Order Policy and Lot Sizing Parameters
The Order Policy field on the SyteLine Item record drives how MRP generates planned orders. Choosing between Lot-for-Lot, Fixed Order Quantity, Period Order Quantity, and Economic Order Quantity depends on your demand variability, setup costs, and carrying costs. Each policy interacts with the Minimum Order Quantity, Maximum Order Quantity, and Order Multiple fields.
- Lot-for-Lot (LFL) for expensive or perishable items where carrying cost dominates setup cost
- Fixed Order Quantity (FOQ) for items with stable demand and significant setup or ordering costs
- Period Order Quantity (POQ) grouping requirements into weekly or monthly buckets to reduce order count
- Order Multiple field on SL_ItemPlanParms forcing MRP quantities to round up to pack or pallet sizes
- Minimum Order Quantity preventing uneconomical small purchase orders or production runs
Lead Time and Safety Stock Configuration
SyteLine uses multiple lead time fields that planners frequently confuse: Manufacturing Lead Time, Purchasing Lead Time, Planned Manufacturing Lead Time, and Dock-to-Stock time. Each feeds different MRP calculations. Safety stock settings must reflect actual demand variability, not arbitrary buffer quantities that inflate inventory investment.
- Manufacturing Lead Time on the Item record used for production order scheduling in MRP
- Purchasing Lead Time sourced from the Vendor Item record or defaulting to Item Purchasing tab
- Safety Stock calculated using demand standard deviation and desired service level (95-99%)
- Dock-to-Stock time added to purchasing lead time for receiving, inspection, and putaway activities
- Planned Lead Time Override on SL_ItemPlanParms for scenarios where standard lead times are unreliable
Planning Horizon and Exception Management
The MRP planning horizon, regeneration frequency, and exception message filters determine how useful the MRP output is for planners. A 12-month planning horizon with daily regeneration creates excessive noise for make-to-stock items. SyteLine's MRP exception messages must be filtered and prioritized based on dollar impact and urgency.
- Planning horizon set per item class: 4-6 weeks for MTS, 12-16 weeks for MTO, 26+ weeks for long-lead
- MRP regeneration frequency: nightly full regen, midday net change for high-velocity items
- Exception message filtering by Planner Code to route recommendations to responsible planners
- Reschedule-in and reschedule-out tolerance windows (3-5 days) to suppress minor date change noise
- SyteLine MRP Workbench configuration to display exceptions sorted by dollar impact descending
Try it here, free
SyteLine Reorder Point and Safety Stock Calculator
Work out statistically sound safety stock and reorder point values for SyteLine items from demand variability, lead time and service level.
Get your MRP parameters reviewed by consultants who understand SyteLine planning -- schedule an assessment.