APO DP QUESTION & ANSWERS

1. Where do you defne Info-objec!"

We dene Info Ob|ects n the Data Warehousng Workbench (Admnstrator work
bench). Whe creatng nfo ob|ects we can decde whether we want to create BW or
APO Info-Ob|ects. Whe t s rreevant whether we create BW or APO Info-Ob|ects for
characterstcs, ths s not the case wth key gure s (.e., we shoud crate APO Info-
Ob|ects). Otherwse, we wont be abe to x any vaues or quanttes for ths key
gure.
#. Info-objec! co$%r&!e"
Info ob|ects comprse Characterstcs, Key gures, Unts, Tme Characterstcs and
Technca characterstcs (such as request number, for exampe).
'. Wh( &! Ad$&n&!r(or Wor)bench &! u!ed o cre(e (nd $(n(*e"
It s used
1. To create the data ob|ects requred for the Demand Pannng
2. To enabe data to be oaded from dherent data sources and
3. To montor the data oadng operatons and the data updates
+. Wh( (re he d&,eren y%e! of d(( &n -&.e /(che"
1. Tme seres data and
2. Order seres data
0. Wh( &! he d&,erence be1een Sor(*e 2uc)e Prof-e (nd P-(nn&n* 2uc)e
Prof-e"

There are two knds of tme bucket proes:
one s used for storng data (the storage buckets proe), and
The other for pannng the data (the pannng buckets proe).
Sor(*e 2uc)e Prof-e3
The storage buckets proe determnes the perods n whch data s stored for a gven
pannng area n the DP and SNP
In a storage buckets proe, you specfy:
One or more perodctes n whch you wsh the data to be saved
The horzon durng whch the proe s vad.
You can aso ncude a tme stream n storage bucket proe. You use tme
streams to ncorporate factory caendars and other pannng caendars n
Demand Pannng. You can thus specfy whch days are workdays and whch
days are hodays. You dene tme streams n Customzng under APO
Master Data Caendar Mantan Pannng Caendar (Tme Stream).
P-(nn&n* 2uc)e! Prof-e3
The pannng buckets proe denes the perods n whch data s dspayed and
panned.
The pannng buckets proe denes the foowng:
What tme unts are to be used for the pannng
How many perods of the ndvdua tme unts are to be used
The sequence n whch you want to dspay the perods wth the dherent tme
unts n the pannng tabe.
U!e3
You can pan n monthy, weeky, day or (combned wth sca year varants) sef-
dened perods.
4. 5o1 c(n you !eu% 1o *r&d! &n he P-(nn&n* 2oo) 6 D(( 7&e1"
Pannng book determnes the content and ayout of the nteractve pannng screen.
In the pannng book, we can seect characterstcs and key gures that the demand
panners requre for ther tasks. Each book can contan severa vews n whch we can
compose key gures for detaed anayss and pannng tasks. In each vew, you can
aso dene the pannng horzon and the perod spt. The number of pannng books
for a pannng area s unmted. We can dene user specc vews of the pannng
book, ncudng the nta coumn, number of %-(nn&n* (b-e! 8*r&d!9, and status of
the vew by other users.

:. Wh( c(n be !ource! of d(( &n he &$e !er&e! )ey f*ure"
Hstorca data from the Info cube
;. Wh( &! he u!e of e<-%o! forec(! &n Un&.(r&(e S(&!&c(- =orec(!&n*"
A forecast that s run n past perods, for whch actua demand hstory s aso
avaabe, the system cacuates the forecast accuracy measurements by comparng
the dherences between the actua vaues and the ex-post vaues. For more
nformaton, see Forecast Accuracy Measurements.
Use:
If more hstorca vaues are avaabe than the system needs to ntaze the
mode, an ex-post forecast s carred out automatcay as foows:
The hstorca vaues are dvded nto two groups: the rst group wth the oder
vaues s used for ntazaton; the more recent vaues n the second group
are used to carry out an ex-post forecast (see the gure beow).
The basc vaue, the trend vaue, the seasona ndex, and the mean absoute
devaton (MAD) are moded n every ex-post perod. These vaues are used
to cacuate the forecast resuts n the future.
The system cacuates the error tota n the ex-post horzon. The error tota s
the sum of the dherences between the actua (hstorca) vaues and the
panned (n ths nstance, the ex-post forecast) vaues.
The ex-post forecast resuts are stored n the key gure you predened for ths
purpose n Customzng.
Other ponts to consder n connecton wth the ex-post forecast are:
It s not possbe to nuence the ength of the ntazaton and ex-post
horzons.
