I am trying to make a demand forecast for a sub assembly production item of a blue bicycle. I plan to produce 500 units of the blue bicycle item and want to purchase enough components to produce the 500 units. What forecast would I use for that Sales or Component or Both?
The forecast would be your demand source until your actual component demand exceeds your forecast. By entering the forecast, regardless of your Production Order, the system will see a demand for 500 units of the component on the date defined in your forecast. If your Production Order is only 300 units, the system still has demand for the forecasted 500 units. If you have additional Production Orders that exceed the total 500 units, the system will suggest purchasing more of the component at that time.
In a Sandbox, I would recommend you setup two test Items (finished good and component), then setup a Component Forecast for the component only. No sales, no production order, just the component forecast. Then run your Planning Worksheet. Review your results and continue testing with different scenarios.
You would use the Component Forecast, as that would be looking for the Sub-Assembly as a Component Line on the parent Production Orders. If you did it as a Sales Forecast, it would be expecting Sales Lines, which is likely not the case.
If you do sell the Sub-Assembly, you can create both a Sales Forecast and a Component Forecast, and it will deduct the Sales Lines from one and the Component Lines from the other when determining if additional demand exists.
Thank you for your reply! To ensure a great experience for everyone, your content is awaiting approval by our Community Managers. Please check back later.