between that sales order and the job order created to fulfill that demand. Transactions processed against a make-to-order job order move all costs directly through Work In Process (WIP) and into Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) at the time the shipment is processed. This completion of manufacture of a make to order item does not impact on-hand quantities.

When the item on the sales order is a make-to-stock item, there is no direct link to a particular job order. The sales order creates a demand (commitment) against inventory to that item and an internal job is created to fulfill the inventory deficit. All costs related to jobs created for make-to-stock items will go from WIP to Inventory when the item is moved to finished goods. The shipment transaction then moves the costs from Inventory to COGS.

The system of the present invention allows a user to specify buy-to-order or buy-to-stock. If the item on a sales order or a job order is "buy-to-order," then there is a one-to-one relationship created between that sales order or job and the purchase order created to fulfill that demand. When the shipment transaction is processed against a sales order for a buy-to-order item, the costs are posted against a buy/resell account and COGS. When a purchase order is received which is linked to a job the costs are applied directly to WIP. The receipt transaction does not impact on-hand quantities.

When an item on a sales order or a job order is "buy-to-stock," then all transactions must flow through inventory. Essentially, the demand is against inventory and the purchase order actually replenishes inventory. The receipt of a purchase order for a buy-to-stock item increases on-hand quantities and costs are applied to the inventory account.

The term "standard," when applied to an item, indicates that the part number exists in the item master file, or non-MRP item data set. A standard Bill of Material may be specified via a sales/job order data entry user interface for a standard item. Only standard items may be added to a Standard Bill of Material. The term "non-standard" indicates that an item does not exist in the Item Master file. Non-standard items may be added to quotes, sales orders, jobs, and purchase order but not to a Standard Bill of Material. In one embodiment, the sales/job order data entry screen allows a non-standard item to be specified. The system is operable to copy a standard bill of materials record from the standard bill of materials data set and change and save the record as a new record in a sales order bill of materials file or job order bill of materials file. A sales order and job order may be mutually linked by including, in each record, a unique document identifying reference to other document. Accordingly, the system is operable to prevent a standard bill of materials data set record from referencing an item identifier unless there is a corresponding record for the same item identifier in the non-MRP item data set.

Several other terms used herein are defined as follows.

Demand: What the user of the MRP system needs to make or buy. Independent demand comes from sales orders, forecast or Master Schedule. Dependent demand is component demand created by demand placed on a parent item.

Master Production Schedule (MPS): A statement of what quantity needs to be produced on what date to support the independent demand, i.e., sales orders and forecast. In one embodiment of the invention, the MPS is represented by an MPS data set.

Low Level Code: The deepest level at which the item is found in any product bill of material. In the preferred embodiment, the low level code is not entered by the user, but is automatically calculated by the system as described below.

Time Buckets or Granularity: A time frame, such as day, week or month, which is defined so that requirements can aggregated and order policies can be applied consistently.

Gross Requirements: Quantity of all demand for a particular item within a specific time frame.

Planned Orders: The suggestion from MRP that a replenishment order needs to be placed to satisfy a particular demand. This suggestion is quantity and date specific.

Scheduled Receipts: Existing Open jobs or purchase orders which are quantity and date specific.

Purchase Lead Time: The time in which it takes to acquire a purchased part.

Manufacturing Lead Time: The time required to produce a manufactured part, which includes setup, production, move, queue and outside operations.

Cumulative Lead Time: This is calculated for a manufactured part and is the total back to back lead times of the longest lead time components in all levels of the assembly process.

Lead Time Offset: This is a term used to describe the activity of subtracting the lead time of an item from its due date to arrive at either a manufacturing start date or purchase order release date.

Bill of Material Explosion: Calculation of the quantity required for every component on a bill of material based on quantity per times the gross requirement of the parent.

Safety Stock: A quantity of inventory which is required to be on-hand at all times. MRP will consider this quantity to be a permanent demand and plan orders to maintain that quantity at all times.

Pegging: A term given to the activity of tracing demand back to its parent or forward to its component demand.

Reschedule Tolerance: A specified time frame usually expressed in days that tells the MRP system not to generate an action message if a variance occurs within this time frame. This helps reduce system "nervousness."

