In this blog, I would like to present a high level of innovations from SAP Integrated Business Planning 1908 version updates.
SAP IBP application extending its capabilities to respond to supply chain challenges. So planners can plan and respond easily supply chain operations using IBP application.
High-level IBP application capabilities for each module.
Sales & Operations Planning
Process Automation and Management by Exception: Assign Custom Alert Subscriptions to Process Step enabling process to run automated and intervene on exceptions in planning results. Assign one or more Custom Alert Subscriptions to the Start or End of a Process Step.
Driver Based Planning Enhancements:
- Usability Enhancements:
- Freezing of columns
- Auto adjust column width
- Column filtering
- Full screen mode
- Display of last refresh
Demand Planning
New forecasting method “Seasonal Linear Regression": Calculates the forecast based on a linear function. Can take into account trend and seasonality pattern it identifies in the historical data.
Time Series Properties can be considered in Forecasting: Time Series Analysis was executed
and grouped the planning objects according to their demand patterns (trend, seasonal, Sporadic). “Choose Best Forecast” is used and “Consider Time Series Properties” is activated.
Extended Use of Product Lifecycle Information: “Consider Product Lifecycle Information” flag moved from “Forecasting Steps” to “General” tab.
Settings for Product Lifecycle: New with IBP 1908:
- Possibility to de activate usage of phase in/out curves: Curves area and the other fields related to phase in and phase out curves will not be visible in the Manage Product Lifecycle app.
- Option to allow master data values to be used in assignments in the Manage Product Lifecycle app. Planners can create assignments for master data values for which no planning objects exist yet.
Inventory Optimization
Increased navigation of rendered chart via expansion from a Product Node: Introduce expand button "+" from a Product Node to support users to extend the rendered network chart.
Via configuration, help user adoption of inventory plans by introduction of new key figures for propagated demand: Introduce new propagated demand outputs by transportation sourcing and production sourcing to facilitate validation of inventory targets:
- Transportation Propagated Demand (TRSPROPAGATEDDEMANDMEAN)
- BOM Propagated Demand (BOMPROPAGATEDDEMANDMEAN)
Configuration Guide: New key figures introduced.
- Bill of Material Propagated Demand Mean Key Figure
- Transportation Propagated Demand Mean Key Figure
- Transportation Propagated Demand Mean Key Figure with Mode of Transport
Visibility to business user logs for cyclical sourcing in transportation and production: When using Parameter Value ENABLE in Parameter Name LOOP_HANDLING, the inventory algorithm detects transportation and production cyclical sourcing (loops) and logs them as warnings.
Supply Planning
Aggregated Constraints Using Conversion factors: Enables to allocate minimum and/or maximum resource utilization to production and transportation resources using a capacity consumption rate as conversion factor.
Following key figures are introduced as part of this feature:
- MINAGGPCAPAUSAGE and MAXAGGPCAPAUSAGE for production resources
- MINAGGTCAPAUSAGE and MAXAGGTCAPAUSAGE for transportation resources
Transportation Resources for Heuristic:
- Transportation resources are now also considered by all types of the supply planning heuristic.
- The heuristics calculate the capacity usage (TCAPAUSAGE) and capacity demand (TCAPADEMAND) key figures for transportation resources, but they don’t take into account the transportation resources’ capacity supply (CAPASUPPLY) as a limit on transport quantities.
- The heuristics treat capacity as infinite for transportation resources, as they currently do for
production resources.
Merger Policy for Key Figures: New primary parameter to control the merger policy for certain input key figures, that is, how synchronization for these upstream and downstream input key figures takes place after you've run a planning algorithm.
Additional Supply Planning Enhancements/Changes:
- Forecast Consumption Without Supply Planning Now Available from the IBP Excel Add-In
- Advance Warning: S&OP Key Figure Configuration Checks Will Raise Errors for All Customers in 1911
Revised IBP 700 course from SAP Education: New Optimizer course replaces Heuristics content (Heuristics moved to IBP 200 with S&OP).
Order based Planning
Planning Run Profile: You can configure reusable profiles and apply them when executing planning runs. Profiles are defined in Fiori app Planning Run Profiles.
Optimizer Support Activities in Production Data Structure (PDS): Integrate the activities with their durations and with the component assignments into IBP using the OpenAPI inbound version 1808.0.0_FULL (and higher). With IBP1908: PDS activities are considered in all IBP OBP planning runs that create planned orders.
