General Consultant Discussion

MRP for Sage 100: Has anyone found either a master develop product or a third-party application that is a lot better than MRP that can replace it? If MRP calculated and reported correctly, it would do the job that my customer wants done, but it gives incorrect data.

Only possible things is JobOps's 'Purchase Agent' which is basically JobOps's replenishment/purchasing dashboard sold as a standalone product. I'm not 100% sure if its still for sale. Anybody know?

Look at Sage Inventory Advisor. I believe Sage is suggesting it as an MRP replacement.

We just had a demo with SIA. It won't work because it isn't date sensitive. For instance, if a sales order for a finished good has a ship date 6 months out, SIA only sees that there is a commitment now. And work orders scheduled into the future create a demand for components into the future, but again, SIA only sees the demand as being now.

I'll check out JobOps. Any other recommendations are appreciated.

That seems odd. I was under the impression that it was date sensitive. @MoiraGoggin - Say it isn't so.....

Yes, Purchase Agent is very much alive. I hope there will be time at MOTM to review it (even if it's not a formal session - like in some dark corner of the hotel). There are 2 versions - the original version which integrates with PO, SO, and BOM. The advanced version additionally integrates with WO. More info on the website: www.thepurchaseagent.com . This package should have taken off with all Sage 100 consultants, but didn't, most likely due to lack of continued marketing. We have 6 installations using it, which is nowhere close to the number that could benefit from it. SIA has similar functionality, but at a much higher cost and complexity, which many purchasing managers never seem to understand. Purchase Agent on the other hand is easy to learn and use almost immediately. It is also accepted quickly by the purchasing people. I'll see everyone at MOTM. (Free demos - I'll be the one in the dark corner of the bar Thursday evening with the laptop. Bring drinks!)

@JohnHoyt when will the 2014 version be available?

2014 is available, but obviously the Home page needs updating. When you go to the Download tab, it is there.

Thanks, @JohnHoyt . Yes, I'll be interested in learning more.

Just curious what incorrect data MRP is calculating? I have a handful of customers using it and it seems to be working for them, so I'd love to have a heads up...

They have items where the Demand quantity is double the actual amount, but the quantity for the suggested action is correct. They have items that are required for work orders that won't show up on the MRP report unless the item is on a sales order and the MRP generation is run integrated with orders. I've investigated all of this until my fingers are blue but I can't find the source of the problems, and neither can Sage. Another situation that perhaps MRP can't handle is that they have items that they both purchase and manufacture. A make-type item can have open POs. They have POs with dates a few months into the future, but need to make the items now. Instead of suggesting to make WOs, it suggests to pull in POs. Sage says that you can't have POs for make-type items or it will confuse MRP.