Nervousness: A term used to describe the ripple effect caused when changes to demand create multiple and frequent lower level action messages.

Order Policies: User defined parameters which govern how MRP arrives at the number of, and quantity appearing, on each planned order.

One feature of the present invention is the use of an item master extension file, or item MRP data set, in addition to the item master file, or item non-MRP data set. The item master file, which is used in one embodiment of the present invention and in most prior MRP systems, is used to store most of the data relative to items, or parts, such as part name, part number (a/k/a unique item identifier), part supplier and price information (for parts which are purchased), etc. Item master files tend to have very large record layouts because a great deal of information is stored (or at least capable of being stored) regarding each item or part, including non-MRP data. However, some of the information related to parts is used exclusively during the MRP process. In one embodiment of the present invention, all of this MRP specific data (except for the inventory quantity) is stored in a separate item master extension file. The item master extension file contains data such as an MRP exclude flag, a low level code, maximum order flag, minimum order flag, etc. The record size for the item master extension file is much smaller than it is for the item master file. Because item information is accessed frequently during the MRP process, by storing all MRP-related data in a separate item master extension file, various database access parameters, such as buffer sizes, can be used more efficiently, thus improving MRP regeneration times.

Another reason the item master extension file improves MRP regeneration times is because in a make-to-order environment, a business may accept many orders for non-standard configurations of standard items. For example, a business's standard bill of materials may include an item, for say, a binder with a brown leather cover. However, in a make to environment, a business may have customers that want to purchase, on a one-time basis, for example, a binder with a red leather cover or a blue plastic cover, or any other number of variations. Many prior art MRP systems would require the business to create a new "standard" bill of materials for these variations. However, it is cumbersome to create a new standard bill of materials, especially in view of the fact that the variation may be the subject of only a single order. Thus, in prior art systems, the item master file and the standard bill of materials files become bloated with many old items that are unlikely to ever be ordered again. These increased file sizes tend to increase MRP processing times because, each record in the item master file is typically accessed at some point during the MRP process. In a typical MRP run, the number of items that are actually the subject of existing demands or supplies is frequently much smaller than the number or records in the item master file. Therefore, in prior MRP systems which access each record of the item master file, much time is wasted accessing all the records which will not be subject to MRP.

The use of the item master extension file speeds MRP because it only contains records for those items which are subject to MRP, and as a result, it usually has fewer records than the item master file. By relying primarily on the item master extension file, instead of the item master file, to "drive" the MRP process, the MRP regeneration time is accordingly reduced.

Another advantage of the item master extension file is realized in the course of utilizing other portions of software typically found in a manufacturing environment, such as a sales order module, or any other module that permits a user to view or "browse" the records of the item master file. As explained above, many prior art systems require the user to create item master records for "one-time," or "non-standard" make to order, sales, and this tends to "bloat" the item master file with items that will probably never be ordered again. Nevertheless, users, such as sales persons entering new sales orders, will browse the item master file to find the particular item a new customer wishes to order. Such salespersons will have to wade through all of the `non-standard" items in the item master file. Because they must sort through a larger amount of irrelevant records, they will not be as efficient in performing their jobs.

In one embodiment of the present invention, "non-standard" items are implemented by: (a) permitting sales orders, job orders or purchase orders to specify an item identifier that is not in the item master file; and (b) prohibiting a standard bill of materials from referencing a "non-standard" item, and requiring instead non-standard items to be specified in a separate job order bill of materials file. In one embodiment of the present invention, there are three bill of materials files: a standard bill of materials file, a job order bill of materials file, and a sales order bill of materials file. As the names suggest, the standard bill of materials file contains information only about "standard" items (and their subcomponents), and there will always be a corresponding item master record for each top-level item in the standard bill of materials file. A sales order may, however, define a unique, or non-standard, bill of materials, as in the above example of a binder with a blue plastic cover instead of a brown leather cover. In such an instance, one embodiment of the system of the present invention would create a new job order bill of materials record for the new "blue plastic notebook" item, and during this process, a new item master extension record for the new "blue plastic notebook" item will also be created. However, a new item master file record will not be created, nor will a standard bill of materials record be created for the new blue plastic notebook item. To the extent the system becomes "bloated" with information about the new blue plastic notebook (or other similar non-standard or make to order items) the "bloating" occurs in the job order bill of materials file and the item master extension file. However, these files are accessed far less frequently on a day to day basis than the standard bill of materials file and the item master file. Moreover, it is less disruptive to day to day operations to periodically "clean out" these files to eliminate records for one-time items that are no longer needed.

