How to See Net Requirements for a Product in EDGEBIC

Seeing net requirements for a product in EDGEBIC means reading three columns on the inventory calendar together: demand, projected on hand, and suggested. In EDGEBIC by User Solutions the net requirement is what remains after on-hand stock and scheduled receipts are applied to demand, and it shows up as the projected balance going negative with a suggested quantity sized to close the gap. This guide walks the read: open the calendar, understand each column, and find where and by how much the product runs short.

For the general concept, see net requirements explained and the MRP net requirements calculation. For the wider planning layer, read forecasting and replenishment explained. This is documented behavior of EDGEBIC; the full task set is in the how-to hub.

Before You Start

• You need a product visible in the inventory calendar, ideally make-to-stock and stocked if you want suggestions.
• Have demand in place: forecast entries, confirmed sales order lines, or both.
• Pick a horizon long enough to reach the shortfall you are looking for.

Step 1: Open the Inventory Calendar

Navigate to the inventory calendar and select the product from the product dropdown. Choose a bucket size and a horizon, then let the grid load. The calendar shows the time-phased projection: one row per bucket, with the demand and supply columns you are about to read.

Step 2: Read the Demand Column

The demand column shows gross requirements after forecast consumption. It is not simply forecast plus firm: the product's consumption rule nets the two so a confirmed order that covers part of a forecast does not double-count. To see the raw streams, read the forecast and firm columns separately. Demand is the netted figure the projection plans against.

Step 3: Read the Projected On Hand Column

The projected on hand column is the running available balance. It carries forward:

• First bucket: opening on hand plus receipts minus demand.
• Each later bucket: the previous bucket's projected balance, plus its receipts, minus its demand.

A negative value means demand exceeds supply in that bucket. Because the balance accumulates, one early shortfall drags every later bucket down until a receipt lifts it. This column is the clearest single read of where a product runs short and by how much.

A worked example makes the carry-forward concrete. Take a product opening with 40 on hand and no scheduled receipts across four weekly buckets with demand of 15, 15, 20, and 10:

The shortfall starts in week 3, where the balance first goes negative by 10, and week 4 inherits that hole and deepens it to 20. The net requirement is the 10 that week 3 is short, and without a receipt it compounds. That is exactly the signal the suggested column responds to.

Step 4: Read the Suggested Column

The suggested column shows the quantity the engine recommends to prevent the projected stockout, sized to the product's lot-sizing rule. A non-zero suggestion means the projected balance would dip below the trigger in that bucket without an order. It is advisory: it proposes a quantity with arithmetic behind it, and it creates nothing until you act on it.

Step 5: Use the Summary Readings

The calendar surfaces summary values so you do not have to scan every row:

Read the stockout date first. If it is empty and the projected balance stays comfortably positive, the product needs nothing this cycle.

What the Net Requirement Actually Is

Put the three columns together and the net requirement falls out. Demand is what the product needs. Projected on hand applies existing stock and scheduled receipts to that demand and carries the result forward. Where the balance goes negative, that shortfall is the net requirement in the bucket, and the suggested quantity is the engine's proposal to cover it. For turning a suggestion into an actual build, see how to firm an MPS quantity into a job.

Net Requirement Versus Available-to-Promise

The calendar carries a second forward-looking column, available-to-promise, and it is easy to confuse with the net requirement. They answer opposite questions. The net requirement is about supply: what you must build to cover demand the projected balance cannot meet. Available-to-promise is about commitment: how many units you can still promise to a new customer order without breaking the plan. Available-to-promise is driven by firm demand only, so forecast does not consume it, which means a product can show healthy available-to-promise while a large forecast is still looming. Read the net requirement to decide what to build; read available-to-promise to decide what you can promise. Confusing the two leads to over-promising against supply you have not yet planned.

How to Check It Worked

Confirm the grid loaded with real buckets and that the demand, projected on hand, and suggested columns carry values. Find the first negative projected balance and confirm it matches the projected stockout date summary. If the suggested column is zero where you expected a shortage, that points to a product policy gap rather than a read error.

Common Mistakes

• Reading demand as forecast plus firm. It nets the two under the consumption rule, so it is usually less than the raw sum. Read the streams separately.
• Ignoring the accumulating balance. Projected on hand carries forward. A later negative may originate from an earlier shortfall, so trace back to where the balance first turned down.
• Expecting a suggestion without the right policy. A zero suggestion usually means the product is not make-to-stock and stocked, has no reorder method, or has zero trigger levels. Check those before assuming the shortfall is missing.
• Confusing available-to-promise with the net requirement. Available-to-promise is about what you can still commit to customers; the net requirement is about what you must build. They are different columns answering different questions.

What Comes Next

Once you can read the shortfall, extend the view with how to set a planning horizon and how to change the MPS bucket size. The how-to hub links every neighboring task.