Allocation of Value-Added Services (VAS) 

Use

Customer service representatives (CSRs) need to manage customer sales orders at the allocation group, order/line group, material, and SKU levels. If a material has a corresponding ATP-relevant value-added service (VAS) such as hangers, labeling and bagging services, ironing and so forth, the VAS quantity should match the main material quantity; for example, one shirt should have exactly one brand label sewn into the collar. If a material is allocated 100% to a certain order and the customer service representative decides to deallocate the material by 20%, then the VAS for that material should also be decreased by the same percentage.

When you drill down to any allocation level, the system shows the applicable VAS for each material (if any).

Features

VAS Correlation can be performed during each one of these functions:

·        Deallocation

If you deallocate a material for a given order, the system attempts to deallocate the VAS by the same percentage. If a material is deallocated to 60% of the confirmed quantity, the VAS will also be decreased to the 60% level. However, if the VAS was only allocated at 50%, then the system will take no action on the VAS.

·        Reallocation

If you reallocate a material, the system attempts to reallocate the VAS by the same percentage. However, if the user attempts to reallocate a material by 100% but inventory shortfalls make only a 75% allocation possible, then the system allocates only enough VAS to match this 75% allocation

·        Blocking

When you block a material, the corresponding VAS is blocked as well.

·        Release

When you release a material, the corresponding VAS is released as well,

The system does not carry out any VAS release rule checks in the ARun Optimizer.

In ARun itself, though, the system does check the VAS release rule configured in Customizing for that customer. For example, if a material is allocated at 90% but the corresponding VAS is allocated at only 50%, then the release rule determines whether the 90% is released (so that not every material receives a VAS), or only 50% is released (so that the material and VAS quantities match exactly).

·        Adjustment

When a material quantity is adjusted up or down, the system attempts to allocate enough VAS to match the new quantity.

·        Selection

During allocation, whenever an allocation group, order, line group, line item, or schedule line is selected, any corresponding VAS materials are selected as well (so long as the VAS schedule lines are in the same allocation group).

Prerequisites

In Customizing for the ARun Optimizer Type (IMG path: AFS Allocation Run ® ARun Optimizer ® ARun Optimizer Control ® Configure ARun Optimizer Type), you need to maintain the following settings for VAS:

·        Corr. time

This determines when the system is to check for VAS:

¡        Blank = No checking

¡        1 = Whenever an activity is relevant (for example, at deallocation). If you also select the Interaction flag below, then you will receive a message every time you perform such an activity.

¡        2 = Before saving. Instead of receiving messages after each activity, you receive only one when you save your work. This makes maintenance quicker.

·        Interaction

This determines whether the VAS allocation will occur automatically or not:

¡        Blank = Allocation handled in the background, and you will not be able to interact with the system during this process

¡        1 = You will receive a message whenever you perform an activity that involves VAS handling.

·        Adjust VAS items

This determines how the system is to allocate VAS items when the main material quantity is changed:

¡        Blank = No adjustment

¡        X = Adjust the VAS quantity (allocate/deallocate). If the main material is either increased or decreased, the system will adjust the VAS quantity upward or downward as necessary to match the main material quantity. (This is the recommended setting, as it provides the greatest degree of automation.)

·        Adjust main items

This determines whether the system is to adjust the main material quantity if it encounters a shortage of VAS material:

¡        Blank = No change to the quantities. The main material and VAS material quantities will not match.

¡        X = Yes. If there is not enough VAS material, reduce the main material quantity,

 

When you select a line in the ARun Optimizer and choose Adjust, the system displays a dialog box that includes the current Customizing settings for adjusting the VAS items and main items. You can temporarily override these settings interactively. This will not affect the Customizing settings, and they will automatically display the original settings the next time you adjust a quantity.