The full record layout for the item master extension file in one embodiment of the invention may be as follows:

    ______________________________________
    FIELD    TYPE    LEN    DEC  DESCRIPTION
    ______________________________________
    FCPARTDS C       35     0    Part Description
    FCPARTNO C       25     0    Part (Item) Number
    FLEXCMRP L       1      0    MRP Exclude If .T. this part
                                 will be excluded from the
                                 MRP process.
    FLMAXORD L       1      0    Max Order Flag If .T. and
                                 fnMaxOrd is non zero, will limit
                                 maximum order size.
    FLMINORD L       1      0    Min Order Flag If .T. and
                                 fnMinOrd is non zero, will
                                 govern minimum order size.
    FLMLTORD L       1      0    Order Multiple If .T. and
                                 fnMltOrd is non zero, will insure
                                 that the order is an exact
                                 multiple of fnMltOrd.
    FLUSEFIX L       1      0    Use Fixed Mfg Lead Time
    FNCPLEAD N       10     4    Critical Path Lead Time
    FNDAYSUP N       3      0    Days Supply Aggregates all
                                 requirements for number of
                                 days specified to be placed on a
                                 single order.
    FNFIXMFG N       10     4    Mfg Variable portion of user
                                 defined Mfg lead time
    FNFIXSU  N       10     4    Fixed portion of user defined
                                 Mfg lead time
    FNJOETOL N       3      0    JO Early Days (Days JO can be
                                 early)
    FNJOLTOL N       3      0    JO Late Days (Days JO can be
                                 late)
    FNLEVEL  N       3      0    Low Level Code
    FNMAXORD N       10     4    Max Order Quantity
    FNMINORD N       10     4    Min Order Quantity
    FNMLTORD N       10     4    Order Multiple
    FNPOETOL N       3      0    PO Early Days (Days PO can be
                                 early)
    FNPOLTOL N       3      0    PO Late Days (Days PO can be
                                 late)
    FNPTMODEL
             N       3      0    Pass Through Model Determines
                                 what portion of ID, IF, or MS
                                 quantities that pass into the MRP
                                 process. May be viewed as
                                 forecast consumption.
    FNVARMFG N       10     4    Variable potion of calculated
                                 mfg lead time
    FNVARSU  N       10     4    Fixed portion of calculated mfg
                                 lead time
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FIELD    TYPE     LEN    DEC   DESCRIPTION
    ______________________________________
    FCPARTNO C        25     0     Part (Item) Number
    FCTXNTYPE
             C        2      0     Transaction Type either (F
                                   (forecast) or MS (master
                                   schedule)
    FDTXNDATE
             D        8      0     Transaction Date
    FMNOTES  M        4      0     Notes
    FNTXNQTY N        10     4     Transaction Date
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    Document
            Demand or Supply   Source
    ______________________________________
    SO      Independent Demand - Open SO
                               Sales Order Module
    IF      Independent Forecast - Manual
                               MPS Calendar
            Input
    MS      Independent Demand - Manual
                               MPS Calendar
            Input
    JO      Scheduled Receipt - OPEN/REL
                               Shop Floor
            Job
    PO      Scheduled Receipt - OPEN PO
                               Purchasing
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FIELD    TYPE    LEN    DEC   DESCRIPTION
    ______________________________________
    FCDOCITM C       3      0     Document's Item Number
    FCDOCNO  C       10     0     Document Number
    FCDOCRLS C       3      0     Document's Release Number
    FCDOCTYPE
             C       2      0     Document Type (SO, JO, PO,
                                  PL, SS, IF, MS, DD)
    FCPARTNO C       25     0     Part Number
    FCSOURCE C       1      0     Item's Replenishment Source
    FCTXNTYPE
             C       2      0     Transaction Type (ID, IF, SR,
                                  MS or DD)
    FDTXNDATE
             D       8      0     Transaction Date
