Allocation Planning 

Use

Allocation planning supports the process of distributing a finite amount of resources (for example, a quantity of products) to a given number of business partners (for example, retail outlets) that are to be addressed within a promotion or campaign.

Assume, for example, that a fixed quantity of 1000 widgets is available for a promotion in which 100 retail stores are to take part. Allocations in CRM helps the promotion planner determine how many products each store should get, based on certain rules (for example, sales history per store).

Integration

The following graphic illustrates the components and systems with which allocation planning is integrated.

·        Marketing Planner

Allocation planning is performed for target groups attached to marketing campaigns created in the Marketing Planner, usually in the context of promotions.

·        Segment Builder

Target groups to be used in the allocation process can be modeled within the Marketing Planner by accessing the Segment Builder directly "in situ".

·        CRM Mobile Sales

Allocation data can be transferred to CRM Middleware and then distributed to mobile clients for access by field sales representatives in Mobile Sales. You can also plan allocations directly in Mobile Sales.

·        SAP BW/SAP SEM

Allocation quantities are exported to the BW for reporting purposes. Data is extracted into an ODS object.

·        CRM Interaction Center

This is one of the interaction channels by which orders can be taken. Suggested allocations can be displayed here when call center agents contact the business partner.

Prerequisites

The various different methods by which allocation can be implemented are defined in Customizing under the path Customer Relationship Management ® Marketing ®Marketing Planning and Campaign Management ®Allocation Planning.

Features

·        In CRM Enterprise, allocation quantities are assigned to business partners using one of three allocation methods. For more information, see Allocation Rules.

·        In CRM Mobile Sales, allocation quantities are equally distributed to each member of a target group. You can then manually change the quantities for individual business partners. For more information, see Allocation Maintenance.

·        Users can implement their own allocation rules in CRM Enterprise by means of Business Add-Ins (BadIs). For more information, see Allocation Planning: Business Add-Ins.

·        In CRM Enterprise, once allocation quantities have been determined, ranking can be used to prioritize the business partners within the list, according to the budget assigned to the campaign element. Business partners could be prioritized on the basis of certain key figures such as previous sales history for example. For more information, see Ranking.

·        Integration between CRM Enterprise and Mobile Sales: actual quantities sold to the business partner ("sold-in quantities") can be updated on site and the allocation information updated in CRM Enterprise. For more information, see Allocation Management.