Supply-Demand Intelligence (Overview)

Supply-Demand Intelligence (SDI) is ianaiERP's material requirements planning (MRP) engine. It answers one operational question for every planned item and location: "Will I run out — and if so, when, by how much, and what's the best way to fix it?"

SDI continuously nets your demand (sales orders, work-order/build components, forecasts, transfers, safety stock) against your supply (on-hand, purchase orders, work orders/builds, transfers in). Wherever projected availability goes negative, it records a ranked shortage, estimates the revenue at risk, traces the impact up the BOM, and proposes a one-click fix — usually a purchase order or work order.

What's in the suite

Where it lives

• SDI Dashboard — /sdi/dashboard (Manufacturing panel → Supply/Demand Intelligence). The entry point; every other tool is reachable from here.
• Demand List — /sdi/demands
• Shortages — /sdi/shortages; impact at /sdi/shortage/:id/impact
• Create Purchase Orders — /sdi/multi-po
• Make vs Buy — /sdi/makevsbuy/:itemId
• Planning View — /mfi/planning
• Forecasts — /mfi/forecasts

Core concepts

Demand — what consumes inventory

• Sales Order — customer orders awaiting fulfillment
• Work Order / Build Component — components needed to make parent items
• Forecast — expected future demand you enter or generate
• Transfer Out — inventory committed to another location
• Safety Stock — a minimum buffer you want to keep

Supply — what replenishes inventory

• On Hand — current stock
• Purchase Order — quantities on order from vendors
• Work Order / Build — quantities being made in-house
• Transfer In — inventory inbound from another location
• Planned Order — system-proposed supply not yet firmed

Netting → projected availability

For each item/location SDI builds a time-phased balance: starting on-hand, minus demand, plus supply, period by period. The running balance is the Projected Available. Any period where it turns negative is a shortage.

Shortage severity

Root cause & suggested action

Each shortage is tagged with a root cause (Lead Time, Vendor Delay, Capacity, Quality, Demand Spike) and a suggested action (Create Purchase Order, Create Work Order, Expedite, Substitute) that drives the one-click resolution button.

How the data flows

   Sales Orders ┐
   Work Orders  │
   Forecasts    ├──► DEMAND ──┐
   Transfers    │             │
   Safety Stock ┘             ▼
                        Net per period ──► Projected Available
   On Hand     ┐             ▲                    │
   Purchase POs│             │           negative │ period
   Work Orders ├──► SUPPLY ──┘                    ▼
   Transfers In│                          Shortage (ranked)
   Planned     ┘                                  │
                                                  ▼
                              Revenue at risk + Impact chain
                                                  │
                                                  ▼
                              Suggestion → Create PO / WO / Expedite

Recommended workflow

1. On the SDI Dashboard, set Location and Horizon (1–8 weeks), then click Recalculate All to run MRP.
2. Review the Shortage Summary and Total Revenue at Risk to gauge exposure.
3. Work the Critical Shortages list; open Impact to confirm which orders are threatened.
4. Resolve each gap: accept a Suggestion, click Create PO / WO / Expedite, or run Make vs Buy for assemblies.
5. For bulk purchasing, select shortages and issue one PO per vendor in the Multi-PO Creator.
6. Use Planning View for a deep, period-by-period look at any tricky item.
7. Maintain Forecasts so MRP plans ahead of firm demand, and review forecast accuracy each cycle.

Prerequisites for good results

• Set preferred vendor, purchase cost, lead time, and MOQ on items — these power Make vs Buy and auto-fill the Multi-PO Creator.
• Keep BOMs current so component demand and impact chains are accurate.
• Define safety stock on critical items so SDI warns you before you hit zero.
• Recalculate after major demand changes so shortages and revenue-at-risk stay current.

Related Features

• Production Scheduling
• Manufacturing Cockpit
• Work Orders
• Purchase Order
• Bill of Materials (BOM)