Demand Planning Implementation Questionaire to the Business

Hi All:
We are about to implement Demand Planning SCM 5.0 for one of our businesses. As a part of requirements gathering, I am supposed to prepare a questionaire that business would fill in. Does anyone have any document on this that you would not mind sharing with me? What sort of questions do I ask? I am kind of new to DP and any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Ryan

Hi Nar,
Few questions for yor intial start up, you can go ahead with the similar questions how they want it after APO -DP.
1.     Which vertical of business you are belong to? Specify the same.
Ex: Manufacturing industry u2013 Pharmaceuticals.
2.     What are the automated tools currently used for the planning purpose?
3.     What is an objective of going to SAP APO-DP?
4.     What are the challenges faced with the current tool?
5.     How long the business users are using the current tools?
6.     What are the advantages of the current tools?
7.     Is there any Manual planning method is used for division of business or any business geographical location?
8.     What are current data taken in to consideration for the demand planning?
9.     Which are the departments providing an input for the planning now?
10.     What are the base characteristics used for the current planning? Ex: Product, Location.
11.     What is a detailed level of data are stored or reported?
12.     What are the forecast methods used?
13.      What are the factors considered in the planning? Ex: Seasonal, Climate, economical ect.,
14.     How the new product introductions are handled now?
15.     Does the planning carried out on geographical based or product line or division based?
16.     What is an aquiracy of statistical forecast?
17.     Is there any promotional planning and life cycle planning are done now?
18.     What is a frequency of planning? How it is expected to be in future ?
19.     Does that a calendar weeks or months are followed in the planning or any customized calendars are followed? If customized what is that and Why it is used?
20.     Is there any regular back up is taken after the planning run? If so how is it carried out?
21.     Any reporting tool is linked with the Demand Planning?
22.     How demand planning results are analyzed and how the decisions are made?
23.     What are the kinds of decisions are made after every planning run?
24.     Who are all taking the decisions?
25.     How many locations manufacturing is carried out and how many distribution centers are there?
Regards
Jegan

Similar Messages

Business Process: Final Demand Plan Key Figure in the past for APO DP

Hello APO process experts,
I have a BPX question for APO DP process owners, consultants or gurus:
1.- Have you ever seen in any SAP APO customer, that in their APO DP planning books, they chose or designed to update the Final Demand Plan key Figure in the past closed historical buckets with the Actual Sales?
Meaning that that in the Past closed historical Buckets, Actual Sales and Final Demand Plan, look exactily the same.
Meaning that they create a dynamic Final Demand Plan key figure so to speak, yet they did not choose to create a key figure that also keeps the Final Demand Plan as originally entered.
2.- Would you think that doing the above, without keeping any keyfigure in the planning book that actually shows what the Final Demand Plan was in the Past, is a good practice?
The Demand Planner could still retreive the Final Demand Plan from BI reports, yet, dynamically they could never really see it in the planning book.
3.- Do you think the above dynamic key figure would bias the Demand Planner's behaviour to manipulate the future open Final Demand Plan buckets to enter volumes in order sum to a monthly total, independently of what were the over and underachievements in the past (since they are not really visible to him) ?
I would really like your feedback,
thanks in advance!
JD Loera

Hello Thanks for your feedback.
I agree with your point, and I hope that i still get more feedback from other Business Process Experts.
I am trying to build a case for my client, to challenge the decision of their initial design as this practice is going to hurt the Demand Management process, if what they intend to achieve is a true "unconstrained demand plan"
Much appreciated
JD Loera

What is the best practice for APO - Demand planning implementation

Hi,
M client wants to implement demand planning.
Cient has come up with one scenario like a New Customer is created in ECC, and if I use BI and then APO flow for Demand planning, user will have to wait for another day. (AS BI is always having one day delay).
For this scenarios user is insisting on ECC and APO-DP interface.
Will anybody suggest what should be the best practice for Demand planning.
ECC -> Standalone BI -> Planning area (Planning is done in APO) -> Stand alone BI
Or ECC -> APO-DP (Planning is done in APO) -> Standalone BI system
I hope I am able to explain my scenario.
Regards,
Saurabh

Any suggestions !!

What is the significance of Live Cache in demand planning ?

