Material Planner Overview¶
What you'll do here:
- Review demand, supply, and estimated availability for every item in one list.
- Filter to focus on shortages, a vendor, a location, or a specific order.
- Launch replenishment and availability views for an item.
Overview¶
The Material Planner Overview page shows all inventory items with their estimated availability for a selected period and location. The page calculates estimated availability from inventory, open demand, and open supply. Rows where availability is negative appear highlighted so planners can act on them immediately.
Open the page by searching for Material Planner Overview in Business Central, or by choosing the Material Planner action from a Sales Order, Production Order, Assembly Order, Service Order, or Job Card. When you open the page from an order, the app pre-fills the matching order filter.
Filters¶
Set filters in the header to control which items appear and how availability is calculated.
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Vendor Filter | Shows only items supplied by the selected vendor. |
| Date Filter | Limits all demand and supply quantities to the selected date range. |
| Location Filter | Applies to all demand and supply calculations. Use \| to include multiple locations. Use <> before a code to exclude a location. |
| Item Filter | Filters the item list by item number. |
| Item Category Code Filter | Filters the item list by item category. |
| Only Show Negative Lines | Hides all items with estimated availability of zero or more. |
| Include Safety Stock | Subtracts the safety stock quantity from estimated availability. |
| Include Forecast | Subtracts the forecast quantity from estimated availability. |
| Forecast Name | Selects which production forecast to include. Active only when Include Forecast is on. |
| Forecast Date Filter | Limits the forecast entries included. Active only when Include Forecast is on. |
| Sales Order Filter | Limits the item list to items on the selected sales order. Clears other order filters. |
| Production Order Filter | Limits the item list to items on the selected production order. Clears other order filters. |
| Assembly Order Filter | Limits the item list to items on the selected assembly order. Visible when Activate Assembly Orders is on in setup. Clears other order filters. |
| Service Order Filter | Limits the item list to items on the selected service order. Visible when Service Activated is on in setup. Clears other order filters. |
| Job filter | Limits the item list to items on the selected job. Visible when Job Activated is on in setup. Clears other order filters. |
| Planning Group Code Filter | Limits the item list to items on production orders in the selected planning group. Clears other order filters. |
| Basic Item No. Filter | Shows items derived from the selected base item. |
Key Fields on the Item List¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| No. | The item number. Select it to open the item card. |
| Description | The item description. |
| Estimated Availability | Inventory minus demand plus supply within the date and location filter. Negative values appear in red. |
| Inventory | Current stock on hand within the location filter. |
| Qty. on Sales Order | Open sales order quantity within the filters. |
| Qty. on Transfer Order | Outbound transfer order quantity within the filters. |
| Inbound Qty. on Transfer Order | Inbound transfer order quantity within the filters. |
| Qty. on Component Lines | Quantity committed on production order component lines. |
| Qty. on Purch. Order | Open purchase order quantity within the filters. |
| Qty. on Prod. Order | Open production order quantity within the filters. |
| Qty. on Assembly Order | Open assembly order quantity within the filters. |
| Qty. on Service Order | Open service order quantity. Visible when Service Activated is on in setup. |
| Qty. in Req. Worksheet | Quantity on requisition worksheet lines within the filters. |
| Qty. on Jobs | Job planning line quantity. Visible when Job Activated is on in setup. |
| Qty. in Forecast | Forecast quantity from the selected forecast. Visible when Include Forecast is on. |
| Safety Stock Quantity | Safety stock level from the item or SKU. Visible when Include Safety Stock is on. |
| Maximum Inventory | Maximum inventory level from the item. |
| Vendor No. | The preferred vendor for the item, resolved from the SKU if one exists. |
Actions¶
Replenish Item¶
Opens the Item Replenishment dialog for the selected item. Use this action to create a purchase requisition, production order, transfer order, or assembly order.
See Item Replenishment for full steps.
Availability by Period¶
Opens the standard Business Central Item Availability by Periods page for the selected item.
Availability by Period incl. Forecast¶
Opens the Item Avail.by Period FC page for the selected item. This page includes forecast quantities in the projected availability calculation.
Create Purchase Order¶
Creates a purchase order for all selected items. Select multiple items using the row checkboxes, then choose this action. The app uses the Vendor Filter to determine the vendor.
To use this action, set the Vendor Filter first. The action creates one purchase order with one line per selected item. Each line uses the item's reorder quantity.