Planning Workbench: See the Shortage Before the Shop Floor Does
Your stock report shows what is on the shelf today. The Planning Workbench shows every day after: a running balance for each item across every sales order, work order, purchase order and jobwork challan, the exact date it goes short, and the cheapest way to fix it.
Why Factories Either Run Out or Buy the Same Material Twice
Every buying decision is made against a single "available" number that is only true at the moment you look at it.
No Dates on the Stock Report
The report says 100 kg. It cannot tell you a sales order needs 80 next Tuesday and a work order needs 60 the week after. The shortage is already scheduled; nobody can see it until the day it arrives.
Reorders That Ignore What Is Coming
A purchase order raised yesterday, or 500 kg already out at a jobworker, counts for nothing on a typical reorder screen. So it suggests the same quantity again, and a buyer who acts on it buys twice.
Stock That Looks Usable but Is Not
Quarantined lots, expired lots and material parked in scrap or WIP stores all sit inside the warehouse total. Planning against that total promises material you cannot actually issue.
A Bank Statement for Every Item in Your Store
The Workbench reads the documents your team already creates and keeps a running balance after each one, in date order.
| Date | Event | Document | Supply | Demand | Projected balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Sep | Opening position (usable stock) | 100 | |||
| 15 Sep | Sales order | SO-101 | 80 | 20 | |
| 20 Sep | Production issue | WO-55 | 60 | -40 | |
| 25 Sep | Purchase order | PO-900 | 300 | 260 |
Supply It Reads
Open purchase orders by line delivery date, material returning from jobworkers on its expected date, finished goods due from production, and indents not yet placed on a purchase order.
Demand It Reads
Sales orders less what has already shipped, material required by work orders from their start date, and your safety stock, which drives a separate Net Available column instead of reducing the balance.
Only Usable Stock
Scrap and WIP stores are left out. Quarantined and expired lots are left out. Stock held for no document is subtracted, so the opening balance is material you can genuinely issue.
An Exceptions List to Start the Day
Instead of scrolling every item, open a list of only the items that go negative, dip below safety stock, have late orders or carry undated documents. Worst first.
The Cheapest Fix Is Suggested First
Most systems see a shortage and say "buy more". ERPDrive checks the options that use stock and orders you already own before it suggests spending money.
1. Transfer Between Warehouses
If another warehouse holds stock it will not need for the whole planning horizon, the Workbench suggests moving it. It never lends from a warehouse that would run short itself later.
2. Expedite a Late Order
A purchase order or production order that is already past due is flagged to chase. The material is paid for; the supplier is the only thing in the way.
3. Pull an Existing Order Forward
If a confirmed order lands after the shortage, the Workbench suggests bringing it forward to the day it is needed, and then re-checks what is still short.
4. Buy or Make Only the Gap
Whatever the first three cannot cover becomes a purchase or work order suggestion, rounded up to the minimum order quantity, with an order-by date worked back from the supplier's lead time.
Cancel, Defer or Reduce Excess
It also looks the other way: orders nothing in the horizon needs, orders arriving weeks early, and orders bigger than the real requirement are flagged so you stop spending cash early.
One Click, Approvals Intact
Accepting a buy or make recommendation raises a draft order that goes through your normal approval. Recommendations are recalculated from live documents every time, so accepted and dismissed advice is never re-proposed.
Reorder Alerts No Longer Buy the Same Thing Twice
The Reorder Alerts screen now uses the same logic as the Workbench. Stock already on order and material out at jobworkers both count, and suggestions are rounded to the minimum order quantity. Raise the purchase order, come back tomorrow, and the suggestion is zero.
Illustrative example.
Works Seamlessly With
The Workbench reads live documents from every module that moves stock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the Planning Workbench.
It is a time-phased view of supply and demand for each item. It starts from usable stock, walks every dated sales order, work order, purchase order, jobwork return and indent in date order, and shows the running balance after each one, so you can see the exact day an item goes short.
A stock report shows what is on the shelf right now. MRP explodes requirements for production. The Workbench combines current stock with every dated document on both sides, so it shows when a shortage happens, what causes it, and which existing order could cover it.
No. It recommends. When you accept a buy or make recommendation, ERPDrive raises a draft purchase order or work order dated for the day it is needed, which still goes through your normal approval. Chase, pull-forward, defer and cancel recommendations take you to the existing order to make the change yourself.
Only usable stock. Scrap and WIP stores are excluded, quarantined and expired lots are excluded, and stock held for no document is subtracted. Material at jobworkers is counted as incoming supply on its expected return date.
Nothing to start: it reads the documents your team already creates. For the best recommendations, set a lead time and a safety stock on your important items in Min/Max Planning. Where a lead time is missing, the Workbench says so instead of guessing.
Yes. The Planning Workbench is part of ERPDrive Complete, at no extra cost.
See Your Own Shortages Before They Happen
Book a demo and we will walk through the Planning Workbench on items from your own factory.