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SOP: New Ways to Plan

Description

Release 3.0 of Sales & Operations Planning (SOP) comes with a whole host of new planning facilities in addition to those offered with Release 2.2:

Forecast Profiles

In order to run the forecast, you have to make a number of settings. These determine, for example:

If you want to use the same settings over and over again, it is time-consuming to have to redefine them every time the forecast is run. This is why it is useful to store them in a forecast profile with which you can then forecast one or more key figures as often as you like.

Forecasting of Any Key Figure

In Release 2.2 you could forecast the sales quantities of product groups or materials. In Release 3.0 you can forecast any key figure you like on the basis of historical data. Because you define the forecast profile separately from the key figure, you can use the same forecast profile to forecast several key figures or you can forecast the same key figure several times using different profiles.

Copying Data from One Information Structure to Another

You may find it useful to copy data from one information stucture to another. For example, you can define that the key figures for "planned sales quantities" are copied from version 1 of information structure I to the key figures for "planned production quantities" in version 2 of information structure II.

You store the settings for this process in the combination of a copy profile and a key figure assignment profile. The benefits are much the same as those with forecast profiles. The combination of the two profiles means that you can copy the same key figures several times between different versions of the information structures.

User-Defined Macros

In Release 2.2 you could use standard macros to create production plans and to aggregate or disaggregate data to the next level in a product group hierarchy. In Release 3.0 you can now define your own macros for use in the planning screens of your choice. For further information on macros, see SOP: Planning Types and Macros.

Resources Planning

In Release 2.2 you could look at the work center capacities for a product group or material to see if they were being optimally utilized and were sufficient to meet your production targets. You then adjusted your production quantities accordingly.

In Release 3.0 you can plan not only work center capacities but also other resource requirements:

You define the resources required by a material, a product, or an information structure in a rough-cut planning profile.

For further information on resources planning, see SOP: Resources Planning.

Setting Stock Levels

In Release 3.0 you can set opening stock levels automatically. For more information, see SOP: Opening Stock Levels.

Change system parameters in customizing

Forecast

You can create forecast profiles in Forecast profiles. (Alternatively, you can do so from within the application.)

In order to define a mass processing job that carries out the forecast, you assign the forecast profile to an activity in Activities. In this step, you also define which key figures are to be forecasted. (Alternatively, you can configure this information from within the application.) You store the forecast period and the historical period on which the forecast is based in the forecast profile.

Further configurations for forecasting are performed in:

Copying Data from One Information Structure to Another

You can create key figure assignment profiles in Assign key figure to copy profile. (Alternatively, you do so from within the application.)

You create copy profiles in

Copy profiles.

In order to define a mass processing job to copy data, you assign the copy profile to an activity in Activities. (Alternatively, you can configure this information from within the application.)

User-Defined Macros

You can define macros in

Maintain planning types . (Alternatively, you do so from within the application.)

Resources Planning

You configure resources planning in the following Customizing steps:

Setting Stock Levels

You can configure your own method for setting opening stock levels in Define user methods.

Changes to the interface

Forecast Profiles

You can create forecast profiles in the Settings menu. (Alternatively, you do so in Customizing.)

You run the forecast using a forecast profile either online, in the planning table, or in the background. Background processing is suitable for the forecasting of large volumes of data.

In order to define a mass processing job that carries out the forecast, you assign the forecast profile to an activity in the Settings menu with Mass processing -> Activities. In this function, you also define which key figures are to be forecasted. (Alternatively, you can configure this information in Customizing.)

You create and schedule a mass processing job to run the forecast in the Planning menu.

Copying Data from One Information Structure to Another

You copy data from a key figure in one information structure to a second key figure in another information structure either online or in the background. Background processing is suitable for the copying of large volumes of data.

In order to define a mass processing job to copy data, you assign the copy profile to an activity in the Settings menu with Mass processing -> Activities. (Alternatively, you can configure this information in Customizing.)

You create and schedule a mass processing job to run the forecast in the Planning menu.

User-Defined Macros

You can define macros in the Tools menu. (Alternatively, you do so in Customizing.)

Resources Planning

You create rough-cut planning profiles in the Tools menu.

Setting Opening Stock Levels

You set opening stock levels automatically in the Planning menu with Mass processing -> Opening stock levels.

You set opening stock levels manually with the function 0 column in the planning table.