Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is all about planning ahead so that everything is in place to produce the final product on time. It is primarily a planning tool, as opposed to an inventory or short-term dispatching technique.

A great way to understand this concept better is to think about planning "backwards in time." Think about a task that you have coming up. It can be something simple like writing a term paper or preparing for a 5K. Identify the tasks, plan out a schedule, and determine how long each task will take.