Convert MRP Planned Purchase Orders to Purchase Orders in NetSuite

The quick answer

In Planning Workbench, check the planned purchase order's pegging, select it on the Supply tab, and click Release Selected Orders. Release doesn't create a purchase order. Open Order Items, click the Planned Orders tab, check the released rows, adjust quantity or vendor if you need to, and click Submit. NetSuite creates the purchase orders, normally one per vendor, and each planned order changes to Implemented with Transaction Created linking to its purchase order.

The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.

Before you start

You need Supply Planning enabled, items with Replenishment Method set to Material Requirements Planning, and a supply plan that has already been calculated. If you want the pegging view, the plan has to generate pegging. The role needs access to the supply plan, Planning Workbench, planned orders, Order Items and purchase orders. Each purchased item needs a vendor and purchase price that are valid for its subsidiary and location. In this example the plan is Purchased furniture, the location is Harrisburg, the role is a purchasing manager, and the plan also uses forecast demand. Menu placement can vary by role and custom centers. Here Order Items is under Transactions > Inventory > Order Items.

01. Open the calculated plan

Open the plan's results from Transactions > Supply Planning, for example from Supply Plan Definitions or the Supply Planning Event Log. The header tells you which calculation you're reading: Supply Plan Definition Purchased furniture, Planning Horizon 10/02/2026 - 01/29/2027, Repository Refreshed 10/02/2026 6:10 am and Results Generated 6:24 am. Releasing or implementing orders doesn't recalculate the plan. The workbench keeps showing this result until the plan runs again.

In Item Filters, set Replenishment Method to Material Requirements Planning and select Harrisburg in the location tree. In Results Summary, Ash Side Table shows On-Hand 8, and under Message / Order Counts, Supply 2 and Demand 4. Those counts are entries, not units. Click the Ash Side Table Supply count.

Planning Workbench for Purchased furniture with Replenishment Method Material Requirements Planning and Harrisburg selected, with Ash Side Table showing On-Hand 8, Supply 2 and Demand 4. — Ash Side Table at Harrisburg: 8 on hand, 2 supply entries, 4 demand entries.

02. Check why MRP proposed the order

The Supply tab lists On-Hand Quantity 8 Ea and Planned Purchase Order #20414: start 10/07/2026, end 10/23/2026, 72 Ea from Ridgeline Woodcraft, with Firm cleared. Click the pegging icon on the #20414 row.

The Supply tab for Ash Side Table lists On-Hand Quantity 8 and Planned Purchase Order #20414 for 72 Ea, 10/07/2026 to 10/23/2026, from Ridgeline Woodcraft. — The pegging icon on the #20414 row opens the demand behind the 72 Ea.

Expand the order in the Planned Purchase Order #20414 Pegging dialog. Four demand rows are pegged to it: Item Demand Plan 28 of 28, Sales Order #SO-4418 12 of 12, Item Demand Plan 28 of 28 and Sales Order #SO-4436 4 of 12. That adds up to the 72 Ea on the planned order. SO-4436 needs 12 Ea, but only 4 are pegged here, because the plan nets the 8 Ea on hand against the rest. The Item Demand Plan rows are forecast that the sales orders didn't consume. Pegging explains the plan. It doesn't allocate or reserve stock, and the Allocated column is empty. Close the dialog.

The Planned Purchase Order #20414 Pegging dialog lists two Item Demand Plan rows of 28, Sales Order SO-4418 pegged 12 of 12 and Sales Order SO-4436 pegged 4 of 12. — 28 + 12 + 28 + 4 = 72. SO-4436 gets only 4 because the 8 on hand cover the rest.

03. Release the planned purchase orders

Click Return to Summary, then open the Supply tab for all items at Harrisburg. In Message / Order Filters, set Supply Type to Planned Purchase Order. Two rows remain: #20414 Ash Side Table 72 Ea and #20415 Oak Plant Stand 3 Ea. Check both rows and click Release Selected Orders. When the dialog asks "Release 2 selected order(s)?", click OK.

With Supply Type set to Planned Purchase Order, planned orders #20414 and #20415 are checked and the Release Selected Orders dialog asks Release 2 selected order(s)? — Both planned purchase orders are checked, and the dialog confirms the count before release.

A Processing message says the orders were submitted for processing, with a link to the status page. Check that page if a release fails. Both rows are still listed because the workbench shows the last calculated result. No purchase order exists yet.

Planning Workbench shows the Processing message Orders have been submitted for processing, with View the status page, while #20414 and #20415 remain listed. — Release submits the orders for processing. It doesn't create purchase orders.

04. Create the purchase orders in Order Items

Open Order Items, set Location to Harrisburg and click the Planned Orders tab. Keep Order Start Date and Order End Date wide enough to include the order dates, here 10/02/2026 to 11/02/2026. Compare the rows with the workbench: Planned Order 20414 for Ash Side Table, 72 Ea, vendor Ridgeline Woodcraft, and Planned Order 20415 for Oak Plant Stand, 3 Ea, vendor Northfork Supply.

