MRP2/ERP Tutorial - Introduction

The first stage of production management is to determine quantities (and the date they are required) of the material and labor required to fulfill customer orders. This "overview" lesson enters and approves a customer order and then reviews the requirements, assigning labor at workstations to specific machines. The material requirements (MRP) are also scheduled (by date needed as well as by total demand) and can be assigned to vendors as part of the purchasing process.

The following tasks refer to specific items in the BASICS training database. (BASICS is the free single user version of SIM*plicity Manufacturing Software.). Note: if you are using the kitchen cabinet version of BASICS select any base or wall cabinet rather than SBK. For more information on any function please click on the accompanying picture or on that subject in the lower chart.

Accordion	Module	Action	Comments
Order Entry	Add Orders – Customer Info tab (blue tab on right of screen)	Select Customer	Select any customer by using spin buttons (up and down arrows next to customer #)
	Add Orders - Items tab	Enter product “SBK” (Sofa Bed King) In yellow product box	Either type letters directly or use the spin buttons. In the "ADD ORDERS" mode you must have an exact product code match to avoid order entry errors. However you can use the spin buttons to locate products.
		Enter quantity “100”
		Select options designated by red boxes. Any value will be okay but for this discussion assume “Blue Plaid Fabric”	Red boxes indicate options that need to be selected. Use pulldown arrows on right side of the red boxes.
		Accept item	Click add button in lower right hand corner of the screen
	Add Orders - Summary tab	Accept Order	Press “OK” button. You can press the view or print button if you want to see how the order looks (To determine the projected cost of this order click the "COSTING" tab on the right side of the screen.)
	Add Orders –Modify tab	Approve -Place Order in Production	Click Customer Approval Tab. (Work Order will be printed. There are many shop document options.)
Manufacturing Control	Workstation Scheduling	Select station # “cut A”	Enter “cut” or use the spin buttons. (Note that there are two cutting machines in this workstation.)
		Search for Data	Press “Search” button on right side of screen. Individual labor operations will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
		Report completed Production	Check the box next to completed jobs. Then click search/update again to review workload.
		Assign data to either cutter based on workload. (Click any column heading to sort by that column)	Click the pulldown arrow for each operation in the right-hand column and then the “Save” button to keep the assignments.
		Print the Workstation Schedule. Barcodes will be printed if you have installed the 3of 9 font file that was included with the download	A separate schedule is printed for each machine as well as the unassigned production.
Inventory	Display>Items	Select "FabricBPL" (or whichever fabric you selected for the product)	Enter fabric or use the spin buttons
Inventory	Demand tab	Click update	The fabric requirement for the order is displayed. See Inventory and Purchasing screens for information on creating material requisitions and purchase orders.
Order Progress		Track the progress of orders through the factory	Real-time information for customer service and to make manufacturing decisions

The next step is to use BASICS to report production and material usage details (or just wait - when the order is shipped BASICS automatically back-flushes all of the the order's requirements.) As each user's system needs are different, please contact us for detailed information on planning, factory load and setting up production schedules.

For more information please read :

Shop Floor Control

Schedule

Workstation Scheduling

Frequently Asked Questions

and the "examples from SIM*plicity" indicated below

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SIM*plicity tutorials:

(Click any underlined item for more details.)

Features that help your company	Examples from SIMplicity*	Discussion and Features
Customer Orders
	Order Entry Overview	<<< Please read this introductory overview first.
	Customer Details: shipping information, history, etc.	The utmost in options and feature controls. Automatic pricing with more than 400 variables (size, color, add-on's etc.) Simple to set-up and easy to use. More than an "Order Configurator": these variables interact with dynamic (parametric) bills of materials to create complete manufacturing documentation.
	Item Details	Options to enter and display product information.
	Order Entry Tools	Because we automatically transfer all pricing variables and "engineering limits" to Order Entry, SIM*plicity eliminates the typical delay for orders to first go to Engineering and Pricing prior to Order Entry.
	Batch Order Entry	Input Customer Order details directly from Excel.
	Order-Project Costing	Display actual costs during Order Entry or during "material takeoff" -Quotations.
	Order Progress (status)	Graphics display with real-time visibility of all in-process orders.
	Product Entry Instructions	Guidance to the operator in entering complex items .
	New Product Entry	Add new customers and products on the fly.
	Zip and Postal Code Tutorial	Factors in entering address data for uniformity and to ensure automatic freight calculation
	Sales Discounts and Commissions	Information on entering discounts and sales commissions.
	SPEED-UP	Tips to increase order entry productivity.
	Invoice Details - Setting Variables Order Entry Display Variables	Variables for printing (and exporting to accounting software) invoices Order Entry variables for display and printing
	Deposits and Payments	Record and display deposits and partial payments
MRP2/ERP Planning and Shop Floor Control	Advance Plan	Customer and factory (internal) orders create inventory and labor demand for specific days. SIM*plicity schedules individual machines within each work station/cell and generates material requisitions.
	Workstation Control	Planners can control and balance workload at every machine.
	Production Planner/Scheduler	Shifting production (date or workcenter) automatically updates all related processes. Graphics displays with drill-down" information effectively links Planning to Shop Floor Control.
	MRP2/ERP Tutorial	Workstation Control allows supervisors to fine tune schedules and report production.
Purchasing and Inventory Control	Requisition/Purchasing	New orders automatically updates long-term material plans. Shop floor control module interacts with purchasing to automatically flag needs that won't be met and adjusts schedules accordingly. Buy-out items are purchased as soon as customer order is processed - including automatic pricing of options and features.
	Inventory Details	Knowing the materials "on hand" and what they cost is not enough! SIM*plicity calculates the exact date needed, where it should be stored and details of its physical characteristics.
	Vendor Information	Access complete contact information on vendors and their employees.
	Purchasing Messages Inventory Adjustments	Adding Standard and Text Messages to an individual item Requisition or to an entire Purchase Order Tools to record and adjust physical invnetories.
Accounting and Cost Control	Product Cost Summary Options & Features Overview Order/Project Costing	Know the true cost of every item that you build! Automatically calculate the cost of "work -in-process" inventory. Instantly estimate the complete cost of every Order and Quotation. Change an option or feature and the cost is automatically updated! Please also read ABC Cost Control
Product Engineering	Bill of Material Flow Chart Dynamic Bills of Material Static Bill Display Glossary	Bills of Materials are the core of true manufacturing systems. They link together customer orders, manufacturing instructions with material and labor requirements. Dynamic (parametric) Bills of Material are used for entire families of products eliminating the need at most companies for 90% of individual Bills of Material. However, Static (Conventional) Bills of Material are still valuable and our system incorporates them with a full range of Options and Features
Plan and Perform	Project Takeoff Project and/or Product Estimate	Estimate and control complex projects.
Sales Management	Sales by Customer and Product Line Marketing Program Formats	Cost of Goods Sold report for every order. Volume and margin reports for each sales rep. For each customer select default discount programs, special product discounts and choose from multiple selling companies (OEM, etc.)
SUPPORT	Getting Started FAQ's - SIM*plicity Support Why Systems Fail Favorite Story	Training, customization and 24/7 real-time support by the developers of this software. A commitment to excellence - today, tomorrow and for the past 30 years.