An ex-post forecast s carred out for a forecast strateges other than 13, 14,
60, 70 (the manua correcton phase), 80 and 94.
For more nformaton on the roe of the ex-post forecast n forecast strateges
12 and 23, see Automatc Adaptaton of the Apha Factor.
>. Wh( (re he y%e! of ?ey f*ure (**re*(&on &n er$! of ch(r(cer&!&c!6/(-c
Ty%e"
Cacuaton Type for a Key Fgure
Speces whether and how ths key gure s aggregated and dsaggregated. Ths
settng s vad for a of the pannng books n whch the key gure s used. You
choose from the foowng optons:
S - Pro r((
o Pro rata dsaggregaton works n two ways, dependng on whether you are
creatng or changng the demand pan:
o If you create data on an aggregate eve, the data s dstrbuted to the owest
eve of deta n equa proportons.
o If you change data on an aggregate eve, the vaues at the detaed eve
change so that each one represents the same proporton of the aggregate
vaues as before.
P - 2(!ed on (noher )ey f*ure
o The data s dstrbuted to the owest eve of deta n the same proportons as
those that can be derved from the vaues of another key gure. For exampe,
you can appy the proportona dstrbuton of the key gure
"Basene/statstca forecast" to the key gure "Manua ad|ustment". Note,
however, that f no vaues exst for the key gure "Basene/statstca
forecast", no dsaggregaton takes pace.
o If you enter 'P', you must aso specfy on ths screen the key gure on whch
dsaggregaton s based. Do ths n the ed Dsaggregaton key gure.
o If you wsh the data to be dstrbuted to the owest eve of deta n
accordance wth the constant proportona factors, seect opton 'P' and
choose the key gure Proportona factor APODPDANT n the ed
Dsaggregaton key gure. You generate the constant proportona factors as
part of the master data before you start to pan.
o Note: Ths s ony possbe for tme seres key gures and key gures from an
InfoCube. Both the key gure and the key gure upon whch the
dsaggregaton s based must be tme seres key gures or orgnate from the
same InfoCube.
A - A.er(*e of )ey f*ure!
o The average of the key gure vaues on the next ower aggregaton eve s
dspayed at runtme. Use ths opton for key gures that represent
percentages (for exampe, the percentage dherence between ths year's and
ast year's forecast) or saes prces (for exampe, saes prce per unt). If you
enter a vaue on a hgh eve, the system dsaggregates t by copyng the
vaue to the detas on the owest eve.
D- A.er(*e ( he -o1e! -e.e- of de(&-
o In contrast to cacuaton type A, the system uses the vaues at the most
detaed eve, that s the eve for whch each characterstc has a snge vaue
assgned, to form the average. Ths can resut n dherent numerca vaues n
comparson to type.
N - No d&!(**re*(&on
o Dsaggregaton costs performance, so set ths opton for text rows, auxary
rows, and other rows that do not need dsaggregatng.
I - Pro r((@ e<ce% for he &n&&(- d&!(**re*(&on@ 1h&ch &! b(!ed on (noher
)ey f*ure
o If you create data on an aggregate eve, the data s dstrbuted to the owest
eve of deta n the same proportons as those that can be derved from the
vaues of another key gure. For exampe, you can appy the proportona
dstrbuton of the key gure "Basene/statstca forecast" to the key gure
"Manua ad|ustment". Note, however, that f no vaues exst for the key gure
"Basene/statstca forecast", no dsaggregaton takes pace.
o If you enter 'I', you must aso specfy on ths screen the key gure on whch
dsaggregaton s based. Do ths n the ed "Dsaggregaton key
What are the types of Key-gure aggregaton n terms of tme?
P Proportona aocaton
E Equa dstrbuton
N No tme-based dstrbuton
L Read: Vaue from ast perod; Wrte: No aocaton
K based on another key gure
Denes how pannng data s dsaggregated n tme. The tme buckets n whch
data s saved are gven by the storage buckets proe.
P - Pro%or&on(- d&!r&bu&on
Data s dstrbuted n tme so that each key gure vaue n the smaest storage
bucket represents the same proporton of the vaue n the aggregate bucket as
before.
If the key gure vaues pror to dstrbuton were zero, and f a tme stream ID
forms part of the storage buckets proe denton, the system checks to see f
tme-based weghtng factors exst for ths tme stream. If so, the data s
dstrbuted accordng to the tme-based weghtng factors of the tme stream. If no
factors exst, the data s dstrbuted equay to each storage bucket.
E - EAu(- d&!r&bu&on
Data s dstrbuted equay to each storage bucket.
