The quick answer
Create a planning item category and set it on each item in the product family, along with Replenishment Method Material Requirements Planning. Add that category to a planning item group, which selects the items a plan covers. Put any transfer sourcing in a planning rule group. Then create a supply plan definition that uses both groups and lists the locations and demand sources on its Scope subtab. Refresh the planning repository, click Launch MRP on the definition, and open the results in Planning Workbench.
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
This example plans one product family: the Canopy Fan CF-200 assembly, its Fan Motor Housing FM-20 subassembly, and two purchased components, Blade Set BS-5 and Motor Bracket MB-3. Everything is planned at Reno Plant, and Blade Set BS-5 can be transferred in from Sparks Warehouse. The account already has the family's bills of materials, item-location planning settings, sales order 7318, and two item demand plans for the canopy fan. You need the Administrator role or a supply-planning role that can create the MRP setup records, refresh the repository, and launch plans.
Check the feature first. Go to Setup > Company > Enable Features and open the Items & Inventory subtab. In the Inventory section, Material Requirements Planning must be checked. Without it, the Material Requirements Planning replenishment method and the planning pages below aren't there. This family also uses Multi-Location Inventory, Assembly Items, and Work Orders. A purchased-only family may not need Work Orders. Nothing needs to change here, so leave without saving.
Menu paths below are the ones in the account used for this example. If a page isn't where it says, search for its name in global search.
01. Create the planning item category
Go to Lists > Supply Planning > Planning Item Categories and click New. Enter Name Canopy Fans and a short Description, then click Save. Canopy Fans now shows in the list next to the categories that were already there.
A category on its own doesn't make anything plannable. It organizes items for supply planning so a planning item group can select them together.
02. Assign the category to each item
Open Canopy Fan CF-200 from Lists > Accounting > Items and click Edit. On the Purchasing/Inventory subtab, find the Inventory Management section. The item starts on Replenishment Method Reorder Point with no Planning Item Category.
Set Replenishment Method to Material Requirements Planning and Planning Item Category to Canopy Fans, then click Save. Repeat for Fan Motor Housing FM-20, Blade Set BS-5, and Motor Bracket MB-3.
The item also needs planning settings for each location it's planned at, such as lead time and how supply is sourced. This example leaves those alone. Each item has a Reno Plant row, and Blade Set BS-5 also has one for Sparks Warehouse.
03. Put the category in a planning item group
Go to Lists > Supply Planning > Planning Item Groups and click New. Enter Name Canopy Fan Planning. On the Planning Items subtab, set Item Type to Planning Item Category and Item / Item Category to Canopy Fans, click Add, then Save.
The group selects items through the category, so an item you give the Canopy Fans category later joins the group without editing it. To add a single item outside the category, add another row with Item Type Item. This example doesn't need one.
04. Add a transfer rule
Go to Lists > Supply Planning > Planning Rule Groups and click New. Enter Name Canopy Fan Transfers. On the Planning Rules subtab, set Item Type to Item, Item / Item Category to Blade Set BS-5, Location to Reno Plant, Source Location to Sparks Warehouse, and Lead Time (Days) to 2. Action shows Transfer and can't be changed on this form. Click Add, then Save.
The rule tells MRP to plan Reno Plant's Blade Set BS-5 supply as a transfer from Sparks Warehouse. It's an input to planning. Whether a planned transfer shows up still depends on demand, dates, location setup, and supply at Sparks Warehouse. A rule row can also name a planning item category. If you have both item and category rules, check which one applies in your account.
05. Point a supply plan definition at both groups
Go to Transactions > Supply Planning > Supply Plan Definitions and click New. Enter Name Canopy Fan MRP and Horizon (In Days) 90. Set Planning Item Group to Canopy Fan Planning and Planning Rule Group to Canopy Fan Transfers, and check Generate Pegging.
On the Scope subtab, add a row for each Location and Demand Source Type pair, using the values your account offers:
- Reno Plant, Sales Orders
- Reno Plant, Demand Plans
- Sparks Warehouse, Sales Orders
Click Save. The item group decides which items get planned. The Scope subtab decides which locations and demand sources MRP reads. Sparks Warehouse is in scope so its own sales-order demand is part of the same run. That doesn't guarantee there's supply there to transfer. Check Consume Forecast on a row when sales orders should use up matching forecast demand instead of adding to it. This example leaves it unchecked.
06. Refresh the planning repository
MRP reads item and transaction data from the planning repository, not from live records. The category and replenishment changes in step 02 aren't there until you refresh it.
