Hi Keith !
As you know, Application knowledge isn't my strongest suit - but I did help with the creation of the "new" MRP process just before leaving JDE.
There are 2 MRP programs in Xe now :
Theres the standard R3411 MRP process that works as a single-threaded process.
As you know, this works by moving to the lowest possible level of items in a heirachial tree, and processing each item - then jumping up to the next level.
The new MRP process is R3482 which can process in parallel threads. The way this works is as follows :
A processing Option now exists on R3482 for "Parallel processing" with number of subsystem jobs (set as default to 2). This number should actually be set to number of processors on the Enterprise Server minus 1 - but is really tunable based on the type of MRP runs that the company performs.
The MRP run will start processing the lowest level of items - handing each item to each parallel job. As the items complete for that level, then the parallel processes start "sleeping" until the final process realizes it has finished processing that level. The process then jumps up a level, and spawns jobs for all items of that next level. This is continued until all levels are complete.
I know this might not be the right way to describe Parallel MRP - but believe me, when you set it up it can dramatically affect certain customers MRP runs - its been known to beat an MRP process in World by a factor of 2 on the same platform !!!
So, my guess is that you look for R3482 instead of R3411 information in the guides - I'm sure theres an area where it would help you decide whether R3482 is right for your customer.
Jon Steel