What is MRP?

Manufacturing involves a lot of moving parts: materials to order, stock to track, production schedules to manage and customer orders to get out of the door on time. MRP software helps bring that information together, and the IT supporting it needs to be reliable too.

What is MRP software?

MRP stands for Material Requirements Planning. It’s a type of software that helps manufacturers work out what materials and components they need to meet production demand.

Using details such as customer orders, stock levels, bills of materials and supplier lead times, MRP software calculates what’s needed and when. Many modern systems go further, adding production scheduling, purchasing, inventory management and reporting.

How does MRP software work?

At its heart, MRP connects customer demand with the materials and production activities needed to fulfil it.

1

Start with demand

Customer orders and, where appropriate, forecasts establish what needs to be made.

2

Check the materials

The system compares requirements with available stock and identifies potential shortages.

3

Plan ahead

It calculates what needs purchasing and when materials should be available, taking supplier lead times into account.

4

Keep production moving

Your team uses the resulting information to plan work, monitor progress and respond when priorities change.

An MRP system supports planning and decision-making. It doesn’t replace the need for accurate stock records, up-to-date information or good production processes.

What are the benefits of MRP software?

• Better stock control - clearer visibility of what’s available, what’s committed and what needs ordering, reducing the risk of shortages or excess stock
• More organised production planning - connects production requirements with material availability so your team can prioritise work and spot bottlenecks
• More informed purchasing - helps your purchasing team understand what needs to be ordered and when, rather than ordering too early, too late or in excess
• A clearer view of costs and deadlines - reporting and production tracking help you spot issues earlier and make decisions with more confidence
• Less reliance on manual processes - automates parts of material planning and reduces duplicated information across spreadsheets and systems

MRP vs ERP: what’s the difference?

MRP focuses on planning materials and production. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning and brings together a wider range of business functions, which can include finance, purchasing, sales, HR, inventory and manufacturing. Some ERP systems include MRP functionality as part of the wider package, while others integrate with a dedicated MRP system.

Neither is automatically the better option. It comes down to what your business needs now, where you’d like it to go and how your existing systems fit together.

The part that’s easy to overlook: your IT infrastructure

MRP software relies on the wider technology around it. If your Wi-Fi drops out in the warehouse, a server develops a fault or staff can’t access the system they need, production planning can be disrupted and orders delayed.

That means your network needs to work across offices, warehouses and factory floors, your data needs protecting with proper security and backups, and your systems need ongoing support as software, hardware and requirements change over time.

How Kixo supports manufacturing businesses

We provide managed IT support for manufacturers covering the wider systems your operation depends on, including MRP and ERP software support, network and Wi-Fi connectivity, servers, hardware, backups and disaster recovery, with 24/7, 365-day support because manufacturing doesn’t always stop at five o’clock.

Get started

If your manufacturing business relies on MRP, ERP or other production systems, get in touch for a free consultation about the wider IT setup supporting them.

Arrange a free consultation