Significance of Production-Related Calendars in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations or Dynamics AX

Editor's Note: This article is drawn from the recently published book by Dr. Hamilton about master planning in manufacturing. It represents the second of a 2-part article about SCM-related calendars. The contents apply to those firms using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations as well as previous versions of Dynamics AX because the functionality related to production-related calendars has essentially stayed the same.

Several types of calendar assignments provide critical information for coordinating supply chain management (SCM) activities in manufacturing and distribution. For manufacturers, the calendar assignments for production resources are especially important because they define the working hours for production scheduling purposes. Other types of calendar assignments - for warehouses, vendors, customers, and modes of delivery - are also important, and they were described in the first of this 2-part article about SCM-related calendars. This second article focuses on production-related calendars.

The calendars for production resources are relevant when scheduling planned and actual production orders based on routing data for manufactured items. The working hours within the calendar comprise a key element in defining a resource's maximum capacity during open dates, and the aggregate maximum capacity of its resource group. Several other considerations affect this maximum capacity. Use of this calendar information differs based on the choice of a scheduling method (of operations scheduling versus job scheduling), and how you define the resource requirements for an operation. Additional aspects of the calendar for a production resource include support for block scheduling ...