General Requirements Grouping 

Use

Using a grouping rule you combine all requirements that are selected for an allocation run into individual groups. The grouping is controlled via the grouping rule of the allocation type used. Here the requirements of all customers are grouped according to the same criteria. Here the requirements of all customers are grouped according to the same criteria.

You need the general requirements grouping to carry out an allocation according to the equal distribution rule.

It can also be used for the special handling of individual requirements:

·        You can use individual release rules and allocation logics that deviate from the rules that are set in the allocation type.

·        It is also possible to use allocation groups as sort criteria within the requirements sorting.

Integration

You must maintain and activate the grouping rule in the corresponding allocation types.

If you want to use the allocation function in full, the general requirements grouping must be activated. The system assigns the existing stock to the requirements of the individual allocation groups. This procedure is controlled via the allocation logics. For allocation runs without requirements grouping, the allocation is always carried out via the FIFO (first-in-first-out) logic. If you form requirement groups, the allocation can be carried out via the equal distribution logic.

Prerequisites

Activate the entered grouping rule in the allocation type by setting the grouping logic to S.

Features

·        Grouping Rule and Grouping Criteria

In the grouping rule you determine which criteria the system must use to group the customer requirements. The grouping criteria correspond to individual fields of the sales order. The number of the groups is determined via the grouping criteria selection. This does not mean, for example, that if you select two grouping criteria, only two allocation groups will be formed. The number of groups depends on the number of characteristic values of the individual grouping criteria. For example, if you choose the field Sold-To Party, you create an individual group for each sold-to party using the selected customer requirements. You can also determine the allocation groups by using a combination of several grouping criteria. This causes the number of the created groups to increase accordingly. You can only use the group fields that you get via the match code help as grouping criteria. The system assigns the internal group numbers in a random sequence.

·        External Group Numbers

If you want to use individual release checks and allocation logics for individual groups, you must flag the corresponding groups with an external group number. The external group numbers are a prerequisite for using allocation groups as sort criteria in the requirements sorting. The external group numbers are mapped as a six-digit, numeric key. However, you can also define your own keys by using a function module.

If the external group number should not be mapped via a six-digit, numeric key, you can rename the groups by using a function module.

·        Individual Group Release Rules

You can use different release rules for individual allocation groups. You do not need to set up a special allocation type to do this. You still control the allocation run via the used allocation type. If you want to use this function you must assign an external group number to the requested allocation group.

·        Individual Group Allocation Logic

You can assign individual allocation logics to individual groups. To do this, the system needs an individual group release rule. However, this is not possible with permanent grouping.

·        Requirements Sorting by Allocation Groups

You can use allocation groups to carry out requirements sorting. You thus control in which sequence the stock are assigned to the individual groups. The external group numbers can be used as a sort criterion.