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Expert)
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To allow users to perform supply planning in Excel, the configuration expert must configure IBP accordingly. This includes

the following activities:

 Configure the planning area for supply planning, including the following:

o Enable the planning area for supply planning.

o Define time profiles and planning levels.

o Include master data types and input/output key figures required by the planning algorithms.

o Define planning profiles for the required algorithm types, with company-specific settings.

 Make the data relevant for supply planning available, either by importing it from a source system such as SAP

ERP, or by creating it manually.

 Assign supply planning permissions to the supply planners.

 Create planning view templates so that supply planners can work smoothly in Excel.

For recommendations regarding configuration and performance, please check 2559389  .

Create Planning Areas

When you create a planning area, you have to enable it for supply planning. For more information, see Creating Planning
Areas.

For information about consistency checks that are specific to planning areas enabled for supply planning, see Planning

Areas under Additional Checks for a Planning Area Enabled for Supply Planning.

Note that sample planning areas are available with the required master data types and key figures. For more information,

see Sample Planning Areas.

For information about the SAP4S sample planning area, which allows you to run the time-series-based shelf life planning

heuristic, see SAP4S Sample Planning Area.

Include Master Data for Supply Planning

The planning algorithms require a specific set of master data and attributes with prescribed technical IDs. You first define the

required master data attributes (for example, country and product group) and master data types (for example, customer,

location, and product). You then assign the attributes to the master data types.

Note

Using the Settings for TS Supply Planning app, you can assign other attributes than the standard ones, with different

technical IDs. For the prerequisites and further information, see Settings for TS Supply Planning.

To ensure the consistency of your master data, you also have to set up certain attribute checks. For more information,

see Planning Areas under Additional Checks for a Planning Area Enabled for Supply Planning.

Note

If a planning area is enabled for time-series-based supply planning, and a version of the planning area has version-specific

master data, you have to mark all supply-planning-relevant key figures in this version as version-specific. To do this, change

any baseline key figures and make them version-specific, then activate the planning area and load the version-specific key

figure data. You can use the copy operator to copy baseline key figure values to version-specific key figures.

For more information, see Master Data.

Include Key Figures for Supply Planning

As well as master data, you must define a specific set of key figures with prescribed technical IDs. You can also define

additional custom key figures according to your business needs.

Note
 Using the Settings for TS Supply Planning app, you can assign other attributes than the standard ones, with

different technical IDs. For the prerequisites and further information, see Settings for TS Supply Planning.

 When you create a version, make sure that you include all relevant output and input/output key figures in the

version and flag them as version-specific. Otherwise, the results of a version-specific planning run will be incorrect.

For more information, see Key Figures.

Define Time Profiles

If you plan to use aggregation and disaggregation across different time levels, you have to configure your time profile and

planning algorithms accordingly. For more information, see Aggregation and Disaggregation Across Different Time Levels.

For general information about defining time profiles, see Time Profiles and Time Periods in the model configuration guide.

Define Planning Levels

When you define planning levels for aggregated constraint key figures, you have to adhere to certain rules. For more

information, see Configuring Planning Levels for Aggregated Constraint Key Figures.

For general information about defining planning levels, see Planning Levels in the model configuration guide.

Import Supply Planning Data

After you've defined your master data types and key figures, you either import the supply planning input data from a source

system (for example, SAP ERP or SAP APO) or define it manually.

For more information, see Data Integration.

Define S&OP Operator Profiles

To allow supply planners to call the planning and auxiliary algorithms for time-series-based supply planning in Excel, you

must define a planning profile for each algorithm required by the supply planners. In the IBP Excel add-in, these planning

algorithms can then be called under the SOP Operator menu item.

 A profile contains different settings for the algorithm, for example, the planning area in which it is available, whether it can be

called in batch or simulation mode from the IBP Excel add-in, and its behavior during the planning run. You configure the

profiles using the S&OP Operator Profiles app (see S&OP Operator Profiles).

Note

 To use the app, the business catalog SAP_IBP_BC_SOPOPERATOR_PC needs to be assigned to the relevant

business role, with the required authorization for PPF object maintenance. The app will then be available in the TS Supply

Planning Configuration group on the Launchpad.

 The name of the app and the name of the menu item in Excel reflect the fact that the time-series-based supply

planning algorithms and the auxiliary algorithms are typically used in an S&OP business process.