Ths opton s avaabe ony for key gures that were not dened as xabe n the
Admn Workbench.
N - No d&!(**re*(&on &n &$e
The vaue n the pannng bucket s coped to the storage buckets; for exampe, a
pannng vaue of $100 for the month of |une s coped to each of the storage
buckets |une 1-2, |une 5-9, |une 12-16, |une 19-23, |une 26-30. If you dspay the
pannng vaue for |une at run tme, the system shows the average vaue of the
storage buckets.
Ths opton s avaabe ony for key gures that were not dened as xabe n the
Admn Workbench.
?- 2(!ed on (noher )ey f*ure
Ths opton s bascay the same as cacuaton type P.
The data s dstrbuted to the owest eve of deta n the same proportons as
those that can be derved from the vaues of another key gure. For exampe, you
can appy the proportona dstrbuton of the key gure "Basene/statstca
forecast" to the key gure "Manua ad|ustment". Note, however, that f no vaues
exst for the key gure "Basene/statstca forecast", no dsaggregaton takes
pace.
If you enter 'K, you must aso specfy on ths screen the key gure on whch
dsaggregaton s based. Do ths n the ad|acent ed "Dsaggregaton key gure".
SAP recommends that f you use opton 'K' for tme-based aggregaton, you aso
use cacuaton type 'P'
Noe: Ths opton s ony avaabe for tme seres key gures.
B- Re(d:
Vaue from ast perod; Wrte: No aocaton
1C.Where do you $(&n(&n )ey-f*ure (**re*(&on"
Pannng Area
11.Wh( (re (**re*(e!"
Aggregate s the herarchy of the characterstcs that we use n our pannng area. It
s used to hep our pannng process. Data s aways stored n the most dsaggregate
eve. An APO aggregate contans a subset of the characterstcs n the master
pannng ob|ect structure. The creaton and use of aggregates s optona. The data s
aways saved on the owest eve of deta. If aggregates exst, the system saves the
pannng data on the dened aggregate eves as we as on the owest eve of deta.
The data s saved twce, but consstenty; that s, the sum of the detas equas the
aggregate vaue.
1#.Wh( &! he d&,erence be1een %-(nn&n* ch(r(cer&!&c (nd n(.&*(&on(-
(r&bue"
/h(r(cer&!&c! Defn&&on
Characterstc s a pannng ob|ect such as a product, ocaton, brand or regon.
Characterstc determne the eves on whch you can pan and store data
/7/D!
A characterstc vaue combnaton s a group of characterstc vaues wth whch you
want to pan.
CVCs are the master data of DP or SNP and t comprse the aowed vaues of the
characterstcs, known as the Characterstc vaues. Characterstc vaues are actua
names or numbers. For exampe, the characterstc 'ocaton' coud have the vaues
London, Deh and New York.
Ar&bue! Defn&&on
An attrbute s a characterstc that s ogcay assgned and subordnated to another
characterstc. Navgatona attrbutes oher a way to pan mutpe ob|ects whe
achevng optmum system performance n Demand Pannng.
U!e
For characterstcs that you want to use for seecton and navgaton, but not as
pannng eves, create attrbutes and assgn these to a characterstc that you want
to use for pannng.
Ex: Customer (Char)>>>>>>>Saes Empoyee(Navgatona Attbute)
>>>>>>>Proroty (Navgatona Attbute)
1'.Wh( &! !e-ec&on %rof-e! u!ed for"
You can bud a workng proe of seecton IDs for each demand panner. Ths proe
s then avaabe n the Seectons tree of nteractve demand pannng to hep the
demand panner access seectons qucky and easy.
To factate the task of budng user-specc proes, you can bud a master
proe of seecton IDs. The budng of a master proe s optona. You bud proes
on the eft-hand sde of the screen. On the rght-hand sde, you can create the
seecton IDs that are then avaabe n
The pannng area (A seecton IDs)
The pannng book (Seecton IDs of Name of pannng book)
The master seecton proe (Master se. org.)
In a proe, for ether an ndvdua or the master proe, you can create foders to
organze the seecton IDs herarchcay.
You can aso perform the foowng functons:
Assgn seecton IDs to one or more proes
Deete the assgnment of seecton IDs to one or more proes or foders
Copy the assgnment of seecton IDs from one seecton proe to another
proe
To assgn seecton IDs to mutpe users or to deete ther assgnments n mutpe
proes, you can combne the users to form a user group.
Seecton proes are mantaned n Interactve Demand Pannng. It s used to vew
the seecton Ids whch n turn, set and contro the characterstcs n a data vew.
