The quick answer
Open the plan with View Results, select the Exception count for the item and read the row. Then open the Demand and Supply tabs, select the pegging icon on the planned order and expand it. The pegging shows the requirement the planned order covers, here a Safety Stock requirement. Compare the Pegged and Total values and the dates with the exception's Date and Quantity. Opening the pegging does not change anything. You decide what to do, then refresh the planning repository and run the plan again.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Your dates, quantities and lead times will differ.
Before you start
In this example, a supply planner at a hardware maker sees that Door Hinge DH-52 at Portland has an exception in the Hardware replenishment plan. The plan starts 11/03/2026, and the exception says a planned purchase order cannot start early enough. The planner wants to know which demand is behind it and how far the plan missed.
Planning Workbench shows the last calculation of a supply plan. It is a snapshot, so a change to an order, a lead time or a date does not appear until you refresh the planning repository and run the plan again. Supply Planning has to be enabled, the item has to be in the plan's scope with Material Requirements Planning as its replenishment method, and the plan definition needs Generate Pegging checked for the pegging dialog to have data. You need a role that can view supply plan results. Changing or releasing a planned order can need separate permission. Menu labels can differ by release and role.
01. Open the calculated plan
Go to Transactions > Supply Planning > Supply Plan Definitions. On Hardware replenishment, select View Results. The Planning Workbench header says which calculation you are reading: the plan, its Planning Horizon starting 11/03/2026, when the Repository Refreshed and when the Results Generated.
02. Find the exception
In Results Summary, find Door Hinge DH-52. It shows an Exception count of 1 and an On-Hand quantity of 14. The counts are numbers of entries, not units. The Action count of 1 on that row is a separate recommendation to consider releasing the planned purchase order, which this walkthrough does not follow. Select the Exception count to open the Exception tab. Open the Exception Type filter and choose Insufficient Lead Time. One row remains.
The row reads Insufficient lead time for proposed Planned Purchase Order by 10 day(s), with Date 10/24/2026 and Quantity 22 Ea at Portland. The message says the order cannot start early enough. It does not say why.
03. Read the demand and supply
Select the Demand tab. Safety Stock is 36 Ea due 11/02/2026, and Work Order #WO-3187 is 6 Ea due 11/24/2026. Safety stock is a dated planning requirement. It is not a transaction.
Select the Supply tab. On-Hand Quantity is 14 Ea dated 11/02/2026. Planned Purchase Order #3305 is 22 Ea from 11/03/2026 to 11/12/2026. A second planned purchase order, #3306, covers the work order.
04. Trace the order with pegging
Select the pegging icon on Planned Purchase Order #3305 and expand its row. Safety Stock, dated 11/02/2026, shows Pegged 22 against Total 36. The planned order covers 22 Ea of the 36 Ea requirement. Pegging explains why the order was proposed. It does not reserve stock.
05. Reconcile the quantity and dates
Quantity. 36 Ea of safety stock less the 14 Ea on hand leaves 22 Ea. That is the Pegged value and the exception Quantity.
Dates. The planned order runs 11/03/2026 to 11/12/2026, a 9-day span that is consistent with the item's purchase lead time. Take 9 days back from the 11/02/2026 safety-stock requirement and you reach 10/24/2026, which is the exception Date in this result. The plan starts on 11/03/2026, 10 days after 10/24/2026. That is the "by 10 day(s)" in the message.
Treat this as a reading of this result, not as a formula. The Date on an exception is the date the alert is attached to, so check another result before you rely on the same arithmetic. The same exception can look different when lot sizing, a minimum order quantity, existing supply or another requirement shapes the planned order, so the order quantity does not always equal the exception quantity. Close the dialog. Nothing was released or changed. Decide what to do, such as asking the vendor for earlier delivery, finding supply elsewhere or correcting a lead time that is wrong. Releasing or changing a planned order is a separate decision, and it does not recalculate the exception by itself. Refresh the planning repository and run the plan again to see the exception recalculated from the new data.
Common questions
What does Insufficient Lead Time mean in Planning Workbench?
The plan could not schedule the proposed supply early enough for its requirement, given the date the plan starts. The exception row shows the Date the order had to start by and how many days the plan is past it. It is a warning about feasibility. Planning Workbench does not release the order or fix the exception.
How do I find the demand behind the exception?
Open the item's Supply tab, select the pegging icon on the planned order named in the exception and expand it. The pegged requirement is the demand the order covers. Compare its Pegged and Total values with the exception Quantity, and its date with the exception Date.
Why is the planned order quantity different from the exception quantity?
They match here because one safety-stock requirement drives the order and the item plans lot for lot. Lot sizing, a minimum or multiple order quantity, existing supply and other demand can change the order quantity. Check the Pegged value as well.
Is the lead time taken from the planned order's dates?
No. Check the Purchase Lead Time that applies to the item at that location, whether it is entered by hand or calculated, and whether your account counts calendar days. The planned order's dates in this example are consistent with a 9-day lead time, but they are a result, not the setting.
Can a time fence or planning setting keep the exception in place?
Yes. Planning and demand time fences, reschedule settings, lot sizing, firm or released supply and repository data that has not been refreshed can all stop the plan from moving an order earlier. Review those settings before you change an order or a lead time to clear an exception.
Does Planning Workbench fix the exception automatically?
No. Viewing the exception and expanding the pegging change nothing. Depending on your role, you can firm, reschedule, cancel or release a planned order, but each is a deliberate decision, and the exception stays until you refresh the planning repository and run the plan again with the new data. Releasing a planned order does not create a vendor-facing purchase order until you create it from the released order.