Hey guys! Ever found yourself in a situation where you need to exclude specific items from the master planning process in Dynamics 365? It's a common scenario, and knowing how to do it efficiently can save you a ton of time and prevent unnecessary calculations. Let's dive into the details and explore how you can exclude items from master planning in Dynamics 365.

Understanding Master Planning in Dynamics 365

Before we jump into the exclusion process, let's quickly recap what master planning is all about in Dynamics 365. Master planning is the process of determining the quantity and timing of future production, purchases, and transfers. It helps businesses ensure that they have the right materials available at the right time to meet customer demand while minimizing costs and optimizing resource utilization. Think of it as the brain that orchestrates your supply chain, making sure everything runs smoothly. Master planning considers various factors such as sales forecasts, current inventory levels, production schedules, and lead times to generate a comprehensive plan that guides the execution of your supply chain operations.

However, not all items need to be included in this planning process. Sometimes you might have items that are obsolete, slow-moving, or managed through other means. Including these items in master planning can lead to inaccurate plans and unnecessary processing. That's where the ability to exclude items comes in handy. Excluding items from master planning means that the system will ignore these items when generating the production, purchase, and transfer plans. This ensures that the planning process focuses only on the items that truly require attention, leading to more accurate and efficient results. By excluding irrelevant items, you can reduce the noise in your planning process and focus on the critical items that drive your business. This not only saves time but also improves the accuracy of your plans, leading to better decision-making and optimized resource allocation.

Why Exclude Items from Master Planning?

So, why would you want to exclude items from master planning in the first place? There are several valid reasons. First off, excluding obsolete items keeps your planning process clean and focused. Imagine having a bunch of items in your system that you no longer use or sell. Including these items in master planning would only clutter the process and lead to inaccurate results. By excluding them, you ensure that the planning process focuses only on the items that are relevant to your current operations. This not only saves processing time but also reduces the risk of generating unnecessary purchase or production orders.

Secondly, excluding slow-moving items can prevent overstocking. These are items that you sell or use very infrequently. Including them in master planning might lead the system to suggest unnecessary purchases or production, resulting in excess inventory that ties up your capital. By excluding slow-moving items, you can avoid this overstocking and free up resources for items that are in higher demand. This helps you optimize your inventory levels and reduce carrying costs.

Thirdly, certain items might be managed through other systems or manual processes. For example, you might have a consignment inventory arrangement with a vendor where they manage the inventory levels. In such cases, including these items in master planning would be redundant and could lead to conflicting plans. By excluding these items, you avoid any potential conflicts and ensure that the planning process aligns with your actual business practices. This helps maintain the integrity of your planning data and ensures that the system generates accurate and reliable plans.

Methods to Exclude Items from Master Planning in Dynamics 365

Okay, now that we understand why it's important to exclude items, let's look at how you can actually do it in Dynamics 365. There are a couple of ways to achieve this, and the best method depends on your specific needs and the characteristics of the items you want to exclude.

1. Using the Item Coverage Settings

The Item Coverage settings are your go-to place for fine-tuning how master planning treats individual items. This is where you can specify whether an item should be included in master planning or not. Here’s how you can use it:

• Navigate to the Item Coverage form: Go to Product information management > Products > Released products. Select the item you want to exclude, and then click on the Plan tab. Click Item coverage.
• Set the Planning Formula to 'None': In the Item Coverage form, go to the General tab. Find the Planning formula field and set it to None. This tells the system to completely ignore this item during master planning runs.

Setting the planning formula to 'None' is a straightforward way to exclude an item from master planning. When the system encounters an item with this setting, it will skip the item and move on to the next one. This ensures that the planning process focuses only on the items that require attention, leading to more accurate and efficient results. However, keep in mind that this setting applies to the specific item coverage record. If you have multiple item coverage records for the same item, you need to update each one accordingly.

