Transaction-Based Top-Down Distribution 

Use

When you enter planning data manually, you always enter your data at a specified planning level (at the product group or customer group level, for example). Using transaction-based top-down distribution, you can have the system automatically distribute your manually planned data to a more detailed planning level as soon as you save it. This achieves consistent planning at this detailed level. Distribution occurs on the basis of reference data that has already been posted at a level of greater detail, such as in a different plan version or record type.

Transaction-based top-down distribution can lead to long runtimes. If your planning process only calls for more detailed data in the individual planning levels in later phases, you should use the automatic planning method Top-Down Distribution .

You plan your data for the characteristics Product, Product group and Customer group. You define three planning levels for which planning data is to be entered: Customer group/product group (independent of the product), product/product group (independent of the customer group), and product/product group/customer group (the lowest, most detailed level). By using transaction-based top-down distribution, you can ensure that all planning data is saved at the lowest level.

For a more detailed example using figures, see the section Example: Transaction-Based Top-Down Distribution.

Prerequisites

In Customizing, you need to choose Planning ® Manual Entry of Planning Data ® Set Up Transaction-Based Top-Down Distribution add perform the following steps:

If at this point you want to use a value field formula instead of individual value fields, you must define these formulas under Calculated Values as Reference for Top-Down Distribution.

You enter the distribution profile in the parameter set for the higher planning level from which the data is to be distributed.

Distribution can only take place if corresponding reference data exists.

To check whether distribution has occurred as it should, it makes sense to physically define a planning level for the detailed level to which the distributed values are sent (see Setting Up Planning Content) and to execute the Enter planning data planning method at that level.

Features

Once you have set up top-down distribution, the system always automatically distributes planning data to the more detailed level when the data is saved. In all other respects, the functions in transaction-based top-down distribution generally correspond to those in the automatic planning method Top-Down Distribution.