Hey guys! Ever found yourself in a situation where you need to exclude specific items from your master planning runs in Dynamics 365? Maybe you have some obsolete products, or items that are managed through a different process. Whatever the reason, D365 provides several ways to achieve this, ensuring your master planning focuses on what truly matters.

Why Exclude Items from Master Planning?

Before we dive into the how, let's quickly cover the why. Master planning is a powerful tool, but it works best when it's focused on relevant data. Including irrelevant items can lead to:

• Inflated planning runs: The more items you include, the longer the planning process takes. Excluding unnecessary items speeds things up.
• Inaccurate results: Including items with incorrect or outdated data can skew your planning results, leading to poor decisions.
• Resource waste: Planning for items you don't need wastes processing power and can lead to unnecessary purchase orders or production orders.

Excluding items from master planning helps you streamline your processes, improve accuracy, and optimize resource allocation. It ensures that your planning engine focuses on the products that truly drive your business, preventing unnecessary noise and improving overall efficiency. By carefully selecting which items to exclude, you gain better control over your supply chain and can react more effectively to changing market demands. This targeted approach not only saves time but also minimizes errors, leading to more reliable and cost-effective planning outcomes.

Methods to Exclude Items

Okay, now for the good stuff. Here are the primary methods you can use to exclude items from master planning in Dynamics 365:

1. Coverage Group Settings

Coverage groups are a fundamental concept in D365 master planning. They define the planning parameters for a group of items. By carefully configuring your coverage groups, you can effectively exclude items from the planning process.

• How it works: You can set the "Coverage time fence" to 0. This tells D365 not to plan for items in that coverage group. Think of it as a switch that turns planning on or off for a specific set of items.
• When to use it: This is ideal for items that you never want to include in master planning, such as obsolete products or items managed outside of D365.

To configure this, navigate to Master planning > Setup > Coverage > Coverage groups. Select the coverage group you want to modify, and set the Coverage time fence field to 0. This setting effectively tells the system to ignore these items during the master planning run.

Example Scenario:

Imagine you have a line of seasonal products that you only produce during specific times of the year. Outside of those periods, you don't want them to be included in your master planning runs. You can assign these items to a specific coverage group and set the Coverage time fence to 0 during the off-season. When the season approaches, you can simply adjust the time fence to include them in the planning again. This method provides a flexible way to manage the inclusion or exclusion of items based on specific periods or conditions, ensuring that your master planning remains accurate and relevant throughout the year.

This approach is particularly useful because it allows you to easily switch items in and out of the planning scope by simply adjusting the coverage time fence. It's a dynamic way to manage your inventory and ensure that your master planning efforts are focused on the items that require the most attention at any given time.

2. Planning Formulas

Planning formulas offer a more dynamic way to exclude items based on specific conditions. This method involves creating a formula that determines whether an item should be included in the master planning run.

• How it works: You can create a formula that checks certain criteria, such as the item's inventory level, demand forecast, or other relevant factors. If the criteria are met, the item is excluded from the planning run.
• When to use it: This is useful for items that should be excluded under certain conditions, but not always. For example, you might want to exclude an item if its on-hand inventory exceeds a certain level.

To set this up, you'll need to dive into the Product information management module and configure the planning formula for the specific item. The formula can be based on various criteria, offering a high degree of flexibility.

Example Scenario:

Let's say you want to exclude an item from master planning if its on-hand inventory is sufficient to meet the forecasted demand for the next month. You can create a planning formula that checks the current inventory level against the demand forecast. If the inventory level is greater than or equal to the forecasted demand, the item is excluded from the planning run. This ensures that you're not unnecessarily planning for items that you already have enough of in stock.

Planning formulas provide a powerful way to dynamically adjust your master planning based on real-time data. This approach is particularly useful in environments where demand and supply conditions can change rapidly. By leveraging planning formulas, you can ensure that your master planning remains responsive to these changes and that your resources are allocated efficiently.

3. Item Model Groups

Item model groups control how items are stocked and managed. While not directly designed for excluding items from master planning, they can be used in conjunction with other methods to achieve the desired result.

• How it works: You can configure an item model group to prevent inventory transactions for specific items. This effectively removes the item from the supply chain, making it irrelevant for master planning.
• When to use it: This is suitable for items that are no longer actively managed but still exist in your system.

