Manufacturing planners often face challenges with raw materials that can vary in composition from one batch to the next. Especially if they are producing finished goods to exacting standards, such as baby formula. Natural ingredients such as milk powder often vary in their composition. When planning the manufacturing, planners must specify additives in varying quantities to compensate for differences in the raw material batches.
How Abel can help
Abel’s Batch Allocation process enables planners to allocate batches of stock weeks in advance, before the stock is transferred into the manufacturing branch. Early batch allocation enables additives to be planned early as well, according to the composition or test results of the batches.
This enables planners to plan the additives and adjust the designer BOM to meet the standard composition, with the certainty that the additives they are planning will be correct through to manufacture because the batches they have planned with have been allocated.
- A flag on the inventory record identifies raw materials that require early allocation
- Once a batch is allocated, it can’t be selected for use elsewhere
- Allocation can happen while the stock is still in the warehouse. The warehouse can be geographically remote from the branch where the stock will eventually be consumed in manufacturing.
Planners work with Abel’s Bulk Allocation screen to manage stock that requires early batch allocation.
This example shows an allocation in progress…
- The left side of the screen shows inventory flagged for batch allocation in upcoming manufactures
- The right side of the screen enables planners to action the allocation.
This example shows a completed allocation with multiple batches allocated …