Optimizer Support Component Lead Time Offset: When planned orders have long lead times, companies have the need to schedule component requirements different from the planned order start date. Otherwise it can result in components being procured much earlier than they are actually needed in the production process.
Optimizer - Goods receipt processing time: With IBP1908 the Order-based optimizer will also support the goods receipt processing time. When creating a planned element, goods receipt processing time is taken into account during scheduling.
Time profile levels period type: Time profile level mapping will be replaced by period types of the time profile of the planning area.
Prioritization of adjusted key figures: In IBP Order Based Planning you can influence planning by maintaining adjusted key figures.
Demand Driven MRP (DDMRP)
Step 0 Calculate/update ADU for customer facing warehouses: In 1908, ADU is calculated for all location products locally (ADU is no longer. Instead, it is calculated via the configuration codes that are added to SAP8.
Average Daily Usage (ADU): Calculation Based on Local Historical Demand, Forecasts and Future Dependent Demand.
Step 1 (and 2) Identify strategic decoupling points for inventory positioning: Recommended
Decoupling Points and Calculate DDMRP buffer levels are now branded under Demand driven Replenishment operator.
Recent enhancement: Step 4b Integrate to ECC via IBP Add on and run the heuristic: Data flow templates are updated to support the new data model for integration of IBP with ECC via IBP
Add on for ECC integration.
Analytics and Exception Management
Chart reference lines: A planner can define reference lines on charts that have at least one axis.
Web based Planning & Business Partner Collaboration
Basic Simulations: You can now simulate the effects of your data changes on dependent key figures on the fly.
User Defined Scenarios: Planner has simulated any changes, and you want to save these changes separately so as not to impact the operational data, you can save them as a scenario.
New Functionalities for the Web Based Planning Grid:
Display of fixed values: A visual help now indicates which values in the planning view are fixed.
Freezing of columns: To keep the most important attributes visible while you scroll horizontally through your planning view, you can now freeze multiple columns in the planning view.
Column filtering: To focus on specific data in the planning view, you can now temporarily hide information that you’re not interested in by filtering in the columns directly.
Full screen mode: You can now use the whole space of your browser window for the planning view by opening the planning view in full screen mode.
Display of last refresh: A new icon above the planning view shows you when you last refreshed the data.
Collaboration with Business Partners: You can now collaborate with your business partners directly in IBP using the Web Based Planning app by giving access to your business partners access to your IBP system and the Web Based Planning app.
IBP Excel Add In 1908.2.0
Strong and Light Match: Depending on what the user has already selected in the Time, Attribute or Key Figure tab, the Strong and Light Match groups are automatically changed accordingly.
Tooltip for key figures: In order to provide more information on how a key figure is defined in the IBP backend, we have introduced the tooltip which shows all information how the key figure is defined.
Ribbon Redesign Changes in the Drop Down lists: The standard IBP functions such as Add, Update,Edit, Delete, Share, and Organize have been shifted to the top of the drop down lists for
- Favorites
- Templates
- Planning Filter
Ribbon Redesign Reorganization of some groups and buttons: By reorganizing some groups and buttons in the ribbon, we aim to save space and make the grouping more consistent.
Multi Selection in Drill Down: When using the Drill Down capabilities on a key figure values in planning view, you will now be able to select multiple attributes at once that are added to your planning view in the order in which you selected them.
Value based filter to remove empty and zero combinations: Within the value based filter, there is an option to choose “All Selected Key Figures”. If chosen, the operator will automatically be switched to “Not Empty or Zero” and “In At Least one Period” for the time dimension.
File Path for Workbook in Admin Settings: User can either directly enter a file path or use the browser to choose an existing folder or create a new one.
“Empty” Save after Simulation: When using the Simulation options in the IBP Excel Add In, you will see a slightly different behavior starting with the IBP 1908.2.0 add in, that improves the performance for the users when saving data after a simulation run.
IBP Installer using NGen: With the IBP 1908.2.0 add in version, we have adapted the NGen (Native Image Generator) from the .NET Framework. It can optimize the logon time to the IBP backend for the users.
Additional Enhancements
Attribute Permissions
Monitor System Tasks
Model Configuration New UI
Simplified Key Figures in Configuration (Last Period Aggregation Dynamic and Static)
Scheduling Activation Jobs
Integration of SAP ECC, S/4HANA with IBP Using Add On
Data integration to SAP Analytics Cloud
Best Regards,
Lingiaah