Introduction

APS uses three levels of Commitment for incoming Jobs: Estimate, Planned, and Firm.

Estimates: Usually a quote used for generating an expected ship time. This functions similarly to CTP and is often skipped in favor of using CTP. However, in the case that the Estimate Job is already in the integrated ERP or other financial back-end system, they can be imported into APS.

Planned: Usually a computer-generated order that has not yet been firmed by a planner. The most common example of a Planned Order would be an MRP-generated Job that was created as a suggestion for satisfying material requirements for a higher-level Job. Like Estimates, Planned Orders can be imported. If, however, Express MRP is run from APS, Jobs created to satisfy material requirements are automatically created as Planned Orders.

Firm: This is an order that has been firmed by a planner and will be produced.

Commitment and Optimization

Because Estimates and Planned Orders are essentially suggested Jobs, they can be excluded from the Optimization process. This allows for the Firm Jobs to be scheduled first and Planned or Estimate Orders to be more carefully considered before moving firming them to the schedule. Another way that this can be achieved through Optimization is via the Optimize Rules. Here, only Firm Jobs can be set to a higher weight, prioritizing Firm Jobs while still automatically scheduling Planned and Estimate Jobs.

Express MRP run during an Optimize also ties into the Commitment level of a Job. For example, during the MRP process, there are options to preserve Planned and Estimate Jobs. If left unchecked, Planned and Estimate Jobs will be deleted from the schedule as Express MRP while Jobs are automatically created to satisfy material requirements. This may be the best option, especially when the Planned Orders were for the satisfaction of material requirements so that Express MRP will not create a whole new set of Planned Orders for those material requirements.