How to Group Jobs in Epicor Using Days of Supply for Make Direct Parts

Manufacturers using Epicor ERP often encounter situations where many small sales order releases generate an excessive number of production jobs. When every release creates its own job, the result can be a large volume of work orders that increase planning effort, scheduling complexity, and administrative overhead.

Epicor provides a useful planning parameter that can help address this challenge. By configuring the Days of Supply field on a part record, the planning engine can group demand that occurs within a defined time window into fewer production jobs.

This article explains how Days of Supply works, how to configure it, and how it affects job creation when working with parts supplied using the Make Direct method.

Why Job Consolidation Matters

In many make-to-order environments, it is common for customers to place multiple orders for small quantities of the same product over a short period of time. Without additional planning parameters, Epicor typically generates one job for each sales order release.

While this behavior ensures traceability between orders and production, it can also create unnecessary complexity. A production planner may end up managing dozens of small jobs that could have been manufactured together in a single batch.

When appropriate, consolidating demand into fewer jobs can provide several operational benefits:

• Reduced number of work orders to manage

• Less administrative effort for planners and schedulers

• Improved manufacturing efficiency through larger production runs

• Simplified shop floor coordination

The Days of Supply parameter allows Epicor to automatically group demand within a specified time window so that production can run more efficiently.

Understanding the Days of Supply Parameter

Days of Supply is a planning field in Part Maintenance that defines the number of days Epicor should consider when grouping demand during the MRP or MPS process.

When this field contains a value, the planning engine evaluates demand dates and groups releases that fall within that time window into a single supply recommendation.

For example, if a part has 7 Days of Supply, Epicor will group demand that occurs within a seven-day period when generating jobs.

This parameter is often used for parts that:

• Are produced frequently in small quantities

• Are manufactured only when needed

• Benefit from batching production

Days of Supply does not change the demand itself. Instead, it affects how the planning engine consolidates that demand when creating supply.

Step 1: Configure Days of Supply in Part Maintenance

Begin by opening Part Maintenance and locating the part you want to configure.

Navigate to the Planning settings and find the Days of Supply field. Enter the number of days Epicor should use as the grouping window during the planning process.

For example, entering 7 means that demand occurring within a seven-day period may be grouped together into a single job recommendation.

This configuration is commonly used for parts that:

• Are Non-Stock, meaning they are not maintained in inventory

• Use the Make Direct supply method so production is generated directly from demand

Once a value is entered in the Days of Supply field, Epicor will evaluate demand dates during the planning process and group releases that fall within that defined window.

Part Maintenance showing the Days of Supply field in the Planning settings.

Step 2: Verify the Supply Method in the Sales Order

Next, confirm that the Sales Order Release uses the Make Direct supply method.

Make Direct instructs Epicor to create production jobs specifically for that order’s demand rather than fulfilling the requirement from inventory.

When Days of Supply is configured for the part, the system can still generate jobs from demand while allowing multiple releases to contribute to the same job when their demand dates fall within the defined planning window.

This combination allows manufacturers to maintain make-to-order production while reducing unnecessary job creation.

Step 3: Run MRP or MPS

After the part configuration and sales orders are in place, run MRP or MPS.

During the planning process, Epicor evaluates several factors:

• Demand quantity

• Demand date

• Supply method

• The Days of Supply value defined on the part

The planning engine then groups demand sequentially based on the defined time window. If multiple releases fall within that window, their quantities are consolidated into a single planned job.

nstead of generating a job for every release, Epicor creates jobs based on grouped demand periods.

Practical Example

Consider the following scenario.

A product is configured with the following settings:

• Part Type: Non-Stock

• Supply Method: Make Direct

• Days of Supply: 7 days

A customer places ten orders for the same product, each requiring one piece, with the following demand dates:

09/01 – 1 piece

09/02 – 1 piece

09/03 – 1 piece

09/04 – 1 piece

09/05 – 1 piece

09/06 – 1 piece

09/07 – 1 piece

09/08 – 1 piece

09/09 – 1 piece

09/10 – 1 piece

During the MRP run, Epicor evaluates the demand dates relative to the seven-day planning window.

The system groups the first seven days of demand into one job and the remaining demand into a second job.

Result:

Job 1: 7 pieces covering demand from 09/01 through 09/07

Job 2: 3 pieces covering demand from 09/08 through 09/10

Instead of generating ten individual jobs, Epicor creates two jobs that cover the grouped demand within each planning window.

MRP results showing grouped job quantities generated from multiple sales order releases.

Operational Benefits

Using Days of Supply to group demand can significantly simplify production planning in certain environments.

Organizations often see improvements such as:

Reduced job volume

Fewer work orders reduce planning effort and system clutter.

Improved production efficiency

Larger batch sizes can reduce machine setup time and improve throughput.

Cleaner MRP results

Planning output becomes easier to review and manage.

Simplified shop floor execution

Production teams work with fewer jobs and more predictable schedules.

When to Use This Configuration

Although Days of Supply can be extremely helpful, it should be used carefully. Grouping demand changes how production is scheduled and may increase the quantity produced in a single job.

This configuration is typically appropriate when:

• Orders frequently arrive in small quantities

• Production efficiency improves when jobs are batched

• The part is produced on demand rather than stocked

• Delivery dates allow some flexibility within a short planning window

However, it may not be appropriate when strict traceability between individual orders and jobs is required.

Final Thoughts

Epicor includes several planning parameters that can significantly influence how production jobs are generated. The Days of Supply setting is a practical tool that helps reduce unnecessary job creation by grouping demand within a defined time period.

When configured appropriately, this parameter can simplify job management, improve production efficiency, and produce clearer planning results.

Understanding how planning settings like Days of Supply interact with supply methods such as Make Direct allows manufacturers to align Epicor’s planning behavior with their real production workflows.