Material Requirements Planning (MRP)

DynamxMFG gives SME manufacturers live shop floor visibility – tracking every job, machine, and operator in real time – so you hit delivery dates and protect margins without spreadsheets or enterprise ERP complexity.

What is Material Requirements Planning (MRP)?

Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is a planning method and software used to make sure the right materials and components are available when production needs them. MRP looks at demand (sales orders and forecasts), your bill of materials (BOMs), and stock levels, then calculates what to buy and when to buy it.

How does a Material Requirements Planning (MRP) work in a factory?

Starts with demand

Takes customer orders and forecasts to determine what finished goods are needed by which dates.

Explodes the bill of materials

Uses BOMs to break finished items into all required components and raw materials.

Checks inventory and supply

Looks at on‑hand stock, open purchase orders, and work‑in‑progress to see what is already covered.

Generates planned orders

Suggests new purchase orders and production orders with recommended dates and quantities.

Core Functions of Material Requirements Planning (MRP)

  • Demand and forecast handling

  • BOM management and explosion

  • Inventory and availability checks

  • Purchase planning and suggested POs

  • Work order creation and rescheduling

  • Basic capacity checks (in some systems)

Benefits of a Material Requirements Planning (MRP) for Manufacturers

Fewer material shortages

Better visibility of what’s needed when.

Reduced excess stock

Less guesswork and over‑ordering.

Smoother production

Fewer last‑minute changes due to missing parts.

Better supplier planning

Clearer view of requirements and timings.

MRP vs MES vs ERP – Where does MRP fit in?

  • ERP manages finance, sales, purchasing, and high‑level planning.

  • MRP plans materials and when to make/buy components.

  • MES runs the shift – it shows what is actually happening on the shop floor and collects the data to improve it.

Limitations of Material Requirements Planning (MRP) – Where You Need More

MRP works with planned data, not live shop‑floor events.

It doesn’t show which job is actually running or stopped right now.

It doesn’t capture detailed labour, machine time, or quality events per operation.

It struggles in very high‑mix, constantly changing environments without help.

DynamxMFG bridges the gaps between your MRP/MES/ERP

Stop losing margin to unplanned overtime, scrap, and manual admin by converting your “spreadsheet hours” into productive capacity.