Automatic Kanban Calculation 

Use

Significant parameters for production control with KANBAN include:

●     The number of kanbans (cards) that circulate in a control cycle

●     The quantity per kanban

You use these parameters to define material circulation and material stock. By optimizing these parameters, you can reduce inventory levels to a minimum. The aim is to guarantee material replenishment with the lowest possible inventory. As the inventory situation in many branches of industry fluctuates considerably, it is necessary to check and adjust these parameters on a regular basis.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites exist for the automatic kanban calculation:

You must maintain the standard values for the automatic kanban calculation in the control cycle. For further information see also Defining the Automatic Kanban Calculation in the Control Cycle.

●     If necessary, you must maintain the authorization profiles in Customizing for KANBAN (if the dependent requirements are to be smoothed or if you want to maintain work time).

To do so, in Customizing, choose Production ® KANBAN ® Automatic Kanban Calculation and Scheduling ® Define Calculation Profile.

●     You must assign the supply areas to the BOM items (either via the production version or by entering the supply area in the material master) as the system only includes dependent requirements that refer to a supply area.

If necessary, you must maintain the detailed dependent requirements selection in the control cycle. For more information, see Control Cycle for Classic Kanban.

Features

The proposals for the number of kanbans or the kanban quantity are calculated on the basis of the results from the planning run or from long-term planning.

The following functions are available in the kanban calculation:

The system determines the relevant dependent requirements (either from long-term planning or from MRP). See also: Calculating the Dependent Requirements for the Automatic Kanban Calculation.

The dependent requirements can be smoothed according to the settings in Customizing. See also: Smoothing the Dependent Requirements

If you have maintained sub-day replenishment lead times in the control cycle and the appropriate work times have been saved in Customizing, the system converts the requirements per day to the time unit of the replenishment lead time. See also: Calculating the Replenishment Lead Time and Converting the Requirements

The system calculates the number of kanbans or the kanban quantity on the basis of a formula. See also: Calculating the Number of Kanbans/Kanban Quantity

If the system cannot carry out the calculation, it creates appropriate error messages which you can check in the error log. See also: Accessing the Error Log

Using a special function, you can check the result of the calculation and accept the proposal. See also: Checking and Copying the Automatic Kanban Calculation.

Actions

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       1.      First of all you must decide whether you want to carry out the calculation using the data from long-term planning or from MRP.

       2.      To simplify the maintenance of mass data, you can maintain the calculation profile in Customizing for KANBAN. You must maintain the calculation profile if you want the system to smooth the dependent requirements or if you want to use sub-day replenishment lead times.

       3.      You must enter the profile or the calculation parameters in the control cycle.

       4.      Using the report, Change proposal settings for KANBAN control cycles, the system creates proposals for the number of kanbans or the kanban quantity.

       5.      The proposals are checked and accepted using the function Checking the results of the kanban calculation.

       6.      You can repeat the kanban calculation as often as necessary so that you can adjust the container circulation to suit your requirements situation.