Forecasting and Master Production Scheduling with Epicor Kinetic

Because “winging it” is not a production strategy

In manufacturing, surprises are expensive.

Late materials. Overtime labor. Missed ship dates. Excess inventory quietly aging in a corner of the warehouse.

Most of these problems don’t start on the shop floor — they start in poor forecasting and weak master production scheduling.

Epicor Kinetic tackles this head-on by combining forecasting, Master Production Scheduling (MPS), and MRP into one integrated planning workflow. No disconnected spreadsheets. No “we’ll fix it in expediting.” Just a forward-looking plan that production, purchasing, and operations can actually trust.

At Data V Tech Solutions, we help manufacturers and distributors implement Epicor Kinetic in a way that turns planning from reactive firefighting into a controlled, data-driven process.

Let’s break down how it works.

Why forecasting matters (and why most ERP setups fail at it)

Forecasting in Epicor Kinetic is not a vague “sales guess.” It’s a time-phased demand signal, defined by:

• Item
• Site
• Date
• Quantity

Forecasts represent independent demand — what the market is expected to consume — and they directly feed MPS and MRP when configured correctly.

Forecasts can be:

• Entered manually
• Imported from tools like Epicor Smart IP&O or Forecast Pro
• Built for finished goods, kits, or even components

This means manufacturers can model:

• Seasonality
• Trends
• Intermittent demand
• Promotional spikes

…without forcing planners to become amateur statisticians inside Excel.

Key benefit: Forecasts stop production planning from being driven solely by yesterday’s orders.

How Epicor Kinetic connects forecasting to MRP

Epicor Kinetic’s MRP engine treats forecasts as real demand, not decorative data.

MRP nets:

• On-hand inventory
• Open sales orders
• Open purchase orders
• Job supply
• Forecasted demand

…and explodes that demand through multi-level BOMs to generate:

• Planned production jobs
• Purchase suggestions

When forecasts are present, replenishment logic becomes smarter:

• Reorder point = Min + Safety Stock + Forecasted demand over lead time
• Suggested quantities reflect projected consumption, not gut feel

This is where manufacturers move from:

“We ran out again”

to

“We planned for that.”

Master Production Scheduling (MPS): the control tower

Forecasts predict demand.

MPS decides how you respond to it.

In Epicor Kinetic, MPS allows planners to:

• Define production quantities for key “master” items
• Work in weekly or daily buckets
• Copy demand directly from forecasts
• Smooth production before releasing full MRP

MPS typically applies to:

• Finished goods
• High-impact subassemblies
• Bottleneck-driving items

Once entered in MPS Entry, planners can review the schedule, adjust volumes, and then use it as a primary demand signal for MRP.

Important rule:

If both a forecast and an MPS exist for the same item, MPS wins.

That’s not a bug — that’s control.

The Forecast → MPS → MRP planning loop (best practice)

A proven Epicor Kinetic planning workflow looks like this:

1. Build forecasts (inside Kinetic or using Smart IP&O / Forecast Pro)
2. Import forecasts into Kinetic
3. Copy selected forecast lines into MPS for master items
4. Adjust MPS to level capacity and protect constraints
5. Run MRP using MPS as the demand driver
6. Review material and capacity impact
7. Iterate until the plan is feasible
8. Release jobs and purchase orders

Epicor Kinetic’s planning tools support scenario testing and impact analysis, so planners can see overloads before they become shop-floor emergencies.

Less chaos. More control.

Extending forecasting with Epicor Smart IP&O

For manufacturers with complex demand patterns, Epicor Smart IP&O adds another layer of intelligence.

Smart IP&O provides:

• AI-enabled demand planning
• Inventory optimization by service level
• Automatic policy recalibration
• Probabilistic safety stock calculations

Forecasts and stocking policies flow back into Epicor Kinetic, where execution happens.

The result:

• Better forecasts
• Smarter inventory levels
• Fewer stockouts
• Less excess inventory

In short: planning that learns instead of guessing.

Why this matters for manufacturers and distributors

When forecasting, MPS, and MRP are aligned in Epicor Kinetic, companies achieve:

• More stable production schedules
• Reduced expediting and overtime
• Improved service levels
• Lower inventory carrying costs
• Clear visibility across demand, supply, and capacity

This is not theoretical ERP value. This is operational survival in volatile markets.

How Data V Tech Solutions makes it work

Epicor Kinetic is powerful — but only if implemented correctly.

At Data V Tech Solutions Company Ltd., we help manufacturers and distributors:

• Design realistic forecasting and MPS strategies
• Configure Kinetic planning parameters correctly
• Integrate Smart IP&O or third-party forecasting tools
• Train planners to trust (and use) the system
• Replace spreadsheet-driven planning with ERP-driven execution

We focus on practical outcomes, not checkbox implementations.

If your current planning process feels like controlled panic, it’s time to fix the root cause.