What is a material release?

A material release is a forecast of total demand for a part needed for a particular Ship-To location.  A material release is an agreement between a customer and supplier for the supplier to release and ship material to a specific customer location.

What is plant demand?

Plant demand is the specific portion of the total demand for a part being consumed by a particular plant.  The plant demand is calculated using the master production schedule.

How does the demand specified on a material release differ from plant demand?

A material release is a forecast of total demand for a part needed for a particular Ship-To location.  If that Ship-To location is the consuming plant, then the demand on the material release should equal the plant demand if there hasn't been any schedule changes since the forecast was received by the supplier.  If the Ship-To location is a warehouse, then the plant demand will be the portion of the demand being shipped from the warehouse to a specific plant as being dictated by the master production schedule.

Why can't I see the Point of Use Details section on my Product Data Sheet?

Point of Use Details section will only be visible on the Product Data Sheet if the PFEP document is describing a material flow path to an actual point of application (workcenter or linefeed)  for that part.  For example, a PFEP document will not have a Point of Use details section that describes a material flow path from a supplier to a warehouse.   The trigger for the creation of the Point of Use section on a Product Data Sheet is to have a linefeed or workcenter defined for that part in the Bill of Material.