POS Interface - Outbound: Preparation Period 

Use

The preparation period is the time period for which the system determines master data changes that have to be transferred to the stores.

Features

For initialization (or direct request) and the change message, the SAP system takes account of both the store lead time in the communication and (if available) the store-specific logistics calendar, to determine the preparation period.

The system uses different methods to determine the preparation periods for initialization (or the direct request) and the change message. This is due to the fact that the system must read the change pointers simultaneously for the change message, to ensure that these are not selected twice. In contrast, for initialization (or the direct request), the logistics calendar can be viewed as a whole, as change pointers are not required here. This has the following effects:

Initialization or direct request

The start of the preparation period is the day’s date. If this day is not a working day, then the start of the preparation period is the next working day according to the logistics calendar.

Using this day as a basis, the system calculates the end of the preparation period as follows:

Final date = starting date + store lead time in working days – 1

Alternatively, for the direct request, you can enter the starting date and final date manually.

You can configure your system so that POS outbound processing does not include logistics calendars. In the POS outbound profile, flag the No logistics calendar indicator. POS outbound processing then works on the basis that every day is a working day.

Change message

The start of the preparation period is today’s date.

Using today's date as a basis, the system calculates the end of the preparation period as follows:

Final date = today’s date + Store lead time in calendar days – 1

If the final date is not a working day, then the system sets the final date of the preparation period as next working day according to the logistics calendar.

You must always take account of the preparation logic of the change message when setting the lead time in the store’s communication profile. In addition, the lead time must always be greater than one, as the algorithm uses time intervals, and a value of 1 would only provide a point in time.