BPS Characteristic Hierarchy 

Definition

Virtual hierarchy generated by the system from the characteristics in the lead columns at runtime. You can enter values on the nodes of the hierarchy after it has been generated.

Use

For planning layouts with a hierarchical data model, a hierarchy has to be consulted along with the transaction data in order that the data is correctly interpreted and processed. If you set the indicator BPS Characteristic Hierarchies in the Hierarchy in the Lead Column dialog box, manual planning switches to a special mode. In this mode the system generates a characteristic hierarchy at runtime from the sequence of characteristics in the lead column.   Each characteristic corresponds to one level of the hierarchy.

Structure

The structure of the hierarchy can be illustrated in this example: You have the characteristics article group and article (in this order) in the planning layout. You have the key figure value in the data column. The characteristic combinations [#, #], [AG1, #], [AG1, A1], [AG1, A2], and the combinations [AG2, #], [AG2, A3] and [AG2, A4] have been entered. Here ‘#’ indicates the initial characteristic value Non-Assigned. 

Example of BPS characteristic hierarchy

Product group	Article	Value
Article group	Article	350
#	#	200
AG1	Article	100
	#	50
	A1	30
	A2	20
AG2	Article	50
	#	20
	A3	20
	A4	10

The system also generates the hierarchy nodes for the characteristic hierarchy as additional combinations. For each hierarchy node there is one combination of characteristic values that bears the not yet distributed values. This kind of combination is called a dummy leaf.

·        Combination [#,#] belongs to the total [article group, article]. The corresponding value 200 has not yet been distributed on the article group, article level.

·        Combination [AG1, #] belongs to the subtotal [AG1, article]. The corresponding value 50 has not yet been distributed on the AG1, article level.

·        Combination [AG2, #] belongs to the subtotal [AG2, article]. The corresponding value 20 has not yet been distributed on the AG2, article level.

The following graphic illustrates the structure of the BPS characteristic hierarchy in this example:

Integration

If you have set the BPS Characteristic Hierarchies indicator, the system generates the subtotals. These subtotals are only available at runtime. They are not stored in the database. If the planning layout is displayed in manual planning using Microsoft Excel, the hierarchy is visualized with the Excel group levels.

System behavior when entering plan data subject to summation logic

Dummy leaves for the subtotals are not ready for input.  

·        If you choose the top-down option, the first postable node is also not ready for input.

·        If you choose the bottom-up option, the postable nodes are all ready for input. There are exceptions to this. These are mentioned in the following points.

A subtotal is ready for input when an associated combination of characteristic values has been entered that contains the not yet distributed values. That is, when the corresponding dummy leaf is available. 

·        If you choose the top-down option, any change to the value in the subtotal causes a corresponding change to be made to the value of the dummy leaf.

Example

Input 1: If the value of the subtotal [AG1, article] is increased from 100 to 120, the system adjusts the value of [AG1, #] to 60 and the value of [#, #] to 190.

Input 2: An increase in the value on one leaf – for instance [AG2, A3] – reduces the value of the dummy leaf [AG2, #] accordingly.

The following graphic illustrates this example:

·        If you choose the bottom-up option, input on one leaf is not deducted from the lower-level leaf.  Instead, the value of the higher-level node is changed accordingly. Only an input on a node with lower-level elements causes a change to be made to the corresponding dummy node.

Example

Input 1: If the value of the leaf [AG2, A3] is increased from 20 to 30, the system changes the value of [AG2, article] accordingly from 50 to 60 and the value of [AG, A] to 360.

The following graphic illustrates this example:

In the top-down mode, if the appropriate dummy leaf for a subtotal is not there or is locked in a data slice for the planning, the corresponding subtotals and lower-level elements of this subtotal from the subsequent level are not ready for input.  In bottom-up mode it is only the corresponding subtotal that is not ready for input.

Further notes

·        In order to assort newly entered rows (that is, new combinations of characteristic values) automatically in manual planning, choose Check. 

·        Characteristic combinations that may contain initial values for some characteristics but that do not fit in the characteristic hierarchy are not displayed in manual planning. It is also not possible to re-enter these combinations. 

Example: A combination of this kind could be [#, A1].

·        If you have chosen the option Check Input in the Hierarchy in the Lead Column dialog box, the system checks whether the values for the dummy leaf are greater than or equal to zero.  For more information, see Hierarchically Structured Planning.