Go to Transactions > Supply Planning > Refresh Planning Repository. Under Transfer Type, choose Complete Refresh. Net-Change Refresh with Item Setup and Transactions is lighter, but a complete refresh is the safe choice after new setup. Set the date range to cover the plan. If it starts too late, past-due demand or supply can be left out, and if it ends before the horizon, later transactions can be. This example uses 10/01/2026 to 03/31/2027. Leave Scope on Global Refresh, or pick Scoped Refresh to limit it to the items and locations of the definitions you select. Click Refresh data. Refresh again whenever you later change item planning settings, BOMs, or relevant transactions, before you rerun the plan.
The Planning Repository Event Log opens. Click Refresh until the new Planning Repository Refresh row shows Complete, 100.0%, and 0 Errors.
07. Launch MRP from the definition
Open Canopy Fan MRP from the Supply Plan Definitions list, check its groups and horizon, and click Launch MRP. Some releases label the button Launch. Open the Supply Planning Event Log and click Refresh. An MRP Initialization row and a Material Requirements Planning row appear for Canopy Fan MRP. Wait until both show Complete, 100.0%, and 0 Errors.
Scroll the log to the right. The Material Requirements Planning row has a View Results link in the Planning Workbench column.
08. Check the results in Planning Workbench
Click View Results. The header shows Supply Plan Definition Canopy Fan MRP, the Planning Horizon, which in this run is 10/05/2026 to 01/03/2027 (90 days from the run date), and when the repository was refreshed and the results generated. The refresh time should come after your setup changes. Leave Replenishment Method, Planning Item Category, and Item unfiltered under Item Filters.
In Results Summary, expand Canopy Fan CF-200. Fan Motor Housing FM-20 and Blade Set BS-5 sit under it, and Motor Bracket MB-3 sits under the housing.
Check the result
- Each of the four items shows Replenishment Method Material Requirements Planning and Planning Item Category Canopy Fans.
- Canopy Fan Planning has one row, Planning Item Category Canopy Fans, and Canopy Fan Transfers has the Blade Set BS-5 transfer rule.
- Canopy Fan MRP uses both groups, a 90-day horizon, and three Scope rows.
- The repository refresh and both MRP rows are Complete with 0 Errors.
- Planning Workbench names Canopy Fan MRP and lists all four family items.
To check one item, click its row. For Canopy Fan CF-200, the Demand subtab shows Reno Plant demand from sales order 7318 for 24 and two item demand plans for 36 and 30.
In this run, the Supply subtab starts with 14 on hand, then three planned work orders for 10, 36, and 30. The 14 on hand covers part of the 24 on the sales order, which leaves 10 to make, and each demand plan is made in full. Your quantities depend on your own lead times, lot sizing, and safety stock. Reviewing and releasing those planned orders is a separate workflow.
Planning Workbench shows the calculated result for this plan and your filters. It doesn't tell you why something is missing. If a family item is missing, check its replenishment method, category, location setup, and demand, and make sure the repository refresh ran after you changed it. Don't assume the item group excluded it.
Common questions
What's the difference between a planning item category and a planning item group?
A planning item category is set on the item record and organizes related items, like the four Canopy Fan items here. A planning item group is what a supply plan definition uses to select items. Its rows can name a whole category or individual items, so one category row picks up every item that carries it.
How do I limit an MRP run to one product family?
Give the family's items one planning item category, add that category to a planning item group, and select the group on the supply plan definition. The run plans the items that group selects, as long as each one is set to Material Requirements Planning and has planning settings at the locations in scope. Which fields you see can vary with the features enabled in your account.
What does a planning rule group do?
It holds sourcing rules between locations. Here, one rule says Blade Set BS-5 at Reno Plant comes from Sparks Warehouse by transfer with a 2-day lead time. MRP uses it as an input, so whether a planned transfer appears still depends on demand, dates, and supply at the source.
Do I need to refresh the planning repository after changing MRP setup?
Yes, when you change item planning settings (including replenishment method and category), BOMs, or relevant transactions, because MRP reads the repository, not live records. If you only changed a supply plan definition, item group, or rule group, save it and run the plan again. Refresh as well if your account's planning process expects it.
What does the Scope subtab control?
It lists the locations the plan reads and the demand source types read at each one, such as Reno Plant sales orders, Reno Plant demand plans, and Sparks Warehouse sales orders. It doesn't pick items. The planning item group does that.