heuristic (SCM-APO-PPS) (SAP Library

heuristic (SCM-APO-PPS)

Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling (SCM-APO-PPS)

Planning function in Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling (PP/DS) used for solving planning problems for selected objects (products, orders, resources or line networks).

Depending on the planning focus, a heuristic can run procurement planning for products, or sequencing for orders on resources. To solve problems, the heuristic uses rules that have been determined by experience or intuition. In contrast to optimization, a heuristic does not aim to find an optimum solution by minimizing an objective function, but rather deals with specific planning problems by using a rules-based approach. This approach allows very extensive problems (for example, planning several hundred products) to be processed within a short amount of time.

The following heuristic types exist in PP/DS:

A procurement planning heuristic is used to create procurement proposals for uncovered product requirements. The heuristic uses a heuristic-specific MRP procedure and lot-sizing procedure.

A heuristic for process control controls the planning process in single- or multilevel procurement planning for several products, for an end product and its components, for example. To actually plan a product (that is, to determine the uncovered requirements and to create procurement proposals), the heuristic calls up a product heuristic.

A service heuristic processes specific aspects of existing planning. Service heuristics include, for example, heuristics that can adjust order dates on a multilevel basis, or that can change order priorities.