D(( Se-ec&on
To access the data n the pannng book, the data has to be oaded expcty from the
ve cache accordng to the ranges for the characterstc vaues speced n the
seecton. A seecton contans the verson, the characterstc for dspay and the
restrcton of the data. These seectons are saved wth a unque name and assgned
to the data vew and the user. These assgnments are managed n the seecton
organzaton wth the transacton /SAPAPO/MC77.
Snce the data n DP can be changed ony by one person - or one batch |ob - at a
tme, the ockng ogc restrcts seectons wth overappng crtera to dspay ony. Va
the path Go to Lock Entres n the menu the current ocks are dspayed.
1+.Wh( (re he d&,eren 1(y! of cre(&n* /7/!"
The dherent ways of mantanng severa characterstc vaue combnatons s to edt
the combnatons such as.
1. Manuay
2. Fat es (Tab-Demted)
3. Info provder (Info Cube)
4. MPOS and
5. Busness Add In
10.5o1 $(ny -e.e-! doe! ( $(cro h(.e"
A macro can comprse of up to 4 eves.
1. E(cro -e.e-
Ths s the top eve and conssts of the macro name ony.
2. Se% -e.e-
At ths eve you can enter ether a step or a contro structure. A macro must contan
at east one step. A step contans a cacuaton or seres of cacuaton. A step s aso
an teraton oop. The cacuaton or operaton s repeated over a predened perod, f
you work wth rows.
3. Re!u- -e.e-
At ths eve you specfy the macro ob|ect to whch the resuts of a cacuaton or
operaton s wrtten. Ths can be a key gure n the pannng book, or an eement n
the auxary tabe that you use to store an ntermedate resut temporary. At ths
eve you can aso enter contro structures, acton boxes, documents, procedura
messages, or aerts.
4. Ar*u$en -e.e-
At ths eve you enter the cacuatons or operatons. Smary condtons are dened
at argument eve, f the contro structure s entered at resut eve.
14.Wh( (re he d&,eren y%e! of !(nd(rd $(cro!"
A standard macro s a macro that s executed automatcay; ts executon s not
trggered manuay by the panner. A standard macro s one of the foowng types:
Def(u-3
A defaut macro s executed when the panner opens the pannng desktop and oads
data, regenerates the screen (for exampe, by choosng Enter or Tab), or saves the
pan. If other types of standard macros can be executed, these are executed before
the defaut macros.
Be.e- ch(n*e3
A eve change macro s executed when the panner drs up or down n nteractve
pannng.
S(r 3
A start macro s executed when the system oads data. Ths s for nstance when a
panner seects characterstc vaues n the shumer and oads the data. The sytems
aways reoads data after the user saves the data. Ths means that start macros are
aso carred out after savng.
E<&3
An ext macro s executed when the panner saves the pan.
U!e
To dene a macro as a standard macro:
1. Drag and drop the macro from the macro tree to the approprate standard macro
con n the Events secton of the Macro Buder (top rght corner).
2. set the attrbute No drect executon for the macro; as requred. Snce these
macros are automatcay executed, t often makes sense to prevent users from
executng them manuay.
One possbe use of standard macros s to cacuate the dherence between forecasts
of dherent perods.
1:. When &! he e<& (nd def(u- $(cro e<ecued"
Defaut:
A defaut macro s executed when the panner opens the pannng desktop and oads
data, regenerates the screen (for exampe, by choosng Enter or Tab), or saves the
pan. If other types of standard macros can be executed, these are executed before
the defaut macros.
Ext:
An ext macro s executed when the panner saves the pan.
1;. Wh( &! %roce!! ch(&n (nd ho1 &! & u!ed &n De$(nd P-(nn&n*"
A process chan s the too that s used to run back ground |obs. It s used to mantan
dherent actvtes n ther progressve sequence to acheve the desred resuts or
outcomes automatcay as per the |ob schedues mantaned, rather than dong
thngs manuay.
Proce!! /h(&n! &n S/E
It aows you to set up chans of background |obs. For exampe, n Demand Pannng
you coud program a chan that upoads data from a data source to an InfoCube,
generate any new characterstc vaue combnatons, upoad the data from the
InfoCube to a pannng area, carry out a forecast, and reease the data to SNP. Each
step shoud ony be carred out f the prevous step nshed wthout errors.
Ine*r(&on
A other process steps that are avaabe n process chans n the SAP NetWeaver
Busness Integence are aso avaabe here. Ths means, for exampe, that you
combne BI processes wth SCM processes n one process chan. You can aso ncude
workow processes n your chans.
PrereAu&!&e!
