Explanation of ATP LP Type - Negative Sign (-) vs (*) Symbols
Q - For the ATP (Available to Promise) processing screen, can you advise what the “ * “ (asterisk) symbol means next to the 792*? Also, why do some LPs have the ” - “ (negative sign) and some are blank. See sample screen below:
A - As you probably already know, the ATP record type LP stands for "plan orders." Plan orders are created by the system automatically when you perform ATP regen. Like other ATP types, plan orders can be categorized as replenishment ( + ) or requirement ( - ). Replenishment ATP records increase the quantity-on-hand balance, so their quantity is positive. Requirement ATP records decrease the quantity-on-hand balance, so their quantity is negative. In Elliott's standard numeric value presentation convention, the negative values are presented with a trailing negative sign ( - ). Positive values do not show a trailing sign.
Plan orders can be either a purchase order or a production order (BOMP Work Order). For plan production orders, the ATP records involve both parent and component items. If the system detects a plan order, then for that parent item, the plan order quantity is positive (+) since it will increase the quantity-on-hand balance when the parent item is produced. On the other hand, for the components of that plan order, the plan order quantity is negative (-) since it will decrease the quantity-on-hand when the parent item is produced.
Elliott ATP, by default, is a just-in-time (JIT) planning system. That is to say, we will plan for just enough quantity to meet the requirement. On the other hand, your vendors or production staff may place restrictions on your order with requirements like order multiple or order minimum. The ATP process screen is for the planner to convert the plan orders to an actual order. So the system tries to warn the planner that there may be some issues with the suggested quantity. The asterisk ( * ) simply means there is some issue with the quantity -- like it may not meet the order multiple or minimum order requirements as set up in the Item Master. In your example, item# 0 358 365 0041 is set up with order minimum = 234 and order multiple = 234. Even though 792 > 234, which meets the order minimum requirement, 792 is not a multiple of 234. As a planner, you can either order higher quantity or consolidate with a later-day plan order so it meets these requirements.
It is possible to configure Elliott so the plan order quantity it generates takes into consideration the order minimum and the order multiple. See the following Knowledge Base article for more details:
http://support.elliott.com/knowledgebase/articles/852861-feature-atp-regen-to-consider-order-multiple-and
EMK