Material Resource Planning (MRP) is really just a quick way of saying, “having the stuff you need to do your job when you need it and where you need it, without having too much of it lying around.”  While this may sound simple enough, production delays from simple parts not being ordered in time are far too common.  Software has been designed to help with just this problem. Think about a car repair shop.  You go in, and they can tell you exactly how long a repair is going to take and what will be required in parts and labor to do the work.  This is MRP in action.  These new MRP solutions have helped many companies become more efficient, saving them lots of money. And it can do the same for you.

Basic Features of Good MRP Solutions

As described above, the most basic feature is making sure you have what you need to get the job done. This is accomplished within the software by allowing you to input job requirements for various different jobs into the software, which then produces a simple output.  This output tells you what is needed for each job and if your inventory situation is ready to meet those requirements. The next step the software takes is recommending a production schedule for the jobs and a purchasing schedule for the necessary parts.

Advanced Features of Good MRP Solutions

Some MRP solutions can do more than that. Some of them generate the purchase order or an electronic interchange transaction to automatically order the parts needed for upcoming jobs.  They can also check the progress of current jobs versus orders and make recommendations for changes to the job schedules.  Finally, good MRP solutions are all part of good enterprise resource planning (ERP) packages and can integrate fully with the rest of your software packages.  This integration can allow your MRP solutions to play a much bigger role within your organization.

Necessary Input Parameters for MRP Solutions

To properly do all the above mentioned items, there must be some significant information entered into the system.  If this information is not correct, the schedules and reports that come out of the system will mean nothing. The list of inputs is long, but they are necessary to ensure the integrity of your system. The MRP tools needed include a list of all products created and room to input custom items, a list of materials needed to produce each product and the amount of labor time involved to make the products, a sales forecast of each product to help with scheduling, and your current inventory level, both raw materials and finished goods.

Even with all of these items included, there are times when you need to make changes, especially when considering inventory levels.  Every time a product is created, inventory comes off the line to make that happen. Sometimes, it is not the exact inventory that the MRP solutions system expected, so changes need to be made. That is just one example, but it should be clear that one final feature that is a absolutely necessary is that inputting information into the MRP program needs to be easy, or the data will be skewed, and you will not get the quality of information you need to run your business better.