To use the graphc nterface for process chans, you must nsta the SAPGUI BI Add-on
on your PC.
=e(ure!
Severa SCM process types have been ncuded n the process chan mantenance
too.
SCM Demand Pannng
Generate characterstc vaue combnatons.
Add b of matera nformaton
Intaze pannng area (create tme seres ob|ects)
De-ntaze pannng area (deete tme seres ob|ects)
DP background processng
Use ths process type to add DP background |obs to a process chan.
The foowng actvtes can be carred out n a DP background |ob:
Execute a forecast
Execute macros
Reease from DP to SNP
Reease to ERP
Cacuate proportona factors
Load data from InfoCube
Copy pannng verson
Reagn Data
Tme seres consstency check
Ad|ust tme seres
Characterstcs-based forecastng: roundng of tme seres vaues
Ths functon s ony avaabe for characterstcs-based forecastng. Drect reease
from an InfoProvder to Suppy Network Pannng
Drect reease from an InfoProvder to an ERP system
S/E Pro$o&on P-(nn&n*
Update promotons
Actvate/deactvate promotons
Copy promotons
Change promotons
Ths process enabes you to pan the cacuaton of changes to master data made
after ntazng the pannng verson as a separate step. The system updates the
master data queue automatcay at the start of a pannng run. However, n certan
cases (for performance reasons, for exampe), t can make sense to carry out ths
process separatey. .
SCM Capabe-to-Match (CTM)
Execute CTM pannng
Here you assgn a CTM proe drecty to the process.
1>.Where do you !e he -e.e- ( 1h&ch ( DP b(c)*round job (c&.&y h(! o
e<ecue"
Schedung

#C.5o1 c(n you !eu% cu!o$ (-er y%e! for DP (nd SNP"
Path: EA >> APO >> SUPPY CHAIN MONITORING >> ALERT MONITORING >>
ENVIRONMENT >> MAINTAIN ALERT TYPE FOR DP & SNP
Dene aert type .e. warnng or nfo or error.
Deta the overa proe .e. for how many months or how ong the aert s actve
Is t for dherent appcaton specc or for the whoe proe .e. appcabe for DP,
SNP
Identer for Overa Aert Proe
Use: When you nvoke the Aert Montor drecty, you dene the overa proe by
enterng the foowng data:
Under your user ID.
In ths case, they reman your persona settngs. To acheve ths, do not assgn a
name to your Aert Montor overa proe (bank).
Under a genera denter.
In ths case, they are avaabe to a users.
Dependences
When you drecty access the Aert Montor, the overa proes that you have
assgned to your favortes or for whch you are actng as a substtute are avaabe for
seecton.
#1.Wh( &! he d&,erence be1een Dyn($&c (nd D((b(!e (-er!"
Data base aerts are those aerts whose detas, when actvated, can be seen n the
future for reference.
Dynamc aerts stuatona and whenever they occur due to the breach n ther
requste condtons. They cannot be stored for future reference.
##.Wh( &! re(-&*n$en (nd e<%-(&n he %roce!!"
In ths process you generate new characterstc vaue combnatons based on exstng
combnatons and copy data from the source combnatons to the new combnatons.
You can specfy that the orgna vaues of both the characterstc vaues and the data
are deeted.
Ths process s not vad for navgaton attrbutes. See "Reagnng" Navgaton
Attrbutes.
Features:
The process conssts of two ma|or steps - Mantenance of the reagnment tabe and
executon of the reagnment run.
The system aso:
Copes notes to the target characterstc vaue combnaton, provdng that n dong
so t does not overwrte an exstng note.
Changes generated seectons (not manuay created seecton IDs) to reect the
reagned characterstc vaue combnatons. These seectons are used:
To assgn forecast proes
To assgn aert proes
Wth consumpton groups (descrptve characterstcs)
Copes promotons, provdng you deete the source characterstc vaue combnaton.
When you reagn a promoton, the system gves t draft status n the new
characterstc combnaton.
Workng wth Exce Tabes
On the mantenance screen for the reagnment tabe you can
Create an empty Exce tabe wth the coumns arranged correcty. Ths can be
used as a tempate for enterng steps n a tabe.
Import a tabe n Tab-demted format.When enterng data use the date format
YYYYMMDD wthout demters, for nstance 20040212.
You shoud aso be carefu when enterng vaues wth eadng zeros. Dependng on the
characterstc the system deas wth eadng zeros dherenty:
Restrctons
You cannot carry out reagnment for CBF characterstcs ncudng the product. The
characterstcs for the CBF proe. tabe, and ne are not vsbe n reagnment. You
can use the product as a seecton crteron. It s possbe to use reagnment for the
non-CBF characterstcs n a CBF pannng area.
