How to Set a Time Fence in EDGEBIC

Setting a time fence in EDGEBIC happens on the product's planning attributes, where two fields define near-term windows: demand time fence days and planning time fence days. In EDGEBIC by User Solutions each is a count of days, and buckets whose start falls inside the window are flagged frozen on the master production schedule grid. The fence is a visual boundary that marks where you have agreed not to make automatic changes. This guide covers setting both fences and reading them on the grid.

For the concepts behind fences, firm demand, and forecast consumption, read firm demand, forecast, and time fences. For the general idea of a planning zone, see the time fence glossary. This is documented behavior of EDGEBIC; the full task set is in the how-to hub.

Before You Start

• You need the product open in its planning attributes (the inventory planning section of the product record).
• Decide the two windows: how many near-term days should count only firm demand, and how many near-term days should suppress automatic suggestions.
• Understand that the fence is advisory: it flags buckets, it does not lock them.

Step 1: Open the Product's Inventory Planning Attributes

Open the product and go to its inventory planning section, where the stocking and planning fields live: build method, lead time, safety stock, reorder settings, and the two fence fields.

Step 2: Set the Demand Time Fence

Set Demand Time Fence Days to the number of near-term days in which you want only firm demand to count. This expresses the discipline that inside this window, your commitments (confirmed sales orders) are what you plan against, not forecast that could still shift.

Step 3: Set the Planning Time Fence

Set Planning Time Fence Days to the number of near-term days in which you want automatic suggestions suppressed. This expresses the discipline that inside this window, you do not want the system proposing new builds that revise a plan you have already committed to.

The two windows are independent numbers. A common pattern is a shorter demand fence and a longer planning fence, but choose each for the product's real rigidity.

A Worked Example

Suppose today is the 1st, and you set a 14-day demand fence and a 30-day planning fence on a product, then open its MPS grid in day buckets.

The bucket on the 10th sits inside both windows: near-term, where only firm demand should count and no automatic suggestion should revise supply. The bucket on the 20th is past the demand fence but still inside the planning fence, so it is still flagged frozen. The bucket on the 40th is beyond both and carries no flag, meaning it is open to normal automatic planning. The frozen flag on the grid reflects the planning fence, so the visible boundary moves out to whichever fence is longer.

Step 4: Save the Product

Save. Both fence day counts are now stored on the product.

What Changes When You Save

On the master production schedule grid for this product, EDGEBIC computes each bucket's fence status by comparing the bucket's start date against today plus the fence days. Buckets whose start falls inside the planning fence show a frozen flag (a checkbox column on the grid). The flag is the visible output of the fence.

What does not change is the engine's freedom to act. The fence is advisory: it does not hard-block edits or firming inside the window. The frozen flag is a cue for you and your team, marking the buckets you have agreed to leave stable. For how these fenced buckets sit alongside the demand and firm columns, see how to work the MPS grid.

Because it is advisory, the fence works by shared discipline rather than enforcement. The value of that is a visible, agreed line. Without it, "near-term" is a matter of opinion, and near-term plans get churned whenever someone decides a late change is worth making. With the fence flagged on the grid, everyone sees the same boundary, and the argument about what counts as too-close-to-touch is settled by the product setting rather than re-litigated each time. That shared line is the whole point, and it is why the fence lives on the product rather than as a global rule: different items are rigid for different lengths of time.

Fences and Forecast Together

Fences earn their keep alongside the demand they protect. Inside the demand fence, the discipline is that only firm commitments count, so a forecast tweak in that window is noise you have agreed to ignore. That pairs directly with how you enter forecasts: enter and revise them freely out beyond the fence, where they shape the plan, and leave the near window to firm orders. If you find yourself constantly re-entering near-term forecasts, that is the signal the fence is doing its job and the edits belong further out. For the entry side, see how to enter a demand forecast.

How to Check It Worked

Open the MPS grid for the product. The near-term buckets, out to the number of planning fence days you set, should show the frozen flag. Buckets beyond the window should not. If nothing shows as frozen, confirm the fence day counts saved on the product and that the grid horizon actually reaches into the fenced window.

Common Mistakes

• Expecting the fence to block edits. It is advisory. The grid will let you firm inside a fenced bucket. If the near-term must be truly protected, that comes from team discipline around the flag, not from the engine.
• Confusing the two fences. The demand fence is about which demand counts near-term; the planning fence is about suppressing auto-suggestions near-term. They drive the same frozen flag but express different disciplines.
• Setting one fence and forgetting the other. They are independent. Setting only the planning fence leaves the demand discipline unstated, and vice versa. Decide both deliberately.
• Reading no frozen flags as a failure. If your grid horizon is shorter than the fence, or the fence days are zero, no buckets flag. Check the numbers and the horizon before assuming the feature is off.

What Comes Next

Fences pair naturally with the demand you are protecting, so if you have not entered forecasts yet, see how to enter a demand forecast. To set how far the grid looks ahead, read how to set a planning horizon. The how-to hub links the rest.