 Please note that although the technical S&OP planning operator type is no longer available (as of release 1802),

S&OP operator is still used in the app name and on the Excel UI.

 The planning algorithms function correctly only if they can access all planning data that belongs to the subnetworks

selected in Excel. Any filters that a user sets for display purposes in Excel (for example, excluding certain locations or

products) must not be taken into account during supply planning.

For more information, see Planning Profiles for Time-Series-Based Supply Planning.

Assign User Permissions

Ensure that the planning area is enabled for supply planning and assign the following permissions to supply planners:

 Supply Planning permission

 Key figure permissions View and Edit (for the output key figures)

 Key figure permissions for the relevant subnetwork (if using subnetworks).

You must define which subnetworks are to be taken into account by the planning algorithms and specify at least one

subnetwork to ensure that the planning algorithms are visible in the IBP Excel add-in (for both simulate and batch mode).

For more information, see the following guides:

 Identity and Access Management

 Creating Planning Areas

Create Planning View Templates

To allow planners to create planning views quickly and without having to worry about formatting, we recommend that you

create planning view templates (for example, a planning view template that focuses on cost rates or stock levels, or a

planning view for capacity planning)

For more information, see Planning View Templates.

Additional Checks for a Planning Area Enabled for Time-Series-

Based Supply Planning
Note

A planning area is enabled for time-series-based supply planning if in the Planning Areas app

the Enable Supply Planning option is switched on.

The master data types in your planning area may have a two-letter or three-letter prefix for the
IDs (this is the SAP recommendation). In this section, the master data types are mentioned by
their IDs without prefix. The same requirements apply to the corresponding master data types
that have a prefix.

 At least one key figure must be specified as input or output for supply planning.

 All output key figures and input/output key figures of supply planning must be stored key figures.

 A key figure cannot be specified as input or output for supply planning, and as aggregated constraint at the same

time.

 The calculation of a key figure that is specified as an input or output for supply planning must end in a stored key

figure at the same planning level.

 All key figures that are included in the calculation of a key figure that is relevant for supply planning

(the Input/Output for Supply Planning field is not empty) are specified as input for supply planning.
 If versions exist, all output key figures and input/output key figures of supply planning must exist as version-specific

key figures.

 The COMPONENT, PRODUCTTO, SPRODUCT, LOCATIONFR, LOCATIONTO master data types must be reference

master data types.

 Checks for aggregated constraint key figures:

o The base planning level of an aggregated constraint key figure must contain attributes of

type NVARCHAR only.

o The base planning level of an aggregated constraint key figure can include attributes only from the base

planning level of the key figure to which the aggregated constraint key figure corresponds. However, at least one of the root

attributes from the corresponding key figure must be excluded. For example, if the corresponding key figure has three root

attributes, you can include two of them and set them as root attributes in the base planning level of the aggregated

constraint key figure.

o The time root of aggregated constraint key figures must match the time granularity at which the time-

series-based supply planning optimizer is run.

For example, if all supply-relevant key figures are stored at the level of technical weeks, but supply planning is run for

calendar weeks, then the aggregated constraint key figures must have calendar week as their time root. All other time

attributes at a higher level of time granularity (for example, month, quarter, and year) can be assigned, but not as root

attributes.

o Except for the higher-level time attributes, all other master data attributes must be marked as root

attributes.

o All attributes except the time attribute must have the data type NVARCHAR.

o The base planning level of the aggregated constraint key figure must contain one more root attribute that

is a non-root attribute in the base planning level of the corresponding key figure.

For more information about aggregated constraint key figures and their corresponding key figures, see Configuring Planning

Levels for Aggregated Constraint Key Figures.

 To ensure the consistency of master data relevant for time-series-based supply planning, the following attribute

checks must be set up:

Master Data Type Assigned Attribute Check Master Data Type Check Attribute

SOURCEPRODUCTION LOCID LOCATION LOCID

PRDID PRODUCT PRDID

PRODUCTIONSOURCEITM SOURCEID SOURCEPRODUCTION SOURCEID

PRDID PRODUCT PRDID

PRODUCTIONRESOURCE RESID RESOURCE RESID

SOURCEID SOURCEPRODUCTION SOURCEID

LOCATIONPRODUCT PLUNITID PLANNINGUNIT PLUNITID

SOURCECUSTOMERVALIDITY LOCID SOURCECUSTOMER LOCID

PRDID PRDID

CUSTID CUSTID

SOURCELOCATIONVALIDITY LOCID SOURCELOCATION LOCID

PRDID PRDID

LOCFR LOCFR

SOURCEPRODUCTIONVALIDITY SOURCEID SOURCEPRODUCTION SOURCEID

PRDID PRDID

LOCID LOCID
 If you assign the MOTID attribute to the planning area, it must be selected from the MODEOFTRANSPORT master

data type, where it must be a key attribute.