Smary you cannot carry out reagnment for the DP-BOM characterstcs 9APPNAME,
9ABOMID, and 9ABOMIO. The ast two characterstcs are not vsbe n reagnment.
You can use the product and 9APPNAME as seecton crtera.
Actvtes:
Mantenance of the Reagnment Tabe
1. To access the reagnment/copy functons choose Demand Pannng Data
Admnstraton Data Reagnment.
2. If ths s the rst tme reagnment s beng caed for the master pannng ob|ect
structure, you must create a reagnment tabe for the master pannng ob|ect
structure. On the Reagnment screen, make sure that the Reagnment rado button
has been seected, enter the name of the master pannng ob|ect structure and
choose Create. A daog box appears askng you whether you want to restrct the
characterstcs.
If you choose Yes, a further daog box appears n whch you can deseect ndvdua
characterstcs. These characterstcs are then not ncuded n the reagnment tabe.
Ths means that the deseected characterstcs cannot be changed. However the
extng characterstc vaues for the deseected characterstcs are coped.
3. You can specfy whether the system copes on a key gure bass. If you set the
reevant ndcator, two further ndcators appear wth whch you can specfy the key
gures for whch the data s coped or that are to be ntazed, that s the contents
are deeted.
4. You now mantan the ndvdua reagnment steps. Choose Mantan to see the
overvew of the exstng steps..You cannot mantan reagnment steps n the
overvew screen.
In the ower secton of the deta screen you can now enter detas of the
characterstc vaues. There are two types of entry:
New vaues
If you enter dherent vaues n theFrom and To eds, the system w n the
reagnment run read a characterstc vaue combnatons that correspond to the
vaues n the From eds. It uses these combnatons to create new ones by repacng
the vaues n the From eds wth the vaues n the To eds. The system aso creates
new tme seres for the new characterstc vaue combnatons.
The system then copes data from a key gures n the tme seres for the orgna
characterstc vaue combnatons to the new tme seres.
If you have set the Deete Source ndcator, the orgna data s deeted and then the
tme seres and characterstc vaue combnatons.
You save the step. The system returns to the overvew screen.
After you have mantaned a the necessary reagnment steps, you can start the
reagnment run.
Executng Reagnment
In genera you run reagnment tsef perodcay as a background |ob, for nstance at
nght or durng the weekend. Ths s mportant not ony for performance reasons, but
aso to guarantee that characterstc vaues that are ncuded n the reagnment tabe
are not ocked by seectons used n nteractve pannng or background pannng.
5. To execute reagnment n the background, on the nta reagnment screen create
a varant. To schedue the |ob, choose Run n Background. A og s wrtten, whch can
be dspayed by choosng Logs.
To avod data nconsstences background executon s termnated after the rst error.
Prevous reagnment steps are not revoked.
To execute reagnment onne, choose .
Reagnng InfoCubes
You use the same process as descrbed above to reagn InfoCubes that have a smar
structure to the master pannng ob|ect structure. The InfoCube must contan a the
characterstcs that are n the reagnment tabe for the master pannng ob|ect
structure.
You choose to seect the InfoCubes that are to be reagned (you can seect severa
InfoCubes). If you ony want to reagn the InfoCubes and not the master pannng
ob|ect structure, seect the Ony Reagn InfoCube ndcator.
#'.Wh( (re he d&,eren forec(! error $e(!ure! (nd 1h&ch &! $o! %referred"
Mean Absoute Devaton (MAD) for Ex-Post Forecast
Error Tota (ET)
Mean Absoute Percent Error (MAPE)
Mean Square Error (MSE)
Root of the Mean Square Error (RMSE)
Mean Percentage Error (MPE)
#+.Wh( (re he d&,eren y%e! of )ey f*ure! you c(n u!e &n ( P-(nn&n* 2oo)"
There are three types of key gure that are of nterest for demand pannng:
Ouantty: Use ths type for physca quanttes
Amount: Ths type s amounts of money
Number: Use ths type for numbers that do not have unts of measure or currences,
such as factors.
The unt of measure and currency are aways taken from the pannng area.
#0.Wh( &! %-(nn&n* .er!&on (nd %-(nn&n* (re( &n&&(-&F(&on"
A seecton of pannng data for an APO suppy chan mode, whe the APO suppy
chan mode ony contans master data, the pannng verson aso contans
transacton data.