To configure this, navigate to Product information management > Setup > Inventory management > Item model groups. Create or modify an item model group, and adjust the settings to prevent inventory transactions.

Example Scenario:

Consider a scenario where you have a line of products that you are phasing out. You no longer want to actively manage these products, but they still exist in your system. By assigning these items to a specific item model group that prevents inventory transactions, you can effectively remove them from the supply chain. This ensures that they are not included in your master planning runs, preventing unnecessary planning efforts.

Item model groups provide a way to control how items are stocked and managed. By leveraging item model groups in conjunction with other methods, such as coverage groups or planning formulas, you can achieve a more comprehensive approach to excluding items from master planning. This combined approach ensures that your master planning efforts are focused on the items that are actively managed and relevant to your business operations.

4. Manual Exclusion in Master Plan

D365 allows you to manually exclude items from a specific master plan. This is useful for temporary exclusions or for testing purposes.

• How it works: Within the master plan setup, you can specify a list of items to exclude. These items will be ignored during the planning run for that specific master plan.
• When to use it: This is ideal for short-term exclusions, such as when you're running a what-if scenario or testing the impact of removing certain items from the plan.

To do this, go to Master planning > Setup > Plans > Master plans. Select the master plan you want to modify, and navigate to the Items tab. Here, you can add or remove items from the exclusion list.

Example Scenario:

Imagine you're running a simulation to see how your master plan would be affected if a key supplier was temporarily unable to deliver certain components. You can manually exclude these components from the master plan to assess the impact on your production schedule and identify potential bottlenecks. This allows you to make informed decisions and develop contingency plans to mitigate the risks associated with the supplier disruption.

Manual exclusion provides a flexible way to temporarily remove items from your master planning runs. This is particularly useful for scenario planning and testing purposes. By manually excluding items, you can quickly assess the impact of various factors on your master plan and make informed decisions to optimize your supply chain operations.

Step-by-Step Example: Excluding an Obsolete Item

Let's walk through a practical example of how to exclude an obsolete item using coverage group settings.

Step 1: Identify the Obsolete Item

First, identify the item you want to exclude from master planning. This could be a product that is no longer sold or a component that is no longer used in production.

Step 2: Create or Select a Coverage Group

If you don't already have one, create a new coverage group specifically for obsolete items. Go to Master planning > Setup > Coverage > Coverage groups and create a new group. Give it a descriptive name, such as "Obsolete Items". If you already have a coverage group that is suitable for obsolete items, you can use that instead.

Step 3: Set the Coverage Time Fence to 0

In the coverage group settings, set the Coverage time fence field to 0. This tells D365 not to plan for items in this coverage group.

Step 4: Assign the Item to the Coverage Group

Now, assign the obsolete item to the coverage group you created or selected. Go to Product information management > Products > Released products, select the item, and edit its Item coverage settings. Assign the item to the "Obsolete Items" coverage group.

Step 5: Run Master Planning

Finally, run your master planning process. The obsolete item should now be excluded from the planning run.

By following these steps, you can effectively exclude obsolete items from your master planning, ensuring that your planning efforts are focused on the products that truly drive your business.

Best Practices for Excluding Items

To make the most of item exclusion in D365, keep these best practices in mind:

• Document your exclusions: Keep a record of why items are excluded and which method you used. This helps maintain transparency and avoid confusion in the future.
• Regularly review exclusions: Periodically review your excluded items to ensure they are still valid. Items that were once obsolete may become relevant again.
• Use the right method for the job: Choose the exclusion method that best suits the specific item and your business needs. Coverage groups are great for permanent exclusions, while planning formulas are better for conditional exclusions.
• Test your changes: Always test your master planning process after making changes to item exclusions. This ensures that the exclusions are working as expected and don't have unintended consequences.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your item exclusions are effective and contribute to a more efficient and accurate master planning process.

Conclusion

Excluding items from master planning in Dynamics 365 is a crucial step in optimizing your planning process. By using coverage groups, planning formulas, item model groups, and manual exclusions, you can ensure that your master planning focuses on the items that truly matter. Remember to document your exclusions, regularly review them, and choose the right method for the job. Happy planning!