Overview of forecasting and replenishment for assemblies
For assemblies, Inventory Planner:
Generates forecasts and replenishment recommendations for assemblies (produced goods), then
Allocates component variant stock to meet the forecasted demand of assemblies.
If component variants are also sold individually an independent forecast and replenishment analysis is performed based on standalone component sales. The additional analysis is then added to the stock allocated for assemblies and compared against current stock and incoming orders to generate a replenishment recommendation for components.
If components are not sold individually, replenishment recommendations for components will be driven solely by the replenishment needs of their connected assemblies.
In the second example, large office tables are sold to customers, which are assembled using two component variants: “Table Leg” and “Table Top Large”. Variants (components) must be purchased from a Vendor using purchase orders, then components are assembled into assemblies using assembly orders.
Understanding assembly replenishment
The replenishment quantity for assemblies is the “next to assemble” quantity added to the additional replenishment needed to satisfy forecasted sales during the full planning period (as defined by the components’ lead time and days of stock).
In Replenishment and Edit Forecast, click into the “Assemblies” view. There, click the arrow icon to open the Details page. At the bottom of the Summary tab, you'll see component variants and details of their relationship to the assembly. (Note that clicking the “details” icon next to components in this view opens the Details page for the component.)
Click into the Replenishment and Forecast tabs to see forecasted needs and replenishment recommendations for the assembly. Learn more about how to read the forecast here, and more about the replenishment figures for assemblies here.
Note: If component items have negative stock and there are past-due assembly orders, you may experience inconsistencies in both replenishment recommendations and the "next to assemble" value due to a limitation in the current logic.
While this behavior might not affect all workflows, it can sometimes lead to inaccurate suggestions. If you believe your planning is impacted, reach out to our support team so we can log your feedback.
Assembly schedules
You can view a recommended assembly schedule based on your configured assembly time and component lead times by hovering your cursor over the Forecast stock chart in the Replenishment tab.
In the below example, only two assemblies can be produced in the immediate term (since the current stock of the “Table Top Large” component is 2). If new components are ordered today, you can assemble an additional 66 tables each week once the components arrive, until you meet the total replenishment quantity of 294.
Check the “Show Forecast Stock for Components” checkbox to see how an assembly’s replenishment impacts its components’ variant stock.
If an assembly has begun production using an assembly order, the related quantities are represented by the “On Assembly” column in Replenishment. If you don’t see this column, use the gear icon in the top right-hand corner to adjust columns.
Once a new assembly order has been created, the “next to assemble” quantity will be recalculated based on what’s needed for the next assembly cycle.
Note: If there is insufficient component stock for additional assemblies in the immediate term, the “Next to Assemble” date will be pushed back according to the components’ lead times, such as in the following example.
Interpreting metrics for assembly components
When viewing Replenishment for assembly components, you will encounter several metrics. A brief description of each one is below:
Stock: The current available stock of the component variant.
"in Assemblies”: The number of additional units that are in stock which are in the process of being assembled into final goods. These units are not available and not included in the “Stock” figure.
On order: The number of components on order from the supplier.
Stock allocated for assemblies: The number of units of additional components needed to cover their assemblies’ replenishment recommendation.
Forecast: The forecasted sales for the component variant on its own. This number does not include any forecasted sale for the final assembly.
Replenishment: The replenishment recommendation, calculated by considering the current stock, the on order value and the number of units being transferred in, then subtracting the quantity needed to cover the stock allocated for assemblies plus any forecasted sales of the components on their own during the full planning period as defined by the components’ lead time and days of stock settings.
Understanding component replenishment
Replenishment recommendations for component variants include the forecasted sales and replenishment recommendations for assemblies.
On the Replenishment page, select Variants using the top left-hand side menu. You can then filter the report by parent assemblies.
Once you’ve found the variant, click the arrow icon to open the Details page, then on the Summary tab, view a summary of the connected assemblies, along with stock and replenishment needs driven by connected assemblies.
You can then return to the Replenishment tab to see how the replenishment requirements of assemblies impact the stock of their component variants.
In this example, 952 table legs are needed to produce 238 small office tables + 1,176 table legs to produce 294 large office tables. The total stock required for assemblies is therefore 952 + 1,176 = 2,128.
There are 2,020 table legs currently in stock, so the replenishment recommendation is 2,128 - 2,020 = 108.
Note: In this example, components are not sold individually, so replenishment is driven solely by the replenishment recommendations of connected assemblies. When components are sold on their own, forecasted sales of components are considered as well as the stock required for assemblies when calculating replenishment.