Use
In SAP APO, t s possbe to create dherent pannng versons of each suppy
chan mode for smuaton purposes. However, at any pont of tme, ony one
mode and one of ts versons s actve. The actve mode and actve verson are
both abeed 000.
The two basc structura eements n APO are the mode and the verson. Severa
versons can be assgned to one mode. The genera dea s that the mode
contans the master data and the verson contans transactona data, but for
some of the master data (ocaton, product and resource) t s aso possbe to
make some verson dependent changes. Possbe scenaros for the use of verson
dependent master data are smuatons of dherent shft modes or ot szes.
To keep the sze of tme seres ob|ects to a manageabe mnmum, t makes sense to
ntaze pannng areas by schedung background |obs that run perodcay. Ths
s sometmes known as workng wth rong horzons.
#4.Wh( &! he $(!er d(( &n APO De$(nd P-(nn&n*"
CVCs are the Master data of DP. The master data of Demand Pannng determnes
the eves on whch demand pans are created, changed, aggregated and
dsaggregated at your company. For exampe, your master data mght consst of a of
the products, product fames, regons, customers, that your company ntends to pan
n Demand Pannng, as we as a reevant combnatons of these; for exampe, whch
customers buy whch products n whch regons. You mode these eves n a non-
herarchca tree structure. From a technca pont of vew, you are specfyng whch
characterstc vaues are pannabe for the characterstcs n your pannng area.
#:.Wh( &! $e(n by Re-e(!e of De$(nd P-(n o SNP"
Ths process makes the demand pan avaabe to the suppy chan panner f the
suppy chan panner performs Suppy Network Pannng usng ve Cache orders.
The process aso makes the data avaabe n Producton Pannng and Detaed
Schedung (PP/DS), dependng on the horzons that have been mantaned for the
products nvoved. In SNP, the suppy chan panner can then use the demand
pan as a bass for makng sourcng, depoyment, and transportaton decsons.
The actua producton s then panned n PP/DS.
From a technca pont of vew, you are copyng data from ve Cache tme seres
ob|ects to a forecast category n the ve Cache orders.
In a separate process, the suppy chan panner reeases the SNP pan to Demand
Pannng. The data of partcuar categores n the SNP pan, whch has been
created or changed by the suppy chan panner, s thereby coped to a predened
key gure n a DP pannng book. Here, you can perform reportng on the reeased
data and, n partcuar, compare the orgna "unconstraned" demand pan wth
the "constraned" SNP pan. For more nformaton, see" Transfer of the SNP
Pannng Resuts.
Prerequstes
You have created product master records for your products.
You have created ocaton master records for your ocatons.
You have set up your suppy chan modes.
If you are usng" descrptve characterstcs, you need to have prevousy created
a consumpton group and assgned t to the reevant products.
If appcabe, you have dened the ocaton spt for the reease to Suppy Network
Pannng. For more nformaton, see Locaton Spt.
If appcabe, you have dened a product spt. For more nformaton, see Product
Spt.
Process Fow
There are two methods for reeasng data to SNP:
1. Onne: You can reease sma amounts of data usng an onne transacton. For
more nformaton, see Reeasng the Demand Pan Onne.
2. In the background: You pan mass reeases as background |obs that can then be
executed when there s tte system actvty. For more nformaton, see Reeasng
the Demand Pan wth Mass Processng.
#;. 5o1 do you cre(e %ro%or&on(- f(cor!" Wh( &! he !(nd(rd )ey f*ure for
Pro%or&on(- =(cor"
Proportona factors are one of the ways you can dsaggregate data from an
aggregate eve to a detaed one. They are used n two cacuaton types:
P - Based on another key gure
I - Pro rata, except for the nta dsaggregaton, whch s based on another key gure.
In both cases, you must enter APODPDANT as the dsaggregaton key gure n
pannng area mantenance.
Wth ths functon, you can derve the proportona factors from hstorca data or,
occasonay, from past pannng data.
Integraton
The cacuaton type that you set for each key gure n Customzng when you create
a pannng area determnes how dsaggregaton s performed.
Prerequstes
You have created characterstc vaue combnatons for the master pannng ob|ect
structure.
The source of the proportona factors (pannng area or InfoCube) shoud exst and
contan the same characterstcs and characterstc vaue combnatons as the target
pannng area.
There shoud be data for at east some characterstc vaue combnatons n the
source.
Features
You have the foowng optons for generatng proportona factors:
Cacuate xed proportons n entre horzon.In ths case, the resutng proportona
factors for a characterstc vaues combnaton are the same for a tme buckets
wthn the speced horzon.
Ths s how the system cacuates the proportona factors.