 The SOURCELOCATION and SOURCECUSTOMER master data types can include the MOTID attribute only if they

are compound master data types, and one of their components is the MODEOFTRANSPORT simple master data type.

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Run the Heuristic First (Then the Optimizer)

For any planning task in time-series-based supply planning, we recommend that you first generate a supply plan using the

heuristic. Only run the optimizer once you have understood the results produced by the heuristic algorithm. The reasons for

this recommendation are the following:

 Both planning algorithms require master data and a common set of input key figures to be set up appropriately.

The optimizer requires some additional key figures. If the heuristic cannot produce a meaningful result - for example, the

result does not satisfy any customer demand - the optimizer will most probably face the same problem.

 The heuristic generally has a faster runtime than the optimizer. It is therefore easier and more efficient to try out

various settings with the heuristic first.

 In most cases, the results of the heuristic are more intuitive and therfore easier to understand than those from the

optimizer. This doesn't mean that solutions computed by the optimizer are arbitrary or not understandable. What the

optimizer does is base its decisions exclusively on what is better from a cost perspective, taking the entire supply chain into

account. If you have set some costs too high or too low - which can always happen at the start - supply plans generated by

the optimizer can be somewhat surprising.

Apply the Check Mode Algorithm

When master data or transactional data is inserted or uploaded for time-series-based supply planning, the system does not

perform any consistency checks on this data. Even though some consistency checks are carried out each time the heuristic
or the optimizer is called, we recommend that you check the data separately before running any planning algorithms.

The Check Mode algorithm is available for you to perform this task. For more information, see Check Mode.

Tip

If the Check Mode algorithm reports errors, we recommend resolving them before running a planning algorithm.

Decide Which Parameters to Use

There are several parameters that you can set while defining an operator profile in the S&OP Operator Profiles app. Make

yourself familiar with the most important ones (see the corresponding topics under Planning Profiles for Time-Series-Based

Supply Planning). In the following sections, we provide some additional information.

Parameters Related to Quotas of Sources of Supply

For the algorithm to produce meaningful planning results, the quotas of all sources of supply connected to a location product

must add up to 100%. If the quotas add up to less than 100% and there is no external sourcing rule, the heuristic does not

satisfy the entire net demand of the location product concerned. If the quotas add up to more than 100%, the heuristic

propagates too much net demand of the relevant location product. As a consequence, the computed receipts are too high,

which results in unnecessarily high inventory levels.

Consistent quotas are not necessarily a given: Quotas are often transferred to IBP from an external system, where they may

not have been consistently maintained. Even if they have, it is quite probable that at the beginning of an IBP project the

integration is not yet complete. To overcome such deficiencies in an early project phase and to be able to get some initial

results, the time-series-based supply planning algorithms offer the following parameters:

Available Parameters

Check Quotas

You can use this parameter to prevent the time-series-based supply planning algorithms from being stopped in case of

quota errors, or even to switch these checks off. You should only use this as a temporary solution, however, because if your

quotas are inconsistent, your planning results will be incorrect. Still, this parameter can be quite useful to get the algorithm

running.
 Include Zeros in Quota Check

Specifies how the planning algorithm handles a total quota of zero percent.

If you activate this parameter, the algorithm regards a total quota of zero percent as inconsistent (as defined by the quota

condition) and issues a warning, error, or no message according to how you have configured the Check Quotas parameter.

If you do not activate this parameter, the algorithm ignores quotas of zero percent.

Normalize Quotas

You can set this parameter to have the supply planning algorithm compute consistent quotas. If you do this, the algorithm

computes quotas so that each source of supply connected with one customer product or location product has the same

value, that is, the quotas of related sources are set equally. You may want to use this parameter in an early phase of your

project if real and consistent quotas are not yet available.

