The development of the Copilot Inventory Queries extension that I described in my previous blog posts has inspired me to apply the same concept of using Copilot (or actually Azure OpenAI) to enhance the other extensions that we use. This blog post is an example of an application that hopefully can inspire others to apply AI to their Business Central extensions. In this case we have an extension called Planning Parameter Worksheet that allows Business Central users to set up rules and have the system suggest the planning parameters to use for each Item or Stockkeeping Unit. This is a...
This is a continuation of my last post where I described the Copilot Inventory Queries extension that I developed (available for free in AppSource). I have now taken that concept and applied it to the Planning Worksheet in Business Central. With this you get a Copilot user interface that can help explain the suggestions created by the material planning (MRP). I created this in a way that the AI model includes all the suggestions for the same item number, location and variant code for each query. So, if the plan makes multiple suggestions for the same item, you have the...
If you have a relative large number of items to plan it could take a while to run the MRP calculations in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, an hour to do a full calculation is not uncommon, especially if you have been using the system for a while. In order to not have the MRP calculations to interrupt with the daily operations (such as posting orders) you typically want the calculations to take place during the night. This is a very common requirement and in fact a lot of people I talk to are surprised that this is not something Dynamics NAV...
Using alternative production BOMs or routings is quite common in a manufacturing environment. It could for example be that larger orders are run in higher capacity machines, versions of products are produced with slight variations in components (like different colors), or you might produce the same item in two different locations and therefor need two different routings. These are just some examples, there are many more scenarios like that where you might need to change the production BOM or routing based on different factors. Microsoft Dynamics NAV allows you to manually change both the routing and production BOM used on...
Implementing MRP (material requirements planning) successfully in Microsoft Dynamics NAV is one of the more complex tasks. There are lots of moving parts and to make it work in an efficient way you not only need to know Dynamics NAV and the theories behind MRP but also the product structures and how the business wants to operate. This is my guide to how to make it work, it is based on my experience and how I normally approach MRP. It does not guide or dictate how you should setup NAV, just some guidance on how to get there (I guess...
Do you know what the low-level code in Microsoft Dynamics NAV is used for? And do you know how it is maintained? The low-level codes are critical for Dynamics NAV to function properly in a manufacturing environment where material planning takes place (which is in 9 out of 10 places). In addition to this, the cost adjustments in Dynamics NAV are also using the low-level codes. The low-level code is a field in the item table that represents the items lowest level of usage in the production BOM or assembly BOM structures. It is used internally by Dynamics NAV to determine...
The MPS/MRP suggestions in the Planning Worksheet has an ‘Accept Action Message’ field that determines if the suggestion should be accepted or not. The value of this field is by default set to TRUE if there are no warnings. This sounds great, by my experience is that most planners would like this to default to FALSE and activity accept each message when reviewing the suggestions. (more…)
