The Onventis VMI module enables the supplier to monitor current stock levels, receipts and issues of materials relevant to MRP, and to automatically generate order proposals for the customer. The results of the planning run from the customer’s ERP system (Material Resource Planning; “MRP”) serve as the basis for all calculations.
Functionalities of the VMI module:
- Current inventory and demand forecast based on the transmitted ERP planning data for customers and suppliers
- Presentation of fixed and planned inflows and outflows on the customer and supplier side
- Notification of the suppliers and the responsible purchasing groups of the customer if the defined reorder points are not reached.
- Automatic generation of order proposals for the supplier on the basis of the stock and requirements forecast
- For the use of the module, the interface for the import of planning data from external systems is required.
Working with the VMI module
Purchasing accesses the VMI module via the menu item “Operative Purchasing” → “Order Processing” → “VMI”.
The VMI module for the supplier is accessed in the same way via the menu item “Order processing” → “VMI”.
Overview of available VMI articles
Immediately after entering the VMI module, both the buyer and the supplier have all relevant information at a glance:
- Article list with sorting by plant, article number or supplier
- Traffic light function to immediately identify shortages or possible inventory risks
- Total of current stocks, receipts and issues as well as the MRP quantity required by customers
The traffic light function provides both the scheduler and the supplier with a quick overview of the current planning status. Here, the traffic light status can be used to immediately identify those materials that require a MRP decision. A filter function additionally supports the selection of the display according to the traffic light status.
Available columns in the VMI overview
The VMI overview contains the following columns:
| Column | Description |
| Status (traffic light function) | The traffic light function indicates the dispositive status of the item. The following states can be represented here:
|
| Current stock | Plant stock according to the planning data from the last interface import. |
| Total additions (fixed) | Total of all imported, fixed receipt elements for the material. |
| Total disposals (fixed) | Total of all imported, fixed issue elements for the material. |
| Requirements quantity planned | Total of all planned receipts (purchase requisitions from ERP and automatically generated order proposals). |
Material data
Origin of the material data
All information on the material data is made available by the interface from the ERP during import into Onventis and processed accordingly.
This material master data mainly contains the following information:
- From the material master record
- Material number and short text and long text
- Manufacturer No. (HTN)
- Controlling area, company code, plant, external procurement storage location, purchasing organization, and purchasing group.
- Safety stock
- Reported data
- Maximum stock
- Delivery time and goods receipt processing time
- Rounding value (ordering interval)
- Minimum lot size (minimum order quantity)
- From the purchasing info record
- Condition information on price and price quantity as well as vendor
- Supplier article number
- From the stock/requirements list (MD04)
All plant-specific planning data and MRP elements for the material
Material master data in the requirements forecast
In the article detail (tab: requirements preview), both the purchaser and the supplier have an overview of the material master data as it was imported from the ERP and serves as the basis for planning and calculating the requirements preview. The material master data cannot be edited on the Onventis side. It is only possible to define a “planning overhead for reorder point in %”(see Defining a Planning Overhead for Reorder Point) for each article. This overhead is taken into account when order proposals are calculated, so that the calculated quantity exceeds the reorder point by the specified % value. The maximum stock level is also taken into account here.
The “Last update” indicates the time of the last import of the data from SAP. All calculations and planned quantities were carried out at that time.
In order to update the requirements forecast and the planned quantities (in case of longer intervals between the import of the SAP planning data and the logon to the Onventis system), the button “Recalculate order proposals” is available to the users. This update mainly recalculates the delivery times of planned receipts based on the current date.
Planning table with all MRP elements
In the planning table, all planned and fixed inflows and outflows are clearly displayed analogous to the ERP planning, exactly as they were transferred from the ERP.
The first line always contains the last valid “plant stock” from the import as a fixed receipt and the defined “safety stock” as a fixed issue. The “available plant stock” determined in this way forms the basis for the further forecast of requirements.
Using the “Days”, “Weeks” and “Months ” buttons, the display of the periods can be aggregated accordingly in order to obtain an even better overview of the requirements forecast.
Planned receipts that were transferred from ERP with a specific document number are marked with an “i” in the planning table. If the mouse pointer is moved over this “i”, the document number assigned to the quantity can be displayed.
Planned receipts without the “i” symbol do not originate from the ERP, but were added as order proposals by Onventis MRP.
Status (traffic light function) in the planning table
The traffic light function provides additional support for the supplier and MRP controller when viewing the planning table. A warning message in RED or YELLOW is displayed for each MRP element that requires the attention of the supplier or MRP controller.
Since scheduling is only relevant in the future, only dates from the date of the last data update are taken into account in the traffic light function. The traffic light function is therefore not available for MRP elements in the past.
RED
– the safety stock level has been fallen short of and there is not enough time available to replenish the stocks, taking into account the delivery and goods receipt processing times. For this material, order proposals (planned receipts) can no longer be generated automatically in time. The required quantity is therefore taken into account on the next possible date.
YELLOW
– the reorder level has been reached or fallen short of, but there is still sufficient time available for the next delivery, taking into account the delivery and goods receipt processing times. The planned receipt quantities can be copied to order proposals, provided that the material has been configured accordingly (see MRP Control as VMI Article or Preview Article).
The highest warning level in the planning table thus defines the display of the traffic light function in the VMI article overview. If neither status messages in the planning table are marked with “YELLOW” or “RED “, the traffic light in the VMI article overview for this material appears “GREEN”.
