A mass processing job uses the planning hierarchy that existed when you created the job. Therefore, a job that is scheduled to run at periodic intervals will not automatically take into account changes to the planning hierarchy. To avoid getting incorrect results with such jobs, include in the variant all the new characteristic value combinations that were not part of the original planning hierarchy.

The planning level at which a mass processing job is executed is determined by the planning level given in the variant. The execution level (that is, the aggregation level) can make a major difference to the results. For example, if you run the forecast at an aggregate level, the system aggregates the historical data before it carries out the forecast. However, if you run the forecast at the detailed level, the system carries out the forecast based on the historical data at this level, and then aggregates the forecast results in the planning table at run time. See also Macros.

You can check a mass processing job before you run it. See How to Check a Mass Processing Job.

If you want to carry out several actions of different types, SAP recommends that you define a planning activity and a planning job for each action. This is particularly important because the quantities transferred to Demand Management are those that the system finds in the database. For example, if the key figure you want to transfer changes as the result of a macro, the results of this macro need to have been saved in the database first.

You can see a job’s processing status in the job overview (Planning ® Mass processing ® Job overview). Via the job overview, you can also access a log that shows what the job consisted of and when it started and finished. In addition, you can access a spool list via the job overview. For a detailed breakdown of the job results, see the mass job report.