The Virtual Kanban feature provides increased card release automation that, when used, reduces the need to manually scan a replenishment card after an item has been consumed to re-release it. Rather, the re-release of replenishment cards is automated based on the continuous monitoring and comparison of on-hand inventory information set in the MRP/ERP back end versus the CEK inventory level.

That is, the MRP inventory level is converted to CEK cards using the standard lot size (Quantity on Card). The MRP card count is compared with the CEK on-hand card count and, if the MRP card count is lower than the CEK card count, the CEK cards are released until the card counts are equal. This logic ensures that the inventory levels in both the MRP and CEK systems.

Also, in a typical Kanban system, it's possible to replenish a card when either the first or last item in the box has been consumed. In situations where the card quantity is very large compared to consumption rate, items are expensive, and the recommended loop size is very small (1 or 2 cards), then the average inventory will tend to increase compared to the optimum level. This increase is irrespective of when the refill signal is sent (open or empty box). To avoid this situation Virtual Kanban supports refilling an order after a set percentage of the parts in a box have been consumed (see below). Using a partial usage re-order scenario can result in the average inventory being brought down.

Notes:

1. For a given item to make use of the Virtual Kanban feature, the item's category must be set to "Virtual" using the "Category" dropdown on the Add Item (Base Item tab) screen in the "Details" section.
2. The threshold trigger point for when a card should be replenished (re-released) is set using the "Re-order cards when" dropdown in the same section.
3. For the "Associate default Supplier" section, if the Check this box if the Released cards needs to wait till Run Line is reached checkbox is selected (checked), the released cards will wait until the value set in the "Min. Order Cards" textbox has been reached based on the MRP/ERP inventory count and the Stock on Hand count.

Next, if your CEK system has been configured to require an approval process then, even though the release has been automated, someone with the proper privileges will still needs to approve (or reject) the release. If this is the case, you will see an Approvals menu item that contains one sub-menu: Virtual Kanban Release.