Hi all,
Can anyone explain me significance of live cache in the demand planning. What are the issues will turn up for live cache if it is not properly maintained?
Thanks
Pooja

Hi Pooja,
SAP has come up with Live cache concept for storage and most important, quick and efficient processing of transactional data. Its a layer between data base and GUI and even the search methods and storage space has been optimized due to its structure. In DP it is used for storage of time series data whereas in SNP it can store both time series and order series data.
Regarding your second query, it is recommended to have Live cache consistency on a periodic basis for synchrinising data between LC and database tables. You can face many issues due to LC inconsistency as incorrect time series generation, Transactional data discrepancy, COM routine errors during background processing etc.
Let me know if it helps
Regards
Gaurav

Oracle Demand Planning

Hi,
Please let me know, If anybody knows how to customize the Demand Planning pages.
Thanks,
Robert

Hi.
Apologies for the delay in responding. The documentation for Oracle Applications 11.5.10 can be found on OTN, documentation URL: http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html
Applications / E-Business Suite > Applications 11.5.10 > Applications 11.5.10.2+ Online Documentation CD >B10238-01 (Oracle Demand Planning Implementation and User's Guide (zipped) )
If this is not what you were referring to and it does not deal with documentations, please try the Members Feedback Forum at: Community Feedback (No Product Questions)
Regards,
Chao

Oracle Demand Planning Documentation

Dear colleges
Can any one knows the link to Oracle Demand Planning 11.5.10 Documentation
[I mean updated document not one with the Documentation CD] or any info. regarding Oracle Demand planning istallation and implementation in Oracle Applications 11.5.10.
Regards,
A.S.Salem

Hi.
Apologies for the delay in responding. The documentation for Oracle Applications 11.5.10 can be found on OTN, documentation URL: http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html
Applications / E-Business Suite > Applications 11.5.10 > Applications 11.5.10.2+ Online Documentation CD >B10238-01 (Oracle Demand Planning Implementation and User's Guide (zipped) )
If this is not what you were referring to and it does not deal with documentations, please try the Members Feedback Forum at: Community Feedback (No Product Questions)
Regards,
Chao

Demand Planning: How to create a forecast in ODP

Our client is using Oracle Financials OM etc however it currently uses a separate tool for forecasting. We are planning to start forecasting in Oracle Demand Planning.
Following is the simplified calculation for forecasting, how can this be done in ODP:
Calculation is done for item type, 2 calculations are done for every month (X and Y changes every month):
JAN:
1. A= X% of Jan sales
2. B= Y% of last year sales
The forecast should pick greatest number among A and B (it should not pick A+B).
Is this possible in ODP, how to setup the forecast and its calculations.
Thanks in advance.

You could do this in ODP using the absolute value function and some formula measures.
I assume you are familiar with formula measures in ODP and hence I will focus only on the math behind the formula measures. I am ignoring the percentage aspect that can be easily achieved using formula measure capabilities.
The result set that you want is the following:
if X > Y return X else Y
Formula measure 1 = FM1 = X + Y
Formula measure 2 = FM2 = = |X - Y| (absolute value)
Formula measure 3 = (FM1 + FM2) / 2
How does this work?
|X - Y|
returns Y - X if Y > X
returns X - Y if X > Y
if X > Y then the result is
(X + Y + X - Y)/2 = X
if X < Y, then the result is
(X + Y + Y - X)/2 = Y
This will give you the results you want.
Note: the formula measures apply at all levels of the hierarchy and is not the aggregation from the lowest levels.
Please be careful and validate this solution against your total set of requirements.

SAP ERP - Demand Planning and Forecasting

Dear all,
my customer is a wholesale company. They want to use a component in SAP ERP (not SAP APO), in order to make demanding planning and forecasting for the materials , quantities and dates they should make the purchases in order to cover the demand of their customers. What is the component that should be used in order to achieve this?

MRP can be used without production planning. SOP and Demand Management are not Production.
Nevetheless, if you want a simpler planning cycle, provided that you understand its ads and cons, you could go for Consumption Based Planning MRP.
See this link for details:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/7d/c2821c454011d182b40000e829fbfe/frameset.htm
Mario

Demand planning help links

Hi Gurus,
I am new to Demand planning and forecasting, Please can you give suggest me some help.sap.com links to demand planning. I am BI technical, I am going to involve in demand planning implementation.
Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Regards,
Reddy.