Export of the requirements list
The Export requirements list button provides an Excel export of all fixed and planned issues of the material for the vendor and MRP controller.
The export contains all relevant information on the retirement elements, including the document numbers. This gives the supplier and the MRP controller a complete overview of the required quantities still outstanding.
SAP assignments and conditions
The “Basic data” tab contains the SAP assignment data such as company code, plant, external procurement storage location, responsible purchasing group as well as article numbers and conditions.
Furthermore, the buyer has the option here to define whether the vendor may create order proposals for the article or only see the article as a preview article (see MRP Control as VMI Article or Preview Article).
Optionally, a different e-mail address of the supplier can be entered to which the notifications are to be sent when the reorder level or safety stock level is fallen short of (see e-mail notifications). The e-mail address is only valid in the VMI context and only for the respective VMI article and is not automatically transferred to the supplier master data.
Disposition control as VMI article or preview article
For each article, the buyer or MRP controller can decide whether the vendor is to receive only an overview of the planning data for this material as a forecast for his own production planning or whether the vendor is to assume responsibility for replenishment planning.
By selecting it as a “VMI article”, the supplier is given the option of creating corresponding order proposals from the planned receipts in the planning table (see Creation of Order Proposals by the Supplier).
With the selection as “preview article” the supplier gets the complete overview on the planning table, but has no possibility to create an order proposal independently.
This selection should be made initially for each article marked “NEW” and imported for the first time. The selection is preset as “VMI article” by the system during the first import.
Preparation of order proposals by the supplier
Transfer of “planned receipts” to order proposals
Based on the planning data from the ERP, shortages are detected and planned receipts are automatically generated for the required dates. If the article has been defined as a “VMI article”, the supplier can transfer the planned receipts to order proposals.
For this purpose, the supplier marks the desired lines of the planned receipt elements and confirms the selection with the button “GENERATE ORDER PROPOSAL”.
If the planning table is in the aggregated view “WEEKS” or “MONTHS”, all planned receipts in the relevant period are automatically selected.
Selection of delivery schedule or individual purchase order
After selecting the respective quantity(s) from the planning table, the supplier has two options for the automatic creation of the order proposal:
- Order proposal with transfer of quantities as separate delivery schedule lines
- Order proposal with an item containing the total of all quantities for the earliest possible delivery date
Before an order proposal is created as an individual purchase order, the system also checks whether the maximum stock level might be exceeded. In this case, only the variant with delivery schedule lines and a corresponding note is available.
Only quantities and dates can be changed in the order proposal. All other specifications come from the material master and cannot be changed by the vendor.
With a click on the button “ACTION” and “SEND” the order proposal can be sent by the supplier.
| Purchase order proposals created on the basis of purchase requisitions (MRP elements “BA”) reference these in the purchase order so that when the purchase order is transferred to ERP, the purchase requisitions are completed correctly.
Order proposals that were created on the basis of other MRP elements (not “BA”) reference these in the requirements number of the order item concerned, so that the reference in the ERP system is also retained and can be traced here. |
Approval of order proposals by the purchaser
Purchasing has the option of having purchase order proposals created by suppliers released by a specific purchase order approval workflow.
The purchase order approval workflow to be used must be assigned to the VMI suppliers in supplier management in the supplier master, “Advanced” tab in the “Ordering ” section.
email alerts
When importing planning data from the ERP, the VMI module checks the current requirements and stock situation of all transferred material information. If a situation is detected in which the reorder level or safety stock level has been reached or fallen short of, the Onventis system informs both the supplier and the responsible buyer (from the purchasing group assigned to the material) of the stock situation.
In this way, it is possible to react actively to stock changes before critical states are reached.
Customer specific settings
In order to reflect the planning settings of the customer system in the best possible way, it is possible in Onventis to set the MRP elements in the same way as the ERP and the customizing there.
In the menu item “Master data management” → “ERP data” → “VMI configuration”, the specific settings can be configured.
The settings are pre-configured and therefore ready for immediate use. Customer-specific adjustments can be made manually under this menu item if required. Adjustments to these settings take effect with the next data import from ERP.
The configuration page is available to all users with administration rights.
Determination of a planning surcharge for the reorder point
The configuration offers the option for a planning surcharge to the reorder point in percent. This overhead increases the order proposals determined by Onventis or the planned receipts on which they are based in such a way that the calculated available plant stock (firm+planned) exceeds the reorder point by the defined percentage value.
If this value is preset to 0%, the Onventis VMI module calculates the order proposals so that the available plant stock (fixed+planned) is as close as possible to the reorder level. This value is preconfigured by default with 10%, so that the available plant stock (fixed+planned) exceeds the reorder level by at least 10%.
The value configured here is automatically stored when the planning data of a material is initially imported. A subsequent adjustment of the value per VMI article can be made manually in the material data at any time.
Definition of “planned” and “fixed” acquisitions and retirements
The division of the various MRP elements into “planned” and “fixed” can be administered on a customer-specific basis. Here you can define, in the same way as in Customizing for ERP, whether dependent requirements, for example, are copied and displayed as fixed or planned issues in the cost estimate of the forecast of requirements. This configuration enables the purchasing department to provide the supplier with information that is as precise as possible and tailored to the individual requirements of the company’s own production.
Determination of MRP elements that can be ordered
All MRP elements of the type “Planned receipts” can be configured so that an order proposal can be created from them by the vendor. For this purpose, the checkbox in the column “Create order proposal” must be activated.