Dateline Processing 

Use

Automatic scheduling is performed in the seasonal procurement processes. The system stores the dates calculated by scheduling for each article item in a dateline, which appears in all documents for seasonal procurement.

The dateline has the following purposes:

●     Provides a quick overview of the actual situation for the ordered goods

●     Enables quick reaction to unforeseen events in reactive purchase order monitoring (for example, the breakdown of a vehicle).

The dateline is divided into header and item data. Each item row corresponds to a route segment in your transport route.

Prerequisites

All prerequisites under scheduling apply; the transportation chain must be set up, as it serves as a template for the dateline.

Predecessor relationship

Every date needs a unique predecessor so that the date can be determined. Informative dates without predecessor dates are the exception. Without a predecessor date, the system cannot recalculate and move the date if there is a delay or a date shift.

Features

Simulating date changes

You can experiment with changing your route segments in the dateline (for example, the target date, however, not the point of departure or target location) to find out what effect your changes would have. Every time you change the values, the dateline is automatically recalculated.

You can save or undo your changes. The values do not become fixed in the system and no follow-on activities are triggered until you save.

For example, it is very easy to check how the flow of goods would change if the dispatch method changed from Normal to Express (in this case by speeding up the shipment).

Tolerance values

When calculating the dates, the system takes account of the tolerance set in the transportation chain. You can overwrite this default value in the dateline header. In the dateline item, the system calculates a tolerance date, by adding the tolerance (in workdays) to the target date.

Transportation times

Scheduling takes account of the transportation time, the date lead time, and the date follow-up time in workdays. You can overwrite these default values that are copied from the Transportation Times Table in the dateline item.

The system determines a Total Move Time in workdays as follows:
transportation time + date lead time for the selected date row + date follow-up time of the predecessor date.

Switching transportation chains and dispatch methods

You can change the sequence of the transport routes in the dateline by adding informative dates.

If new dates are also required, you must select another transportation chain or another dispatch method in the dateline header using the input help. In this case, the system calculates a new dateline.

The following dispatch methods are available for the transportation chain:

●     Standard

This setting is intended for standard processing.

●     Express

Faster transportation

●     Route

This setting is intended for third-party business.

●     Third-party express

Faster processing of third-party business

Technically, the system permits all dispatch methods to be changed to all other dispatch methods, however, the following changes are intended to be the general rule from a business point of view:

●     From Standard to Express

●     From Third-Party to Third-Party Express

The transportation chain (and the dispatch method) can be changed under the following conditions:

■      The DC Delivery Date has not yet been posted (for example, the goods have not yet left the point of departure).

■      The goods are still on a route segment, in which the previous and the new transportation chains are the same.

The following table shows a simplified view of where changes of transportation chain are possible:

Transportation Chain	Route from/to	Route Segment with Relevant Mode of Transport
C 1	A / E	Road [A / B]	Sea [B / C]	Road [C / D]	Rail [D / E]
C 2	A / E	Road [A / B]	Air [B / C]	Air [C / D]	Road [D / E]
C 3	A / E	Road [A / B]	Sea [B / C]	Road [C / F]	Rail [F / E]

Starting from transportation chain C1, you can change the chain into transportation chain C2 or C3 provided the goods are not yet in the gray areas.

Flexible options for determining the start date

You can use one of the following methods:

●     Determine date using pushbutton

At item level in the dateline, you can select one or more rows and set them as the start date. The system flags these rows with an icon for the fixed start date in the Selected Row column.

This is the only method with which you can define several start dates at the same time.

●     Determine date using a hotspot

This method simplifies entry, however, you can only select one row (and therefore one date) using a hotspot. All you need to do is click on the relevant cell in the Selected Row column with the left mouse button. By clicking on a selected hotspot cell with a start date again, you can reverse the selection so that no start date is selected anymore.

●     Determine date automatically

If you do not use either of the previous methods, there is no explicit start date (the Selected Row column does not contain any icons) and the system determines the start date automatically when you switch to the dateline (and data release).

You change the interval between two dates, for example, and then press Enter. The system automatically determines a suitable start date so that all values can be recalculated.

The system always uses the target date for the last operational date for which there is an actual posting. Any dates before the last operational actual date that was posted can no longer be changed and are not recalculated.

You can use the Selected Date column to determine whether the target date or the tolerance date is to be used as the start date in the subsequent calculation. The relevant field is then ready for input.

The following dates cannot be start dates:

●     Informative Dates

●     Operational dates if there is an actual posting for one of the follow-on dates

●     Operational dates for which there is already an actual posting

There is one exception to the latter case:

The last operational date with an actual posting can also be a start date. The system highlights it just as it does all other start dates. The date can no longer be changed, however, as the goods have already arrived at the relevant location. In this case, neither the target date nor the tolerance date are ready for input. You can alter the interval to the follow-on date in the Transportation Time in Days field.

Automatic date proposal

If there is a date shift or reminder, you can use an automatic date proposal at header level in change mode. The system automatically increases the interval since the last actual date posted by the number of workdays defined in the activities profile in the Default Interval for Date Shift field.

Activities

For more information about processing options and how to deal with date shifts, see Dateline (Quick Guide).