    FNTXNBAL N       10     4     Transaction Balance - used to
                                  keep a running total
                                  of the demand
    FNTXNQTY N       10     4     Transaction Quantity
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FIELD   TYPE    LEN    DEC  DESCRIPTION
    ______________________________________
    FIME    I       4      0    Me (Contains the record number
                                of the recorded transaction)
    FIPARENT
            I       4      0    Parent (Contains the record number
                                of the transaction which caused the
                                `Me` record to originate. if this
                                field is 0 the record pointed to by
                                `Me` is a top level requirement.)
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FIELD     TYPE    LEN    DEC  DESCRIPTION
    ______________________________________
    FBOMMEMO  M       4      0    Bom-level Memo
    FCOMPONENT
              C       25     0    Component Part No (Item
                                  Number)
    FEND.sub.-- EF.sub.-- DT
              D       8      0    Effective End Date
    FITEM     C       6      0    Bom Item Number
    FLEXTEND  L       1      0    Extend This Item's Qty. by
                                  the Parent Qty.
    FLTOOLING L       1      0    Is this a Tooling Item?
    FMEMOEXIST
              C       1      0    Memo Exist Does A Bom-
                                  level Memo Exist? (`y` =
                                  Yes)
    FPARENT   C       25     0    Parent Part No.
    FQTY      N       14     5    Quantity
    FREQD     C       1      0    Flag If This Component Is
                                  Required - For Opt Bom
    FST.sub.-- EF.sub.-- DT
              D       8      0    Effective Start Date
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FIELD     TYPE    LEN    DEC  DESCRIPTION
    ______________________________________
    FACTQTY   N       14     5    ACT QTY. Actual (not
                                  Rounded) Ftotqty
    FBOMDESC  C       65     0    BOM DESC Description Of
                                  B.o.m. Part
    FBOMINUM  C       4      0    BOM LINK Internal key used
                                  to link BOM
    FBOMLCOST N       13     5    LABR COST Total labor cost
                                  for all RTG opers for
    this part
    FBOMMEAS  C       3      0    PART U/M Inventory Part
                                  Unit of Measure
    FBOMOCOST N       13     5    BOM COST
    FBOMPART  C       25     0    Part In A Bill Of Material
    FBOMREC   N       6      0    SO BOM NO Location In
                                  Sales Order B.o.m.
    FBOMREV   C       3      0    BOM REV
    FBOMSOURCE
              C       1      0    Source
    FBOOK     N       14     5    QTY COMMIT BOM Stock
                                  Parts Reserved Quantity
    No components are lot         `N`
    Some of the                   controlled; `S`
                                  components are lot controlled;
    All of the components         `A`
                                  require lot control
    FCLOTEXT  C       1      0    Extent of Lot Contrl Extent
                                  of Lot control
    FFIXCOST  N       16     5    FIX COST
    FINUMBER  C       3      0    ITEM NUMBER
    FITEM     C       6      0    BOM ITEM NO Item Number
                                  On Bill For Part
    FJOBNO    C       10     0    Job Order Number
    FLABCOST  N       16     5    LABR COST
    FLABSETCOS
              N       16     5    LABR SET COST
    FLASTOPER N       4      0    LAST OPER
    FLEXTEND  L       1      0    EXT QTY FLG Should This
                                  Part's Unit Qty Be
                                  extended By its Par
    FLLOTREQD L       1      0    Lot Control Req'd Lot Con-
                                  trol is req'd for this part
    FLTOOLING L       1      0    TOOL FLG Is This Part A
                                  `tooling` Type Part?
    FMATLCOST N       16     5    MATL COST
    FNEED.sub.-- DT
              D       8      0    NEED.sub.-- DT Date Part Is
                                  Needed
    FNRETPOQTY
              N       14     5    Qty on Return P.O.s
    FNUMOPERS N       4      0    NUM OPS
    FOTHRCOST N       16     5    OTHR COST
    FOVRHDCOST
              N       16     5    OVRHD COST
    FOVRHDSETC
              N       16     5    OVRHD SET COST
    FPARENT   C       25     0    Part That B.o.m. Has Been
                                  Created For
    FPONO     C       6      0    PO NO Purchase Order