Usage Scenarios

You can use the quota-related parameters in the following main scenarios:

Early Implementation Phase

During an early implementation phase of a project, there are various reasons why consistent quotas for all sources of supply

might not yet be available in the system. If you still want to get some initial results with the supply planning operator at this

stage of the project, we suggest one of the following approaches, depending on the circumstances:

 If no or only a few quotas are available in the system, set the Normalize Quotas parameter to Equally to have the

system compute consistent quotas. Existing quotas are temporarily overwritten, but the normalized quotas are not stored.

 If quotas are available for most (or all) sources of supply, but there are still inconsistencies, use the Check

Quotas parameter to turn off the quota consistency check. Set it to at least Warning, however, to be able to find systematic

errors in the quota upload process. Do not use the Normalize Quotas parameter.

Productive System
 In a productive system, a user expects consistent quotas. Therefore, if quotas are not consistent, the operator should return

an error message and it should not compute a new supply plan (which would overwrite the previous one). We therefore

recommend setting the Check Quotas parameter to Stop with Error. Do not use the Normalize Quotas parameter.

In both the early implementation phase and in the productive system, use the Include Zeros in Quota Check parameter

and the Exclude Zeros During Quota Normalization or the Normalize Quotas parameters, depending on whether or not

you want to consider quotas that add up to 0% as valid.

Parameters to Initialize the Lead-Time Horizon

Start Easy - Increase Complexity by Increments

Time-series-based supply planning offers a rich variety of features. Applying these features increases the complexity of a

supply plan, and can make it difficult for you to understand how the supply planning algorithm gets to particular results. As it

is important to understand the results, we recommend that you start with small and easy examples, using only the basic

feature set. A "small and easy" example has the following characteristics:

 The supply chain master data has only a few customer products and location products. You can create a separate

version for this purpose so as not interfere with the task of loading and verifying all relevant master data.

 The example uses only customer sources of supply, transport sources of supply (with lead times), and external

sources of supply. It does not use production sources as sources of supply since they would immediately increase the

complexity of the master data.

 The quotas for all sources of supply that have quotas are set consistently and uniformly, either manually or by

using the NORMALIZE_RATIO_POLICY parameter.

 Either time-independent costs have been set in the optimizer profile, or you have maintained cost key figures.

Once the heuristic or the optimizer has computed satisfactory supply plans for your example, you can increase the

complexity by increasing the data volume (number of customer products, location products, and so on) and by adding

features like adjusted key figures, production sources of supply, lot sizes, maximum inventory level, or minimum and

maximum key figures.

Key Figure Calculations

 It's easiest to start with a planning area where all or almost all input and output key figures are simple stored key figures

without additional calculations. This way you can be sure that the key figure values in the IBP Excel add-in are the same

values used by the algorithms.

Once the supply planning operator runs as desired, you can add calculations. For input key figures, calculations must have

their entire calculation chain (including stored key figures used in the calculation) at the base planning level of the input key

figure. There is no such restriction for output key figures. Keep in mind, however, that overcomplicated calculations might

make supply planning results incomprehensible for users.

Consider the Optimizer Runtime

The runtime of the optimizer is impacted by several factors. Of course the runtime increases with the volume of data, that is,

the size of the supply chain model, the number of customer products and location products, the number or sources of

supply, and so on.

Besides this, the runtime is significantly influenced by the following:

 The number of planning periods within the planning horizon

 The usage of features that need discrete variables, for example, lot-size parameters (minimum lot sizes, rounding
values) or fixed production costs and fixed transportation costs.

To limit the number of discrete variables, we recommend that you only consider these variables for the first n periods of the

planning horizon. You can achieve this by setting discretization horizons in the optimizer profile. For more information,

see Optimizer Parameters.

 The runtime limit. If no such limit is specified, the optimizer runs until the optimality is proven by a very tight
solution gap. This usually takes a long time. By setting a runtime limit, very good solutions can be computed in a shorter
time. The solution gap is reported in the log of the optimizer run.

Configuration and Performance Recommendations

See 2559389  .

S&OP Operator Profiles

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 With this app, you can configure the different types of algorithm that are used in time-series-based supply planning.

To allow supply planners to call the planning and auxiliary algorithms for time-series-based supply planning in the IBP Excel

add-in or from an application job template, you must define an S&OP operator profile for each algorithm required by the

supply planners. In Excel, planners can call the algorithms from the SOP Operator menu item. In the Application Job

Templates app, planners can run the algorithms from the relevant application job template.

Each profile contains different settings for the algorithm, for example, to control the algorithm's behavior during a planning

run.

