Inventory Planning Min/Max/Lot values not being respected by MRP when Vendor is set on Stock Item

Hi Matt - Can you confirm that this “Vendor” line on the stock item record has the DEFAULT checkbox marked as True (i.e. this is the default vendor for the stock item)?

If the above statement is the case, then I can confirm that your articulation of the MRP is the expected/intended behavior. MRP will first look at the vendors tab to see if a default vendor is present. If there is a default vendor, then those inventory planning parameters listed on the vendor line will be used by MRP. If there is no default vendor for the pertinent stock item, then the parameters defined in the “Inventory Planning” tab are used. 
 

The vendor-specific logic would generally be viewed as an extra layer of resolution. For example, you could have multiple vendors for a stock item that have different lead times, MOQ’s, Lot Sizes, etc. 

If you always wanted the default inventory planning settings to be used, you could uncheck the default vendor for your items. However, this does mean that for any PO you try and make in the system that leverages the default vendor for efficiency (i.e. Create Purchase Orders screen), you’d need to add the vendor each time.

Alternatively, you could set your default vendor inventory planning parameters per item to the same as the default inventory planning parameters for the item. If you only source the item from one vendor, I would presume the parameters present for the item were largely influenced by this vendor anyways. 

Thanks!

Ron,

Yes that was checked, I have unchecked it and confirmed that the Inventory Planning settings are respected. 

You made the following statement:

The vendor-specific logic would generally be viewed as an extra layer of resolution. For example, you could have multiple vendors for a stock item that have different lead times, MOQ’s, Lot Sizes, etc. 

I understand this logic,  and my understanding is that those values represent what “rules” each specific vendor has.  For example if we are just talking about MOQ,  Vendor A won’t accept PO’s for less then 500 pieces of this item, while Vendor B will accept PO’s for any qty (ie Min=0).         Assuming this is an accurate understanding,  then I feel the following approach you suggested is contradictory to the intent of the system:

Alternatively, you could set your default vendor inventory planning parameters per item to the same as the default inventory planning parameters for the item. If you only source the item from one vendor,

Furthermore you stated:

I would presume the parameters present for the item were largely influenced by this vendor anyways. 

I can tell you for us this is not the case and these values are rarely based on vendor MOQ.   Our Min/Max and Lot qtys are based on how we want to manage our inventory, how often we want to be bringing materials into our facility,  how much space said material takes up and typical valuation of that inventory.       

In our opinion the default checkbox should not influence where MRP gets its parameters from.  The MRP recommended values should always come from the inventory planning settings.  The Default checkbox should however drive which vendor is selected when using the create PO screen, and the Min/Max/Lot values set for the vendor selected should be used to override the MRP recommended qty at the time of PO creation if (and only if) the recommended qty falls outside the Min/Max/Lot qty set for that vendor.   

For example if MRP is recommends we purchase 50 Pieces and our default Vendor A has a Min order of 100 pieces,  the PO should be generated for 100 pieces.   OR if MRP recommends we purchase 21 pieces and the default vendor has no Min/Max but a Lot qty of 10, then the PO should be generated for 30.   On the other hand if the vendor has no Min/Max/Lot qty set or if the MRP recommended qty falls inside the Min/Max/Lot boundaries set on the vendor, then the PO should be generated for the MRP recommended qty.  

All that being said,  we understand this behaviour is probably not going to change without significant customer feedback.  So in the meantime while we are waiting for that to happen 😀we will be unchecking the default checkbox on our vendors. 

​@MattWSM Understood. Your distinction between “Inventory Management Protocol” vs “Vendor Supplied Parameters” does make sense. I suppose one may start to question why a PO was made different than the value MRP suggested, but again I could see the desire for either scenario. 

This seems like an apt “Inventory Planning Preferences” type setting. Scenario could be a check box for:

1) Pull inventory planning parameters from default vendor line
2) Pull inventory planning parameters from inventory planning tab

That approach would make sense then it would be flexible to align with different ways of thinking when it comes to MRP recomendations.