Planning Sequence
Use
The
automatic planning method Planning Sequence enables you to combine several planning methods and the relevant parameter sets so that they can be called up for step-by-step processing in the sequence you specified. You use this method to automatically process any number of the other planning methods in sequence. This is useful if you want to regularly apply certain complex operations on your data. A planning sequence can contain any amount of method calls and these can then be processed in a single step.The greater the number of processing steps to be performed in a given planning task, the more useful the planning sequence becomes. Moreover, it suffices to simply define a sequence once to ensure not only that all required steps are run, but also that they are run in the desired order.
At the start of each quarter, you want to plan the sales volume in the "Pharmaceuticals" column for a group of subsidiaries. For this, different planning methods like Copy, Top-Down Distribution, and Revaluation each return partial results that are then used as input for each subsequent method. By specifying the order of the interdependent methods in a planning sequence, you define a uniform process for this planning task that can be performed at the beginning of each quarter.
Prerequisites
You have created, at the relevant planning level, parameter sets for the planning methods that you want to include in the planning sequence. Furthermore, you need to have ensured that all methods or parameter sets combined in a sequence are compatible with the selections made in the planning level and the planning package.
The success of processing planning data sequentially depends greatly on how the affected planning methods are structured. There can sometimes be unexpected consequences. For example, it could happen that some methods in a sequence only work on condition that specific characteristic values are found in the data provided. If the required data is not found, it might not be possible to perform some of the subsequent methods.
Features
For each processing step, you specify the desired planning method with one of the parameter sets available for that method. There are no restrictions on how you do this. For example, you can include the same combination of planning method and parameter set several times over in a single sequence. Processing of a sequence starts on the basis of the current status of the data found in CO-PA. Each subsequent step in the processing uses the status of the data achieved by performing the previous planning method.
This means that the planning data is only read in the preparatory step prior to the first planning method and is then used in that method. The following methods then process the data that was changed in the preceding steps. If a planning method requires reference data (such as the methods Top-Down Distribution, or Ratios), this data is read from the database in the relevant step. Once the last planning method in the sequence has been processed, the system determines the delta between the original and the final status of the data and posts the delta. The delta is therefore not posted until the entire planning sequence has been completed.
If a method in the planning sequence cannot be performed successfully, processing terminates at this point in the sequence and a corresponding error message is issued. In such cases, the data retains its original status. If a processed object contains errors, it is highlighted and included in the corresponding error message, which is then placed in the log.
The processing mode (test run or update run) that you specify in the parameter set for the planning sequence is always the mode used for the planning methods in that sequence. The processing modes of the individual planning methods do not apply within the planning sequence.
Example
The following graphic shows the process flow of a typical planning sequence:
