Lead Time Information

MAC-PAC uses lead time information defined on the Part Master File to determine when production should be started or when a purchase order should be placed to ensure each item is available at the start of the period when it is needed.  After the planning modules determine the period when demand for an item occurs, they calculate the lead time to determine how many days before the start of that period a manufacturing order should be released or a purchase order should be placed.  The Lead Time Code field determines what method will be used to calculate the lead time.  There are two ways you can specify lead time:

·     Fixed lead time.  The time required to produce the part (or get delivery from a vendor) is the same no matter how many items are ordered.  The number of days to allow for delivery is entered in the Fixed Lead Time Days field.  An order for the required quantity is placed this number of days before the item is needed.  Fixed lead time must always be specified for purchased parts.

·     Variable lead time.  The lead time for a manufactured part is calculated based on the number of items ordered and the following fields:  Setup Days, Transit Days, and Run Units.  If any part of the lead time is fixed, you can enter the fixed number of days in the Fixed Lead Time Days field and it will be added to the total calculated lead time. 

If you like, you can also enter a cumulative lead time for each item.  The cumulative lead time is the number of days it takes to deliver the item from when work is begun from its lowest level component.  Whether or not you enter this information, MAC-PAC will begin production of the lowest-level components at the correct time because it creates time-phased orders for all components within each level of the item's product structure.