Dynamics Community Forum Thread Details

MPS

Hi all,

I’m running into an issue with MPS / Planning Worksheet in BC .

Customer Backorder: 1 unit

Item Status in MPS: Emergency

SKU safety Lead Time: 14D days

Suggested Order Date (MPS): 20/01/2026

Due Date : 02/04/2026

Reorder Policy / Lot Size: Lot-for-Lot

Problem:MPS flags the item as Emergency, indicating a stockout, but the suggested order date is in the future, not immediately. This is confusing for production/purchasing teams because the backorder exists today, but the system doesn’t suggest ordering ASAP.

Questions:

How can I configure MPS so that emergency items with customer backorders generate a suggested order date of today or as soon as possible?

Is there a way to enable backward scheduling or otherwise force MPS to respect real-time backorder urgency?

Thanks,

Categories:

Dynamics 365 Business Central

You’re seeing a classic MPS quirk in Business Central. “Emergency” just means there’s demand already past due, but BC won’t suggest orders in the past—so if your plan is starting in the future, it’ll still push the suggested order date out even though you’ve got a backorder today.
A few simple tweaks usually fix it:
1) Start the plan from today
On the MPS/Planning Worksheet request page, set the Starting Date to today. (It defaults from your Work Date, so also make sure your Work Date in My Settings is today.) Anything past due will then show as needed today, which is the earliest BC will plan.
2) Reduce the buffers
You’ve got Safety Lead Time = 14D. That’s fine for normal planning, but for an urgent backorder it pushes dates earlier in the timeline and can make the suggestion look “later” than you expect. Temporarily set Safety Lead Time to 0D (or lower it) for this SKU so the system proposes the earliest possible order.
3) Re-run MPS with a near horizon
Recalculate with Starting Date = today and a reasonable Ending Date. You should get an action message to create supply now (BC still won’t date anything in the past, but “today” is fair game).
Backward scheduling / forcing urgency

Make (production) items: Create a Firm Planned/Released Production Order for the customer demand and use Refresh with Backward scheduling (from the due date) or Forward (from today). That gives you realistic earliest dates considering routing/capacity—and makes the urgency very visible to the team.
Buy (purchased) items: BC will still do the math (Due Date – Lead Time – Safety LT). If you need it ASAP, accept the action message, create the PO today, and expedite with the vendor. If you want the plan to reflect that “ASAP” feel, temporarily lower the Vendor Lead Time and/or Safety LT on the item.

Why your numbers look odd
“Emergency + backorder now” but “Suggested Order Date in 2026” usually means the Starting Date/Work Date isn’t today. Fix those first, then re-run MPS—you should see the emergency pegged to today.
Quick checklist