The terms make to order and make to stock roll easily off of people's tongues regardless of their knowledge of other supply chain terms. Many executives speak about "moving to a make to order environment." These terms are specific types of manufacturing environments. They are embedded in almost all supply planning applications ranging from the most basic ERP to the most sophisticated advanced planning system. However, each manufacturing environment leads to a number of implications, implications that are most often not completely understood. Requirements strategies are what control what drives the replenishment of supply in systems. In most cases, the requirement strategies control whether the forecast or the sales order triggers replenishment. This book cuts down the amount of time that is required for people in companies to understand the relationship between manufacturing environments (the business) and requirements strategies (the technology setting in the supply planning application). By reading this book you will learn: What are the major manufacturing environments and what determines which manufacturing environment a company follows? How do the different manufacturing environments impact how inventory is carried? How are the different manufacturing environments configured in software? What is mass customization, and how accurate is useful is this concept in real life? What is the interaction between variant configuration and the manufacturing environment and the bill of materials? Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Different Manufacturing Environments Chapter 3: Triggering Replenishment Chapter 4: Requirements Strategies Chapter 5: The Make to Order Illusion Chapter 6: The Limitations to the Concept of Mass Customization Chapter 7: Forecast Consumption Chapter 8: Variant Configuration in SAP ERP Chapter 9: Conclusion"