Materials Requirements Planning [MRP] was superseded by Manufacturing Resource Planning [MRP II]. While MRP was mainly concerned with materials, MRP II focuses more broadly on materials, finance and human resources. In that sense, MRP II was another milestone towards today’s enterprise resource planning solutions, or ERP systems. MRP II systems were designed to create a ‘single point of truth’ by sharing common information in a centralised database. MRP II systems output a production schedule addressing both machine and labour capacity, and scheduling the production runs around deliveries of materials. Cost data, such as machine hours, labour hours and materials used, as well as production quantities provide information for pricing and profitability decisions. See also Enterprise Resource Planning and Materials Requirements Planning.

Manufacturing e-Learning courses are available at Academy of Procurement.