Product Allocations During Sales Order Entry (SAP Library - SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer (SAP APO))

Product Allocations During Sales Order Entry

Use

You create a sales order in R/3 and in APO you carry out product allocations as an application of the check against plans. Product allocations is a basic method of the global availability check. The availability check and product allocation cannot be carried out separately (in APO and in an OLTP system); they must be carried out in APO.

Product allocation only functions for APO relevant materials. APO relevance does not mean that the material must be planned in APO. If material is flagged as APO-relevant via the CIF integration model the advanced functionality of product allocation can be used.

Advanced Functionality

You can use consumption periods (also in the R/3 System as of Release 4.0).

You can ignore product allocations in the past (APO-specific).

The check date can be configured (also in the R/3 System as of Release 4.0).

Until now, you could only check the delivery date. Now, however, you can configure the material availability date and the goods issue date to be used as the check date.

You can configure the search for collective product allocations (APO-specific).

You can configure the characteristics sequence and exclude the characteristics from the search.

Using the product allocations step, you can execute the check against several product allocation groups (also in the R/3 System as of Release 4.0).
You can use the conversion factor (also in the R/3 System as of Release 4.0).
You can use the sequence of product allocation procedures (APO-specific).
Planning is now executed independently of checking. For that reason, you must link the product allocation group to the planning area and copy the data or the info structure.
The pegged requirement (orders) of the product allocation assignment can be displayed.
In the product master, you can assign a product allocation procedure to a location product.
You can carry out a shortage check.
In an order created with reference to a quotation, the allocation quantities are copied from the quotation.

Prerequisites

You installed a 4.5 GUI in the R/3 System.

You installed the R/3-Add-on APO CIF in the R/3 System.

You made the default settings for the CIF integration function.

You generated and activated integration models.

For further information see the documentation Integration of APO and R/3.

R/3 Settings

Requirements type with correct requirements class

The requirements class in the R/3 System must have the same value as the check mode in APO. When you have created the check mode in APO, you should enter it for the corresponding product in the location-specific product master. If a check mode is not provided by the calling application, the check mode that you entered in the location-specific product master is taken into account. If the calling system is an SAP R/3 System, the requirements class is transferred as the check mode by the SD applications. No other applications transfer check modes.

Data Flow

General Data Transfer from the R/3 System to APO

You transfer data initially from the R/3 System to APO. You generated and activated a general integration model.

Master data

The master data must be transferred from the R/3 System in an initial run. During this process the OLTP data is collected in a consistent data container that is transferred to APO. Data changes are filtered later into the master data and transaction data and transferred automatically through an active data channel that uses ALE or BAPI technology.

Transfer of Customizing for Product Allocation

In contrast to ATP Customizing, you must transfer the Customizing settings specifically for product allocation once via transaction QTSP. Afterwards you can change or recreate the Customizing as necessary.

You must have already created the same product allocation procedures in the R/3 System and in APO. The product allocations procedure from the material master in the R/3 System is transferred for the availability check in APO. This product allocations procedure is used to check in APO.

Customizing Equivalents

APO	R/3
product allocation group	info structure

We recommend that you check Customizing after the transfer. In Customizing for the Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO) select Global ATP ® Product Allocations ® Check Settings for Product Allocation.

Planning data (product allocation time series)

See also:

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Settings for Product Allocations

Transfer of Planning Data to APO

Planning and checking against product allocations are carried out independently of each other; that is, they can no longer block each other.

For planning, you can use the info structure in the R/3 System; in APO you can use the planning area.
For checking, the product allocation group in APO assumes the function of the info structure.

Scenario 1

You plan in R/3.

The availability check (using product allocation) is carried out in APO.

Process

You carry out planning in the info structure using Flexible Planning.

Updating is still necessary so that the incoming orders quantity for planning is visible in the info structure.

This incoming orders quantity (IOQty) may be different from the incoming orders quantity in APO. Only the incoming orders quantity in APO is taken into account in the check. The incoming orders quantity in the R/3 System is the confirmed schedule line quantity; the incoming orders quantity in APO is the quantity deducted (withdrawn) from the product allocations. A full delivery is now also possible in APO.

After planning has been completed in the R/3 System, you must transfer the planning data using transaction QTSA.

You can now use any version in planning. The active version always has the number "A00".

Scenario 2

You plan in APO.

You carry out product allocation in APO.

Process

You complete the following steps in Demand Planning:

Create a planning area for planning.
Define the planning books.

Execute planning.

Two macro operations analogous to the macro operations in Flexible Planning are defined for Demand Planning: ALLOC and ALLOC_MISQTY

In Customizing for product allocation, define the connection from the product allocation group to the planning area.

You can choose any planning version of the planning area.

After you have completed planning, copy the data from the planning area to the product allocation group (Global ATP ® Environment ® Product Allocations ® Connection ® Copy Data from Planning Area).

Additional Activities

If you want to use collective product allocations, proceed as follows:

Generate the characteristics combinations of the collective product allocations for the existing characteristics combinations of the product allocation group.
Before you transfer the characteristic combinations to the planning area, you must declare the collective product allocations symbol as an allowed symbol if it is not a standard symbol. Use transaction RSKC for this. Standard symbols are listed in the F1 Help in transaction RSKC.
Transfer the characteristics of the collective product allocations to the planning area (Global ATP ® Environment ® Product Allocations ® Connection ® Characteristics Combination to Planning Area).

If you execute planning again, you must complete the following steps:

Transfer the data (incoming orders quantity, if necessary, the product allocation quantities) from the product allocation group to the planning area.
Execute planning in the planning area.
Transfer the data from the planning area to the product allocation group.

In both of the above scenarios, using a report, you can display the transfer times by choosing Global ATP ® Environment ® Product Allocations ® Connection ® Transfer Times.

Note

The effects of product allocations control on product allocation (for example, the conversion factor) is not taken into account or displayed in planning. After transferring the data, you can execute a shortage check.

You should also execute the shortage check if you have executed planning without a subsequent check because product allocations could be exhausted in the meantime.

See also:

Checking Shortages