Hi
Go through following link
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_scm50/helpdata/en/8f/9d6937089c2556e10000009b38f889/frameset.htm
Regards
Sujay

What are the disadvantages of implementing APO- Demand Planning without improvements or cleaning up the MRP. in other words is DP implementation dependant on MRP process. Gurus please advise

HI All. What are the disadvantages of implementing APO- Demand Planning without improvements or cleaning up the MRP. in other words is DP implementation dependant on MRP process. Gurus please advise

Hi Amol,
DP is the demand planning machine, here you estimate your forecast (future sales).
The MRP is a supply planning machine, here you use estimate the replenishment.
Both machines in a technical perspective are independent one each other. Now in a business perspective they are not: The problem that you will have if you don´t clean your MRP elements is not a problem in DP itself. I mean, you can have a very success implementation in DP, your forecast accuracy will be very good.. and you will get a very good forecast, but when the MRP run and estimate the replenishment, the effort that you made in DP will not be translated in good results and your planning situation will be still not good.
Kind Regards,
Mariano

Advantages of Implementing Demand Planning in APO

Hi All:
One of our company's business units is exploring the possibility of implementing their Demand Planning in APO. Since their business closely resembles retail, they do not run MRP in ECC to replenish. Instead they do Kanban for replenishment. Hence they do not need Independent requirement in ECC.
The as-is forecast model is a simple spreadsheet that they use that is used for financial forecasting. They have a lots of SKUs and with spreadsheet aggregation and disaggregation is a night mare. Hence they have products sitting in their inventory, worth millions of dollars that has not been sold yet for a year. In essense the top-level forecast data has too many errors. They also use this to forecast how much of components they have to procure. Again, they have millions of dollars work of components sitting in our inventory.
So, they are looking to implement their DP in some other software. Since we have APO, APO could be a choice. But we have to justify the cost involved.
They will not need APO to send back IR back to ECC.
Followiing are the benefits we see:
1. Highly integrated with ECC and hence forecasting will be based on their Sales and invoice history.
2. Since their products are seasonal, APO can offer advanced forecast methods to forecast SKUs as accurately as possible.
3. Ease of use.
4. Right now, the spreadsheet is accessible to one user at a time and been shared thru emails. This will change with APO
5. They could use DP-BOM to forecast component and help reduce components inventory
6. An integrated system that will sent forecast to CO-PA on a monthly basis.
Can you guys help me with anything else that will benefit the business? Any input will be of great benefit.

Hi,
before to begin: I don't really understand what you are saying: you say the forecast is not use for planning, however your think it is the cause of overstock... how can that be?
I understand the logic for componenents, but not for finish good here
Anyway, regarding your questions:
Of course DP will help you too, and the benefits you emntioned are good.
However I suggest you to do a bigger analysis of your business needs... it looks ot me that you will need more than DP.
You could use SNP to plan your finish good and components (or use a strategy such as planning at assembly level).
If your biggest challenges in inventory level then SNP is the tool that will give you a better visibility here.
I personnally think that DP BOM should be use only is specific cases. You better have to plan your component in SNP, which will be far more flexible.
In one sentence, I think that if you do decide for a DP implementation now, you biggest benefit should be: later on you will be able to use SNP for planning.
Well that is what I think....
Good luck for your challenges!
Julien

Webinar: Business Planning in SAP BW - The SEM-BPS transition to BW-BPS

SAP NetWeaver Know-How Network Webinar:
Business Planning in SAP BW - The SEM-BPS transition to BW-BPS
Wednesday 14 July 2004
11 a.m. EDT
On Wednesday 14 July, Lori Vanourek, a NetWeaver BI RIG Consultant, hosts the webinar titled Business Planning in SAP BW - The SEM-BPS transition to BW-BPS as part of the ongoing SAP NetWeaver Know-How Network Webinar Series.
Heres how Lori describes her webinar presentation:
Business Planning is an integral part of SAP NetWeaver '04. Join us as we share SAP's product roadmap for business planning and discuss the transition of BPS from SAP SEM to SAP NetWeaver '04.
SDN invites you to post your questions to the presenter prior to the webinar and continue the online discussion afterward.
How to Participate
(Please go to the SDN Events page to see the article and download the PDF presentation)
Dial-in Information:
Date: Wednesday 14 July 2004
Time: 11 a.m. EDT
Within the U.S., call: +1.888.428.4473
Outside the U.S., call: +1.651.291.0618
Password: NetWeaver04
WebEx Information:
Topic: SAP NetWeaver Know-How Network
Date: Wednesday 14 July 2004
Time: 11 a.m. EDT
Meeting Number: 742391500
Meeting Password: netweaver04 (lowercase)
WebEx Link: sap.webex.com
Replay Information:
A recorded replay of this call will be available for approximately three months after the webinar. Access this recording by dialing the appropriate number and using the replay access code 720149.
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Disclaimer
SDN is not responsible for any changes to the webinar schedule. The webinar schedule may be changed or cancelled without prior notice.