                                  Number
    FPOQTY    N       14     5    PO QTY Purchased Quantity
    FQTYTOPURC
              N       14     5    Quantity which Needs To Be
                                  Purchased
    FQTY.sub.-- ISS
              N       14     5    Qty Of Reserved That Has
                                  Been Issued From Stock
    FRESPONSE C       1      0    RESPONSE Assigned
                                  Responsibility For Delivery
                                  of Part C = CUSTOMER/
                                  P = PURCHASING/M =
                                  MANUFACTURING
    FSTDMEMO  M       4      0    STD MEMO Item Memo
    FSUBCOST  N       16     5    SUB COST
    FSUB.sub.-- JOB
              C       10     0    SUB.sub.-- JOB If Bomsource =
                                  `m`, This is The Sub Job
                                  Created
    FSUB.sub.-- REL
              L       1      0    SUB.sub.-- REL FLG Has Job In
                                  Fsub.sub.-- job Been Released
    FTOTPTIME N       8      2    TOT PROD TIME
    FTOTQTY   N       14     5    TOT QTY BOM Quantity For
                                  A Part
    FTOTSTIME N       8      2    TOT SET TIME
    FTRANSINV N       14     5    TRANS QTY Purchased Qty
                                  Transferred Back To
                                  Inventory
    FVENDNO   C       6      0    Vendor Number
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FIELD    TYPE    LEN    DEC  DESCRIPTION
    ______________________________________
    FCDOCITM C       3      0    Item Number
    FCDOCNO  C       13     0    Document Number
    FCDOCRLS C       3      0    Release Number
    FCPARTNO C       25     0    Part Number
    FCPRICOD C       2      0    Priority Code Note that this
                                 fields uniquely identifies the
                                 action, however, it does not have
                                 any specific effect on order.
    FDACTDATE
             D       8      0    Action Date This field
                                 determines the date on which an
                                 action should be taken.
    FDDUEDATE
             D       8      0    Due Date This date determines
                                 when the good contained in an
                                 order should be ready for use.
                                 In the case of Purchase
                                 Orders this is the last promise
                                 date and the due date for Job
                                 Orders.
    FDTXNDATE
             D       8      0    Transaction Date This date
                                 identifies the date of the original
                                 transaction.
    FLACTTKN L       1      0    Action Taken Flag
    FMMSG    M       4      0    Action Message
    FNTXNQTY N       10     4    Transaction Quantity This field
                                 specifies the quantity which
                                 must appear on the order to
                                 bring the opertaion into
                                 material compliance.
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    Document
           Demand or Supply    Source
    ______________________________________
    SO     Independent Demand - Open SO
                               Sales Order Module
    IF     Independent Forecast - Manual Input
                               MPS Calendar
    MS     Master Scheduled - Manual Input
                               MPS Calendar
    SS     Safety Stock        Item Master Extension
    JO     Scheduled Receipt - OPEN/REL Job
                               Shop Floor
    PO     Scheduled Receipt - OPEN PO
                               Purchasing
    DD     Dependent Demand    Upper Level (parent)
                               requirement
    PL     Planned Order       MRP net requirement
    ______________________________________

• Inventors
  Rush, Gary W.; Kiefus, Herman J.;
• Assignee
  Made2Manage Systems, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN)
• Published
  Sep-12-2000
• Current US Classes:
  705/29
  705/8
• Application #
  787253
• International Classes
  G06F 017/60
• Field of Search
  364/468.05 364/468.06 364/468.13 364/468.14 705/7 705/8 705/29 700/99 700/100 700/106 700/107
• Examiner
  Weinhardt; Robert A.
• Agent
  Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan
• US Patent References:
  4459663
  4646238
  4864507
  5101352
  5197001
  5231567
  5237495
  5311424
  5369570
  5450317
  5479343
  5548518
  5764519
  5796614
  5818716