The Order Items Planned Orders tab lists planned order 20414 for Ash Side Table, 72, Ridgeline Woodcraft and planned order 20415 for Oak Plant Stand, 3, Northfork Supply. — The two released planned orders on the Planned Orders tab, with their vendors.

This week both suppliers only ship full cartons, and the item setup doesn't cover that. Scroll the grid right. The planned quantity sits in the first Quantity column and can't be edited. The editable Quantity column next to the rate is what goes on the purchase order. Change it from 72 to 75 and from 3 to 8. At rates 118.00 and 64.00 the line totals become 8,850.00 and 512.00. The override changes only the purchase orders you're about to create, not the MRP result. If you always need full cartons, set that up as a permanent rule, such as lot sizing, on the item and item-location records.

Scrolled right, the Planned Orders grid shows the editable Quantity fields changed to 75 and 8, with totals 8,850.00 and 512.00, while the first Quantity column still reads 72 and 3. — Edit the second Quantity column. The first one keeps the planned 72 and 3.

Check both rows. Leave To Be Printed, To Be Emailed and To Be Faxed cleared. Total reads 9,362.00, the two lines together. Click Submit.

Both planned order rows are checked on the Planned Orders tab and the Total above the tabs reads 9,362.00. — With both rows checked, Total reads 9,362.00 before Submit.

05. Confirm the purchase orders and trace them back

The Processed Purchase Orders page lists one row per vendor, Ridgeline Woodcraft and Northfork Supply, starting at Not Started. Click Refresh until both rows reach a finished status. Here both show Complete: PO-8830 for 8,850.00 and PO-8831 for 512.00, with Error Message empty. Complete is the processing result. Approval Status Pending Approval is the new purchase order's own status, because this account routes purchase orders for approval. If a line fails, read its error and search for purchase orders that already exist before you retry only the failed lines.

Processed Purchase Orders lists Ridgeline Woodcraft PO-8830 for 8,850.00 and Northfork Supply PO-8831 for 512.00, both Complete and Pending Approval, total 9,362.00. — In this example Order Items created one purchase order per vendor, both Complete with no error message.

Open Planned Purchase Order #20414, for example from Transactions > Supply Planning > Planned Orders. Its status is Implemented, Released is checked, and Transaction Created links to Purchase Order #PO-8830. The planned order keeps its planned quantity of 72, while the purchase order has the 75 you entered. Firmed is also checked on this record. Firmed is a separate flag that keeps later planning runs from deleting or rescheduling the order.

Planned Purchase Order 20414 shows status Implemented, Released checked and Transaction Created Purchase Order #PO-8830. — Transaction Created links the planned order to the purchase order it became.

Purchase order PO-8830 for Ridgeline Woodcraft at Harrisburg, Pending Approval, with one line of 75 Ea Ash Side Table at 118.00 for 8,850.00, Received 0 and Billed 0. — The planned order stays at 72 Ea. PO-8830 carries the 75 Ea override at 118.00, with nothing received or billed.

Check the result

Processed Purchase Orders shows PO-8830 for 8,850.00 and PO-8831 for 512.00, both Complete with no error message.
Planned Purchase Order #20414 is Implemented and Transaction Created links Purchase Order #PO-8830.
PO-8830 is for Ridgeline Woodcraft at Harrisburg: 75 Ea of Ash Side Table at 118.00.
Received and Billed are both 0. The goods still have to be received.

Implemented means the purchase order exists. It doesn't mean the order is approved, sent, received or billed. PO-8830 is still Pending Approval here. Keep the purchase order lines that came from the planned order. If someone removes or replaces them, the planned order can lose its Transaction Created link.

Common questions

Does Release Selected Orders create a purchase order?

No. Release marks the planned orders as released and submits them for processing. The purchase order only exists after you check the released rows on the Planned Orders tab of Order Items and click Submit.

Why don't my released planned orders show up on Order Items?

Check the filters first. Location has to match the planned orders, and Order Start Date and Order End Date have to cover their order dates. Then open the planned order and confirm Released is checked, because a release that failed in processing never reaches Order Items. Role permissions and account setup can also hide the tab.

Can I change the vendor or quantity before creating the purchase order?

Yes. The editable Quantity on the Planned Orders tab is what goes on the purchase order, which is how 72 became 75 in this example. You can usually pick a different vendor too, as long as it's valid for the item. Neither change touches the MRP result, so if you always order in cartons, set that up on the item instead.

Why did MRP propose this quantity?

Open the pegging for the planned order. It lists the demand the order covers, here two forecast rows of 28 and two sales orders, after on-hand stock is netted. The 8 Ea on hand covered most of SO-4436, so only 4 of its 12 were pegged, and the total came to 72. Lot sizing and order multiples on the item can round that number up.

What does Implemented mean on a planned purchase order?

It means NetSuite created a purchase order from it. Transaction Created on the planned order links to that purchase order, which is the quickest way to find it. Implemented doesn't mean the purchase order was approved, sent, received or billed. PO-8830 was still Pending Approval with nothing received.