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I’m happy to announce that I have published a 2nd edition of Master planning in Microsoft D365 for Supply Chain Management. The 2nd edition includes updates for the newest features and functionality for Microsoft’s cloud Planning Optimization service as well incorporating Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) methodology. Using the Planning Optimization service, MRP calculation times are minutes instead of hours, even for large quantities of items and transactions. DDMRP in D365 supports decoupling point inventory planning, order priority planning and automatically updating the sales order CTP confirmation dates. 

These D365 updates have been seamlessly blended into the familiar Master planning user forms and configurations but quite a bit has changed, deprecated, or restricted. Updating your D365 to leverage these enhancements needs better documentation than what you can find on-line. Get the latest 2nd edition of Master Planning in Microsoft D365 Supply Chain Management II to help you. Available on Amazon. 

Microsoft has been releasing new planning features and functionalities this year for their flagship D365 ERP planning engine. In the October release update 10.0.28, two highly anticipated capabilities have been added to D365 Master Planning. 

Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) 

DDMRP planning methodology is added to the classic group of other planning Coverage codes available. The DDMRP methodology allows the planner to identify points in their product’s supply chain where buffer inventory can be managed more intelligently. D365 calls these decoupling points, and they are used to manage a buffer inventory using intelligent min-max quantities, reorder quantity and trigger levels for manufacturing, purchase and transfer order types. These settings provide a disconnect from the downstream demand that can often cause a more volatile butterfly effect on the entire supply chain. DDMRP has become popular for manufacturing, retail and distribution companies to reduce customer lead times to below the cumulative supply chain lead times.

DDMRP requires the Planning Optimization engine to be enabled in the D365 Master planning setup. Planning Optimization is an Add-in for D365 Supply Chain Management and no additional licensing is required. The supply chain will need the decoupling points identified. For each product’s decoupling point, a buffer profile and quantities are set. Other event parameters can be configured for the buffer to dynamically adjust these settings when needed. Master Planning will generate DDMRP planned orders for maintaining the coverage on decoupling point buffers. The results will be reduced lead times, prevent over-stock and eliminate stock run-outs.

Capable to Promise Planning (CTP)

New to the D365 Planning Optimization engine in update 10.0.28 is the support for Capable to Promise (CTP) delivery date calculation. Currently D365 can calculate a CTP delivery date and populate the confirmed delivery and confirmed receipt date on a sales order line at the time of order creation by automatically running a Dynamic Net requirements calculation. However, the CTP calculation is currently only available when using the classic built-in Master Planning engine. CTP has not been available with the Planning Optimization engine until the new release of 10.0.28 which will include the CTP for users that have enabled Planning Optimization. The CTP calculation will not be automatic at the time of sales line creation. It will require that a periodic batch job be created for the CTP products using the Dynamic Master plan. Microsoft recommends that the batch job be executed every 30-minutes, to update the Confirmed delivery and Confirmed receipt dates on the sales lines. Keep in mind that running the batch job using the Planning Optimization engine will complete its calculation in seconds and will not impact your D365 performance.

Need help or want more information on D365 Master Planning, send me a message. I'll be happy to help.

A book for users learning, or mastering, Microsoft Dynamics D365 Master planning functionality has been recently published. The book is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions.

Master Planning in Microsoft Dynamics D365 Supply Chain Management is the complete guide to demystifying the configuration and setup for Master planning in Microsoft's Dynamics D365. The book provides clear explanations of every setting in the Master planning module with real life examples of when, why and how the settings should be used. A needed reference for MRP planners and other Dynamics users searching for clear explanations of Master planning Parameters, the Master plans, Coverage groups, and Item coverage. Complete with warnings about commonly misunderstood settings and overrides. It explains how to interpret the Planned order results, and Net requirements forms. Provides useful guidance for effective Forecasting, including Azure Machine Learning demand forecasts, Production scheduling and manufacturing Route setup. Perfect for new as well as experienced Dynamics users.

 A head’s-up for manufacturers who have been waiting for Microsoft’s D365 Planning Optimization feature. Documentation indicates that it will be available in October 2022. Although this looks like a distant star, some of the current Master planning settings will be hard-set and others will no longer be available. This means you will need that time to adjust your parameters to adapt to this highly anticipated new engine. Want more info? Check out my blog on D365 Planning Optimization, posted on https://strabopartners.com/blog/planning-optimizations-d365

If you're looking for your next ERP system, need help with a Microsoft ERP implementation or simply want to connect with a solid partner, send me a note here using the Contact page, or click on the Strabo Partners link. We're here to help.