Note

Although the technical S&OP planning operator type is no longer available (as of release 1802), S&OP operator is still used

in the app name and on the Excel UI.

You can configure profiles for the following algorithm types:

 TS-Based Supply Heuristic

Available types:

o Infinite Without Shortages for the time-series-based supply planning heuristic

o Supply Propagation for the time-series based supply propagation heuristic

o Finite Heuristic for the time-series-based supply planning finite heuristic

o Shelf Life Planning for the time-series-based shelf life planning heuristic

Note

If you try to execute existing heuristic or optimizer S&OP operator profiles from planning areas that you subsequently enable

for shelf life planning, they'll fail with an error message. You have to create new profiles for shelf life planning.

 TS-Based Supply Optimizer

Available modes: Profit Maximization and Delivery Maximization

 TS-Based Forecast Consumption

 Check Mode

 Local Updates

 Compute Quotas

Common settings that you define in all profiles include the following:

 Name and description of the algorithm. The description is displayed in the IBP Excel add-in.

Note

If you open the app in a language other than the one in which the name and description have been created, the related

fields will be empty. In this case, create a language-specific name and description in your current logon language.

 The allowed processing modes.

 Planning area to which the algorithm belongs.

 Level of time granularity at which the algorithm is to be run if you don't want to use the storage level defined for the

supply planning key figures.

You also make algorithm-specific settings that control the behavior of the algorithm with respect to planning features such as

quota checks, source validity, and lead-time horizon. For the optimizer only, you set parameters for discretization, fair-share

distribution, time-independent penalty costs, and global cost factors.

Note

 To use the app, the business catalog SAP_IBP_BC_SOPOPERATOR_PC needs to be assigned to the relevant

business role, with the required authorization for PPF object maintenance. The app will then be available in the TS Supply

Planning Configuration group on the Launchpad.

 When transporting a planning area with the Transport Model Entities app, you need to select the operator

profiles explicitly.
Settings for TS Supply
Planning
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You can use this app to flexibly assign attributes and key figures to business meanings in supply planning and to set a

conversion factor for the aggregated constraints for inventory.

Note

The functions of this app are only available for normalized planning areas that are enabled for supply planning and contain

at least one supply key figure.

Flexible Assignment of Attributes and Key Figures

You can use different attributes and key figures from the SAP standard ones to represent specific business meanings in

supply planning.

Note

The technical names reserved for the SAP-delivered attributes and key figures cannot be used for anything other than their

standard business meaning.

First, you need to select the planning area for which you want to make assignments. The app lists the business meanings of

the attributes and key figures available in this planning area on the Master Data Types and Attributes and Key

Figures tabs.

Attributes

You can only edit the assignments of attributes that are not key attributes.

For editable assignments, the value help for an attribute shows the attributes that can be mapped to the respective business

meaning. These must meet the following conditions:

 They must be attributes of the relevant master data type in the relevant planning area.

 They must have the same type as the standard attributes.

Key Figures

The value help for a key figure shows the key figures that can be mapped to the respective business meaning. These must

meet the following conditions:

 The key figures to be assigned must be part of the relevant planning area.

 The root attributes of the base planning level of a key figure that is to be assigned have to be the same as the root

attributes of the base planning level of the standard key figure.

 The use as input or output key figure for supply must be the same as that of the standard key figures. You can find
this information for the standard key figures in the key figure overview table under Key Figures.

 Key figures to be assigned must not be marked as Indirect Input for Supply in model configuration, that is, they
must not be in the calculation chain for supply key figures.

Note

If you go for a version-specific assignment for a key figure by setting the respective switch to Yes, all versions available in

the planning area are shown. The value help displays the key figures available in each version.

Conversion Key Figure for Aggregated Constraint for Inventory

On the Aggregated Constraint tab of the app, you can assign a conversion key figure for

the MINAGGINVENTORY and MAXAGGINVENTORY key figures for each version of the planning area. For more information

about conversion factors, see Aggregated Constraints Using Conversion Factors.

Note the following about conversion key figures:

 ID and description of the conversion key figure can be chosen freely.

 The conversion key figure must be marked as Input for Supply in model configuration.

 The conversion key figure must be a stored or calculated key figure.

 Its base planning level must have the same root attributes as the PROJECTEDINVENTORY key figure.

 The conversion key figure must not have a conversion factor in model configuration.