About futures messages
Important
This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.
Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
A futures message is a system-generated order with a due date that is based on lead times for all levels of items. A futures date is generated if master scheduling calculates an order date, perhaps for a lower-level item, that precedes today's date. Master scheduling then forward-schedules the order from today's date and includes lead times which start with any lower-level component items. The futures date is a realistic due date based on the current data.
There are situations where you may choose not to use a futures date. It may be possible to expedite lead times by other means. For example, an item that is usually sent by truck could be air-freighted instead to reduce the lead time.
You can configure how you want futures messages to be calculated for a coverage group, which you can attach to an item. For more information, see Coverage groups (form).
In the Master planning parameters form, you can set the futures time, which is used to calculate all futures dates.