Hello Marc and Sander,
I checked the document status and tested the link myself using a PC external to the SAP environment and did not have any problem. You do have to be logged in to do this. If you are not, you should see a page that will appear which says that a login is required to use that feature. On some occassions, users see an error message instead. I apologize for that.
Kind Regards,
David

How to configure for the give senario where we from APO demand planning, we provide baseline forecast into TPM

Hello Guru's,
Request for information on smart documentation on the integration between Trade Promotion Management and SCM-Demand Planning from an architecture perspective how to configure for the give senario where we from APO demand planning, we provide baseline forecast into TPM and from TPM promotions values can be considered in to APO demand planning: can anybody give me some insight on it.
Thanks in advance.
Kumar

Hi Praveen
There are several ways you can connect a DP system to a TPM. How are your interfaces and systems setup?
Option1:
Extract the baseline from APO to a BW cube, extract the data out of BW, may be using infospokes/open hub and pass it on to TPM.
2. Have a custom program written in APO-DP to extract the selected keyfigure data at the aggregation level into an interface or a .txt file into APO directory and use some data transfer service such as EDI to take this data and send to TPM.
In my experience it is simple to define an integration process. The much larger and complicated aspects are the date adjustments and the aggregation levels.
Date adjustments:
Understand the basis of the data in APO and TPM. APO is usually at the requested delivery date or material availability date ( when the customer like a store wants the product). However TPMs are usually at the consumption date ( when an end customer like you and me but from store shelf). Depending on the product and business style this can mean several days difference. Let's say it is 25 days on average, you need to add 25 days to APO base line date to get the TPM consumption date.
Aggregation level:
This can be product or customer. If the planning in DP is at product sku level and the TPM is at packs or brand level, you need to aggregate the data up before loading to TPM. The same with customer.
To me the most complex part of the integration is to understand and transform the data in a meaningful way and a strategy to sustain this integration by keeping both DP and TPM in sync in terms of master data. Also important to have a process for identifying exceptions and failures. you send baseline from DP to TPM and if it fails, how do you know? how do you trouble shoot?
Hope these help.

Business Objects and Demand Planning Book

Has anyone combined the functionality of Business Objects and Demand Planning into a single view? The requirement is to provide enhanced analytics (near real-time) within DP. We are on version 5.0. Ideally, it will a single view (table and graph -similar to standard layout) where both DP and BO are called with the same selection. I have a method to access the data near real time. What are the options to acheive this? Any ideas will be helpful.
Regards,
James

Thanks Dave. I created a virtual cube in APO to connect BO. I can retrieve the data fine. I was wondering if there is a way to integrate BO and the planning book so that I will have one view to see both applications. For example, I called /zsapapo/sdp94 and get the planning book and BO analytics. Essentially, I want the BO to replace the standard graphics in the planning book. So, I would have a table at the top and BO dashboard at the bottom of the planning view. Any ideas how to achieve this?
The other question is around using a function module or BAPI to connect a virtual cube to LC to retrieve real time information. Are you aware of any drawbacks to using a function module or BAPI to retrieve data instead of the DataSource?

Business flow of demand planning

hi to all
please any one tell me : the business flow of demand planning .
thnk u

Hi Ronald,
This is a good place to start:
<http://help.sap.com/saphelp_scm50/helpdata/en/78/bca554465f11d3983a0000e8a49608/frameset.htm>
If you have some practical experience with demand planning in general, a lot of the info at that link will seem like common sense and you'll likely be able to fill in the blanks. However, if you are starting from scratch then it may be too general to orient you sufficiently.
At any rate, I hope it helps.
Dan

Demand Planning Implementation Questionaire to the Business

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