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Plan-to-Produce process

Process documentation sample

Shows how I document a supply chain process from demand planning to finished goods, across planning, procurement and ERP systems. It mirrors the structure of my real process documentation at Nutanix, with company-specific details made generic for confidentiality.

Item Details
Process owner Supply Chain Operations
Systems Supply chain planning (Kinaxis), ERP (NetSuite), Procurement (Coupa), Integration platform (Boomi)
Audience Demand and supply planners, buyers, manufacturing operations, business analysts
Version 2.1 · Published
Approvers Process owner, lead business analyst
Last reviewed Quarterly

Overview

Plan-to-Produce covers how the company forecasts demand, plans supply, buys components and builds finished products. Planning happens in the supply chain planning tool; execution – purchase orders, work orders and inventory – happens in ERP and the procurement system.

Scope

In scope: demand forecasting, supply planning, material requirements, purchase orders to suppliers and contract manufacturers, work orders, goods receipt and inventory updates.

Out of scope: indirect (non-production) purchasing (see Raising a purchase request) and customer order fulfilment (see Order-to-Cash).

Process flow

flowchart TD
    A[Sales forecast and<br/>bookings] --> B[Demand plan<br/>Planning tool]
    B --> C[Supply plan and<br/>constraints]
    C --> D[Planned orders]
    D --> E{Buy or make?}
    E -- Buy --> F[Purchase order<br/>ERP / Procurement]
    E -- Make --> G[Work order<br/>ERP]
    F --> H[Goods received]
    G --> I[Production at<br/>contract manufacturer]
    H --> I
    I --> J[Finished goods<br/>in inventory]
    J --> K[Available to<br/>Order-to-Cash]

Roles and responsibilities

Role Responsibility
Demand planner Builds and reviews the demand forecast with sales and finance
Supply planner Balances demand against capacity and inventory, releases planned orders
Buyer Converts planned orders to purchase orders and manages suppliers
Manufacturing operations Manages work orders with contract manufacturers
Inventory control Records receipts, transfers and cycle counts in ERP

Process stages

1. Demand planning

  1. Bookings history and the sales forecast are loaded into the planning tool.
  2. Planners review the statistical forecast, apply adjustments and publish the consensus demand plan monthly.

2. Supply planning

  1. The planning tool nets demand against on-hand inventory, open orders and lead times.
  2. It generates planned purchase and work orders and flags constraints (capacity, shortages).

3. Procurement

  1. Approved planned purchase orders are sent to ERP and the procurement system.
  2. Buyers confirm quantities, prices and delivery dates with suppliers.

Common issue

A planned order fails to convert if the item has no approved supplier in ERP. Ask the buyer to add the supplier to the item record.

4. Production

  1. Work orders are released to the contract manufacturer with the bill of materials.
  2. Component consumption and finished quantities are reported back to ERP.

5. Receipt and inventory

  1. Finished goods are received into inventory and become available to promise.
  2. Actual receipts flow back to the planning tool for the next planning cycle.

Key data handoffs

From To Data Frequency
ERP Planning tool Inventory, open POs, work orders, bookings Daily
Planning tool ERP Planned and rescheduled orders Daily / on release
ERP Procurement Approved purchase orders On release
Procurement ERP Supplier confirmations, receipts, invoices On event

Controls and KPIs

  • Forecast accuracy – forecast vs actual demand
  • On-time delivery from suppliers
  • Inventory turns and days of supply
  • Shortage count – items below safety stock