Supply Network Planning 

Purpose

APO Supply Network Planning integrates purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, and transportation so that comprehensive tactical planning and sourcing decisions can be simulated and implemented on the basis of a single, global consistent model. Supply Network Planning uses advanced optimization techniques, based on constraints and penalties, to plan product flow along the supply chain. The result is optimal purchasing, production, and distribution decisions; reduced order fulfillment times and inventory levels; and improved customer service.

Starting from a demand plan, Supply Network Planning determines a permissible short- to medium-term plan for fulfilling the estimated sales volumes. This plan covers both the quantities that must be transported between two locations (for example, distribution center to customer or production plant to distribution center), and the quantities to be produced and procured. When making a recommendation, Supply Network Planning compares all logistical activities to the available capacity.

The Deployment function determines how and when inventory should be deployed to distribution centers, customers, and vendor-managed inventory accounts. It produces optimized distribution plans based on constraints (such as transportation capacities) and business rules (such as minimum cost approach, or replenishment strategies).

The Transport Load Builder (TLB) function maximizes transport capacities by optimizing load building.

In addition, the seamless integration with APO Demand Planning supports an efficient S&OP process.

Integration

With Other APO Applications

To...

Do this...

Other Information

Set up the Supply Chain Model

Use the Supply Chain Engineer (SCE)

In the SCE, you assign the locations, products, resources, and PPMs to a model. You then add transportation lanes to link supply to demand locations, allocate products to the transportation lanes, and maintain quota arrangements.

Make the unconstrained forecast available in Supply Network Planning

Release the Demand Plan to Supply Network Planning and vice versa.

The supply chain planner can then plan resources based on a full and reliable picture of demand, and, likewise, the demand planner can later monitor where adjustments to the demand plan have been necessary due to production, distribution and other constraints.

Make the Supply Network Plan available to PP/DS

Convert the SNP orders into PP/DS orders

In PP/DS, production planning is synchronized with execution to resolve all constraints and bottlenecks and create a viable production plan.

Features

Supply Network Planning is used to calculate quantities to be delivered to a location in order to match customer demand and maintain the desired service level. Supply Network Planning includes both heuristics and mathematical optimization methods to ensure that demand is covered and transportation, production, and warehousing resources are operating within the specified capacities.

The interactive planning desktop makes it possible to visualize and interactively modify planning figures. You can present all key indicators graphically. The system processes any changes directly via liveCache.