Show TOC

 Equipment Packages

Definition

The planning of the provision of non-consumable goods at material number or serial number level (planned actual materials) that a force element requires in order to perform its tasks/missions.

Use

In contrast to authorized materials mapped via material planning objects or material containers, you assign equipment packages (EPAs) to a force element to define in the planning phase the combinations of concrete material numbers or serial numbers you want the force element to be equipped with.

If you want to carry out detailed planning of the procurement of the material concerned using the authorized/actual comparison, it must be also be mapped via material planning objects (MPOs), since materials planned only via EPAs are not evaluated in the authorized/actual comparison. If the status of a force element or of its assignments changes, the system can check whether the material planned by means of EPAs is also mapped by means of MPOs. See also Checks for Status Change .

For information on editing the assignment of EPAs to force elements, see Assigning Material Objects .

You define in the properties of an EPA whether it can be used for detailed planning and/or relocation planning.

  • Detailed planning

    Whereas you use an MPO to procure an individual material by selecting one of the material masters defined, you use an EPA to request handling units (HUs), that is, predefined combinations of different materials that belong together (such as a vehicle of a specific type combined with an item of equipment of a specific type) and that are held in the supplier’s stock. In this case, the material master record does not need to be selected, since the relevant material master record is already defined for each material. The leading record (such as the vehicle type) identifies the EPA during the detailed planning process.

    For more information, see Requisitioning and Planning of Material .

    In order for an EPA that is assigned to a force element to be used in this way, an HU in the supplier’s stock must correspond to the EPA. HUs can be generated from an EPA (see also Requesting Equipment Packages ).

  • Relocation Planning

    In the context of relocation, you can use EPAs in the same way as in detailed planning. The process matches the process for MPOs, that is to say, detailed planning must take place separately by means of creating material plans or purchase requisitions in order to generate the logistical follow-on documents required for relocation.

    Alternatively , similarly to provisions packages, you can have EPAs planned in detail automatically, since the required material master record is already defined for each material and the logistical follow-on documents can be generated automatically.

    For more information about relocation, see Operation, Exercise, and Relocation Planning and Relocation of Material .

Structure

The following fields are available in the Structures Workbench on the Equipment Packages tab page:

  • EPA/Description

    The object ID and description of the assigned EPA.

  • Number

    The number of required EPAs.

  • Start Date / End Date

    The validity period of the assignment of the EPA to the force element.

  • Status

    The status of the assignment of the EPA to the force element. See also Status Networks . You can change the assignment status by choosing this pushbutton.

  • Comments

    A user-defined text about the assignment.

  • For Planned Operation / Planned Delimitation Date / Status , see Delimitation/Deletion with Status Change .

For more information, see Additional Functions for Assignments .

Storage

These assignments are stored in tables of the FORCER framework .

Integration

To display the details of an assigned EPA: