Order planning includes order dispatching, route planning and ramp management
for actual material and order needs from suppliers. Supplier order dispatching
determines operative order quantities and times for actual material requirements
with respect of supplier delivery frequencies, trade and logistical terms as well as
storage capacity. It answers the short-term question when and how much to order.
Order dispatching solves the trade-off between inventory and order costs, i.e., order
costs increase with frequent orders, whereas inventory costs increase with infrequent
orders