What Is Firm Planned Order?
Also known as: FPO, firmed order, firm planned, firmed planned order
Definition
A firm planned order (FPO) is a planned order that a planner has frozen so MRP will not delete, resize or reschedule it. It still counts as supply in netting, and it stays a planned order rather than becoming a released production or purchase order.
Firm Planned Order Explained
Planned orders normally float, because MRP recreates them each run. A firm planned order breaks that behavior for a single order. The planner sets a firm flag and MRP treats the order as fixed supply, netting other demand against it but leaving its quantity and date alone. If the demand it was created for disappears, MRP raises an action message instead of deleting it.
Firming serves several purposes. It protects a quantity that purchasing has already discussed with a supplier, it holds a build slot for a long-lead component, and it dampens system nervousness around items with noisy forecasts. It is also the manual lever used to impose a production level in a master schedule, so that MRP explodes the intended build rather than a recalculated one.
The mechanism differs by system. Infor LN lets planners firm planned orders in Enterprise Planning, and firm planned orders are retained when planning is rerun. SyteLine and CloudSuite Industrial offer firm planned jobs and planning workbench actions, and the MPS items there commonly rely on firmed supply. SAP uses firmed planned orders, and NetSuite lets you firm planned orders in supply planning before generating work orders.
The risk is stale firming. A firmed order that nobody revisits keeps absorbing demand long after the need has changed, and MRP will quietly skip creating new supply because the firmed order looks like coverage.
Why It Matters
- Firming is the main tool for stabilizing a plan without committing to a released order.
- A forgotten firm order hides real shortages because MRP counts it as supply.
- Firm planned orders are how a master scheduler imposes a build rate that the dependent-demand explosion then follows.
- Auditing firmed orders by age is a simple periodic control that catches many planning errors.
In Practice
Example: a planner firms a 1,000 piece planned order for a casting with a 12 week lead time so the foundry can be given a forecast. Two months later the customer cancels half the demand. MRP does not delete the firm order, it raises a reschedule out or cancel message, and the planner decides whether to cut the quantity or hold stock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does MRP change a firm planned order?
No. MRP leaves the quantity and date untouched and instead issues action messages if the order looks late, early or excess. The planner decides what to change.
Is a firm planned order the same as a released order?
No. It is still a planned record. Release or conversion creates the actual job, production order, work order or purchase order that moves material and capacity.
When should you avoid firming?
Avoid firming far outside the lead time, where demand is likely to change. Use firming mainly inside the planning time fence or for supplier-committed quantities.
Related Terms
Planned Order
A planned order is a system-generated supply proposal that MRP creates to cover a net requirement. It has a quantity and dates but is not yet a committed job, production order or purchase order, and MRP can delete or reschedule it on every run.
MPS (Master Production Schedule)
An MPS (master production schedule) is the time-phased statement of which end items a plant will produce, in what quantities, and in which periods. It is the anchor demand input MRP explodes into component requirements.
MRP (Material Requirements Planning)
MRP (Material Requirements Planning) is the ERP calculation that explodes demand through bills of materials, nets it against on-hand and on-order inventory, and offsets by lead time to produce timed purchase and work order suggestions.
Lead Time
Lead time is the elapsed time between initiating an order and having the material available for use. In ERP it is the offset MRP applies when back-scheduling a planned order from its due date to its release date.
Go Deeper
MRP Nervousness Assessment
A 10-question diagnostic that scores how badly your MRP plan churns between runs - and pinpoints which levers will stabilize it.
Free ToolSyteLine MRP Health Check
Diagnose why your SyteLine MRP output is noisy or ignored, scoring data accuracy, parameters, and planner behavior across ten dimensions.
SyteLine Planning Time Fence Configuration Guide
Configure SyteLine planning time fences with demand fence, planning fence, and frozen zone settings to stabilize production schedules and reduce MRP nervousness.
SyteLine Master Production Scheduling Best Practices
Master production scheduling in SyteLine with planning bill configuration, time fence management, rough-cut capacity checks, and schedule stabilization techniques.
Working with Firm Planned Order in a live environment? Our engineers do this every day - and our AI agents automate most of it.