2. Using Planning Item Groups

Planning Item Groups allow you to group items with similar planning characteristics. This can be useful if you want to exclude a large number of items that share certain attributes. Here’s how to set it up:

• Create a new Planning Item Group: Go to Master planning > Setup > Planning > Planning item groups. Click New to create a new group.
• Set the Master Planning to 'No': In the Planning Item Group details, find the Master planning field and set it to No. This setting will apply to all items assigned to this group.
• Assign Items to the Planning Item Group: Go to Product information management > Products > Released products. Select the items you want to exclude, and then edit the Planning item group field on the General tab to assign them to the newly created group.

By setting the Master planning field to 'No' at the Planning Item Group level, you can quickly exclude a large number of items from master planning. This is particularly useful when you have a group of items that share similar characteristics and should be treated the same way during the planning process. When the system encounters an item assigned to a Planning Item Group with Master planning set to 'No', it will skip the item and move on to the next one. This ensures that the planning process focuses only on the items that require attention, leading to more accurate and efficient results. However, keep in mind that this setting applies to all items assigned to the group, so make sure to carefully consider which items to include in the group.

3. Using Filters in Master Planning Runs

Sometimes, you might not want to permanently exclude items. Instead, you might want to exclude them from a specific master planning run. In this case, you can use filters during the master planning process.

• Open the Master Planning Run form: Go to Master planning > Master planning > Run > Master planning.
• Set up Filters: In the Master planning form, click on the Filters button. Add a filter criteria to exclude the specific items or item groups you want to exclude from the run.

Using filters during the master planning run is a flexible way to exclude items without permanently changing their settings. This is particularly useful when you need to exclude items for a specific planning scenario or time period. By setting up the appropriate filter criteria, you can control which items are included in the planning run and which ones are excluded. This allows you to fine-tune the planning process and generate plans that are tailored to your specific needs. However, keep in mind that the filters only apply to the current planning run. The next time you run master planning, you will need to set up the filters again if you want to exclude the same items.

Step-by-Step Example: Excluding an Obsolete Item

Let’s walk through a quick example. Suppose you have an item called “ObsoleteWidget” that you no longer sell. Here’s how you can exclude it using the Item Coverage settings:

1. Go to Released Products: Navigate to Product information management > Products > Released products.
2. Select the Item: Find and select “ObsoleteWidget”.
3. Open Item Coverage: Click on the Plan tab and then click Item coverage.
4. Set Planning Formula to None: In the Item Coverage form, go to the General tab. Set the Planning formula field to None.
5. Save: Save the changes.

Now, when you run master planning, “ObsoleteWidget” will be ignored.

Best Practices and Considerations

Before you go on an excluding spree, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Document Your Exclusions: Keep a record of why you excluded certain items. This will help you remember the reasons and ensure consistency.
• Regularly Review Exclusions: Periodically review your exclusions to make sure they are still valid. Business conditions change, and an item that was once obsolete might become relevant again.
• Communicate with Stakeholders: Let your team know about the exclusions. This will prevent confusion and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Documenting your exclusions is crucial for maintaining the integrity of your planning data. It helps you keep track of why certain items were excluded and ensures that the exclusions are consistent with your business practices. This is particularly important when multiple people are involved in the planning process. By documenting the exclusions, you can avoid confusion and ensure that everyone understands the reasons behind the exclusions.

Regularly reviewing your exclusions is also essential. Business conditions change over time, and an item that was once obsolete might become relevant again. By periodically reviewing your exclusions, you can ensure that they are still valid and that your planning process is aligned with your current business needs. This helps you avoid unnecessary exclusions and ensures that the planning process focuses on the items that truly require attention.

Communicating with stakeholders is also important. Let your team know about the exclusions so that they understand why certain items are not included in the planning process. This prevents confusion and ensures that everyone is on the same page. By keeping everyone informed, you can avoid misunderstandings and ensure that the planning process runs smoothly.

Conclusion

Excluding items from master planning in Dynamics 365 is a powerful way to streamline your planning process and improve accuracy. Whether you’re dealing with obsolete items, slow-moving products, or items managed through other systems, knowing how to exclude them can save you time and prevent unnecessary calculations. By using Item Coverage settings, Planning Item Groups, or filters during master planning runs, you can tailor the planning process to your specific needs and ensure that it focuses only on the items that truly require attention. So go ahead and give it a try – your master planning process will thank you for it!