The general process (for a long-term client of ours):
- From placing a PO, to having finished goods ready to ship, takes about 60 days.
- Uncolored raw material PO's (of a couple varieties) are shipped direct to a 3rd party service provider (ITT) who takes raw material and adds color (upon demand).
- Some storage (separate Sage warehouse code) for ordering some raw material in advance.
- PO receipt done when received at ITT
- Straight weights as UoM, no scrap %.
- Colored raw material then shipped our client, for further processing.
- BoM done at receipt to convert uncolored raw to colored raw, and move to correct warehouse
- Shipping and lead times are generally consistent for all products.
- Then colored raw material is processed by our client, blended with other raw materials (based on BoM recipe proportions) to produce the final finished good, which is immediately shipped to the end customer when ready.
SO are scheduled into the future, using line Promise Date, with the main question being around ordering raw material in a timely manner (considering future SO, SO being processed, existing PO, inventory on hand in the various stages, and processing) to ship on time. Quantities are not exact, with allowed small percentage over (or under) shipments.
No WO. No PM. No JobOps. We tried to see if IRP might help but couldn't get it to work properly (raw materials proportions through the BoM Recipe?).
They currently use Excel spreadsheets to keep track of all quantities / steps manually, but they seek a way to make it easier (which is why we looked at IRP). Will IRP help manage this kind of process (and we just need help setting it up properly)? Any other thoughts / suggestions? They are Premium but I don't want to re-invent the wheel with a custom reporting solution unless that ends up being the best option.
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Kevin Moyes
Technical Systems Analyst
Munjal White Consulting Co.
Toronto ON
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