What is MRP Area And How Is It defined

What is MRP Area. How it is defined? What are the points to be considered while defining a MRP Area?

The MRP area is an organizational unit for which material requirements planning can be carried out independently outside of total plant level MRP run which is done using MD01 for entire plant. by creating a specific scope of planning and is maintained in the MRP view of the material master

But first you need to create it in SPRO and if needed assign the storage locations or materials masters to the mrp area and MRP with MRP areas for the material is not activated until the material has been assigned to an MRP area. If you have not assigned a material to an MRP area, that is, you have not created an MRP area segment in the material master, the material will continue to be planned in the plant MRP area only.

Basically, there are three types of MRP area:

1. Plant MRP Area

The plant MRP area initially contains the plant together with all its storage locations and stock with subcontractors.  When you have defined the other 2 types of MRP areas for storage locations and for subcontractors and you have assigned the materials, the plant MRP area is reduced by exactly this number of subcontractors and storage locations. This is because they are now to be planned separately.

2. MRP Areas for Storage Locations

You can define an MRP area that consists of a particular storage location, by creating an MRP area and assigning the storage location to it. Material requirements for this storage location are then planned separately from the rest of the plant.

You can also group several storage locations into one MRP area, by creating an MRP area and assigning the storage locations to it. These storage locations are then planned together.

3. MRP Areas for Subcontractors

You can also define an MRP area for each subcontractor.

A subcontractor may be assigned to only one MRP area. 

Advantages of using MRP area and highlights.

1. You can carry out MRP specifically for the determined MRP areas. This enables you to carry out differentiated material requirements planning.

2. Finished products and important assemblies intended for make-to-order or engineer-to-order production are always planned in the plant MRP area

3. The planning run takes into account the planning with MRP areas as follows:

4. If you do not enter a separate scope of planning, the system plans the whole plant, that is, all MRP areas in the plant, during the total planning run. If you want to carry out a total planning run for a particular MRP area only, you must specify the required MRP area in the scope of planning.

5. During single-item, multi-level planning, the system plans the selected material in the MRP area entered. In addition, the system takes into account planning file entries from other MRP areas, for example, if the material is to be procured using stock transfer.

6. During single-item, single-level planning, the system plans the selected material in the MRP area entered only.

Now, for running the cycle for MRP areas, we need to define in SPRO.

IMG -> Production Planning -> MRP -> Master data -> Define MRP Areas

Specify Area types 

01 - Plant MRP Area,

02 - Storage Location MRP Area

03 - Sub contractor MRP Area.

After defining MRP area, assign the material to the specific MRP area in the MRP1 view of the Material master and define the MRP1 & 2 views specific for those areas.

Enter the requirements for the specific MRP areas, if you do not enter the MRP area, MRP area by default will be picked as Plant MRP area.

Also, need to run MRP, by entering appropriate MRP area.

Stock/Rqmts list to be selected by entering the MRP area in the selection screen.