| # To use master plans Enterprise Planning uses master plans to maintain planning data in a bucketed fashion. There are three types of master plans: Item master plan Channel master plan Resource master plan In each master plan, planning data is recorded by plan period. Item master plan With a few exceptions, you can maintain an item master plan for any plan item. If you want to use a master-planning horizon and generate a supply plan for a plan item, you must maintain an item master plan. If you only use order-based supply planning, the item master plan is optional. The advantage of an item master plan is that it provides access to several types of master-planning functionality. The disadvantage is that it has an adverse effect on system performance. As a rule, you need an item master plan in the following situations: You want to use a long planning horizon for an item (longer than one year), but you do not want to work with planned orders over the complete horizon. You want to generate forecasts based on demand history, or based on sales budgets. You want to maintain an inventory plan for the item. You want to aggregate or disaggregate forecasts, supply plans, or inventory plans. You want to use channel ATP for the item. The item is a product family. You want to aggregate the item's goods-flow data to a product family. Note You determine whether an item master plan is maintained for an item by means of the Maintain Master Plan check box in the Items - Planning (cprpd1100m000) session. Master-plan functionality is only available for an item if this check box is selected. Channel master plan For a particular item/channel combination, you can maintain a channel master plan. A channel master plan is comparable to an item master plan, but only contains demand-related data, such as forecast and actual demand, and channel ATP. You need a channel master plan in the following situations: You want to maintain demand forecasts by channel You want to use Channel ATP Resource master plan For a particular resource (work center), you can maintain a resource master plan. A resource master plan contains information on: Total available capacity Capacity required by various types of activities that are planned and/or carried out in Enterprise Planning, Manufacturing, and Service. Free capacity and capacity CTP As a rule, you need a resource master plan for each resource that ERP Enterprise must take into account during a capacity CTP check. Related topics Master planning, an overview To maintain an item master plan To maintain a channel master plan To maintain a resource master plan |