SCM240 Production Planning in ERP — Lesson 2: Demand Management and Material Requirements Planning

Learning Objectives

• Explain how Demand Management and Material Requirements Planning supports stable production planning.
• Complete the workflow and produce a reviewable MRP execution and exception analysis pack.
• Evaluate the condition where MRP generates proposals with dates that cannot satisfy the required production calendar and select a supported response.

Detailed Topics

• planned independent requirements: business purpose, responsible roles, and SAP objects that establish the operating scope.
• MRP parameters: configuration choices, master-data dependencies, and determination logic shaping the result.
• planning run execution: transaction flow, status behavior, integration effects, and reviewable operational evidence.
• exception messages: control points, exception paths, testing needs, and release criteria protecting the outcome.

Instructor Demonstration

Using the scenario, the instructor demonstrates planned independent requirements, MRP parameters, planning run execution, exception messages and highlights object relationships, determination behavior, integration effects, and approval evidence. The demonstration deliberately introduces the exception where MRP generates proposals with dates that cannot satisfy the required production calendar.

Hands-On Exercise

Complete a controlled activity covering planned independent requirements, MRP parameters, planning run execution, exception messages and preserve the result in MRP execution and exception analysis pack.

1. Review prerequisites, dependencies, authorizations, and acceptance criteria before starting the activity.
2. Complete the configured or transactional scenario and preserve the resulting document and status trail.
3. Compare the normal result with the controlled exception and identify the strongest root-cause evidence.
4. Document the selected response, retest result, residual risk, and future review trigger.

Scenario Analysis

• Which SAP object, rule, record, or process step most strongly influences Demand Management and Material Requirements Planning?
• What evidence separates configuration, data, authorization, integration, and timing causes in this scenario?
• How should the MRP execution and exception analysis pack be approved, retained, monitored, and updated after handover?

Troubleshooting Guidance

Start at the earliest point where expected behavior differs from the observed result. Review process sequence, relevant data, configuration, authorization, integration, and timing as separate hypotheses. Treat “MRP generates proposals with dates that cannot satisfy the required production calendar” as unconfirmed until settings, documents, logs, reports, and focused retesting support the cause.

Validation Checklist

• Required roles, structures, data, settings, and dependencies for Demand Management and Material Requirements Planning are present.
• The MRP execution and exception analysis pack links each conclusion to objective and reviewable SAP evidence.
• Normal processing, the stated exception, integration behavior, and access boundaries were tested.
• Corrections, retest criteria, ownership, monitoring, documentation, and operational handover are complete.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can apply Demand Management and Material Requirements Planning, explain the resulting SAP behavior, and defend the outcome through MRP execution and exception analysis pack.