The traditional approach to developing an MRO management system is based on the execution of individual business process steps, as a chain of sequentially-executed standard transactions from a large set of transactions provided by the applied information system. This is not on the whole perceived as user-friendly approach, since it requires users to be able to seamlessly navigate across the range of available system actions, in addition to which, screen layouts of plans do not correspond to those widely used in domestic production practice. In order to avoid these setbacks and to ensure the integration of all actions within a 'single window’ framework, ITPS consultants developed a SAP ERP-based solution, which produced 4 views of the data necessary for the management of MRO business processes: a calendar plan, resource plan, logistics support plan and procurement plan for MRO services.

Planning processes are cyclic and iterative processes, during which various initial data is repeatedly modified. The "multisource planning" solution allows for a number of actions (transactions) to be performed in order to change the initial data during the course of MRO planning and management directly in a single window, which will ensure:

• increased workforce productivity in the SAP ERP system in terms of implementation of MRO business process functions;
• MRO specialists no longer need to get bogged down in the subtleties and multivariate capabilities of SAP ERP software tools for performing various business process operations and preparing maintenance documents, owing to the system’s large number of context-sensitive drop-down menus;
• MRO specialists can concentrate on their immediate functional duties (annual calendar, resource and operational planning, organization of works’ acceptance and settlements with contractors, etc.) without having to get distracted by the search for technological methods for executing individual steps in SAP for these processes;
• a lowering in levels of user skill requirements for handling all the technological capabilities of SAP ERP, by providing an intuitive interface that allows for all actions to be performed in a "single window", just as with standard MS Office and other programs.

The solution provides all the necessary tools for the implementation of MRO planning and management functions:

• Current planning of MRO activities for 1 year and more
• Feasibility study of the MRO plan for 1 year and more
• Ranking and adjustment of MRO activities for 1 year and within a month
• Coordination and approval of MRO plans for 1 year and within a month
• Automatic generation of orders according to the MRO plan on any given planning horizon

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