The Master Production Scheduling (MPS) system serves several important purposes:

Production Plans are at the heart of MPS. Using Production Plans, you have the ability to load sales Forecasts into the system—and then view the impact of the Forecasts on production planning.

Typically, MPS is used to plan for Items having "independent" demand. Independent demand Items are defined as those Items which derive their demand directly from Customer requirements through Sales Orders. By contrast, "dependent" demand Items are normally purchased Items and subassemblies. The demand for dependent Items is derived indirectly—that is, based on the demand for their parent Items in a Bill of Materials. The Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system is typically used to plan for dependent demand.