1. For each characterstc vaues combnaton, the system sums the key gure
vaues of a perods n the speced horzon. The resut of ths step s a key
gure vaue aggregated over tme for each characterstc vaues combnaton.
2. The system sums the key gure vaues for a of the characterstc vaue
combnatons n the entre horzon.
3. The system dvdes the key gure vaue of each characterstc vaues
combnaton by the tota cacuated n step (2), thus obtanng the proportona
factors.
Resut:
The same proportona factors are derved for a the perods n the horzon
that was speced n the Create proportons n horzon ed. The system stores
the proportona factors nternay. You can dspay them n the speca data vew
for the proportona factors.
The og s ony avaabe n the foowng cases:
The bass for the cacuaton s an Info Cube or a dherent pannng area to the
pannng area for whch the factors are to be cacuated.
The bass for the cacuaton s the same pannng area as that to whch the factors
are to be wrtten the system s to cacuate xed factors. You do not use a parae
processng proe.
Cacuate detaed proportons for a perods
In ths case, the resutng proportona factors for a characterstc vaues combnaton
are tme-dependent. The system cacuates them for each tme bucket wthn the
horzon.
Ths s how the system cacuates the proportona factors.
1. In each tme bucket, the system sums the key gure vaues of a the
characterstc vaues combnatons. The tme bucket has been speced by
the user.
2. In each tme bucket, the system dvdes the key gure vaue of each
characterstc vaues combnaton by the tota obtaned n step (1), thus
obtanng a proportona factor for each tme bucket.
Resut:
Dherent proportona factors are derved for each tme bucket n the horzon
speced under Create proportons n horzon. The system stores the proportona
factors nternay. You can dspay them n the speca data vew for the proportona
factors. The speca feature of ths functon s that t aows you to obtan perod-
dependent proportons wthn one tme horzon. In both cases, the system normazes
the factors before savng them n the key gure so that the tota for a characterstcs
vaues combnatons n the smaest perod speced n the storage buckets proe for
the pannng area s 1. Ths resut s then mutped by 10000 to avod roundng
probems wth sma factors, snce veCache ony saves three decma paces. You can
change ths parameter f necessary.
Overwrtng Data when Cacuatng Detaed Proportona Factors
If the basc key gure contans data, the system overwrtes the avaabe proportona
factors wth the new factors that t has cacuated for the characterstc vaues
combnatons. If the basc key gure does not contan any data, the system
overwrtes the avaabe proportona factors wth zero. However, the system does not
overwrte avaabe proportona factors wth zero f the foowng condtons are
fued:
The basc key gure does not contan any data
Source and target pannng area for the cacuaton are dentca
You have set the Ignore Zero Vaues ndcator on the Other Settngs tab page
If you want to make sure that no ncorrect vaues exst before the cacuaton of
the proportona factors, rst perform a |ob wth a macro that sets a vaues of the
key gure APODPANT to zero before proportona factors are generated.
More Functons n the Cacuaton of Detaed Proportons
You can restrct the range of the characterstc vaues combnatons for whch the
proportona factors are generated by enterng an exstng seecton on the Other
Settngs tab page.
Usng ths opton can ead to unexpected resuts. For nstance, f a characterstc
vaues combnaton s contaned n two or more seectons and proportona factors
are generated for a these seectons, the factor for characterstc vaues combnaton
s cacuated severa tmes. Snce the bass s dherent, a new factor resuts each
tme.
When workng n one pannng area, you can use parae processng to mprove
performance. You enter a parae processng proe on the Other Settngs tab page.
For more nformaton, see s" Parae Processng of Background |obs.
Cacuatng Tme-Dependent Detaed Proportons
Under Bass for proporton cacuaton, you make entres n the Pannng verson,
Key gure and From date eds.
The system cacuates the To date nternay by determnng the number of perods
from the other entres and addng ths horzon to the From date.
You enter the verson nto whch the resuts are to be wrtten under Cac.
proportons for.
You enter ether a From date and a To date, or a From date and a No. of perods,
under Create proportons n horzon.
You execute the report ether onne or as a background |ob.
Resuts
The resuts of ths cacuaton are stored n the Proportona factor APODPDANT
key gure. In ths documentaton, they are caed the constant proportona factors.
The key gure APODPDANT s automatcay added to your pannng area when you
create the pannng area. You do not have to add ths key gure yoursef.
#>.5o1 &! T&$e Ser&e! cre(ed" E<%-(&n 1h( h(%%en! 1hen TS &! *ener(ed.
Use:
Ths functon enabes you to use data from Tme Seres Data Management (TSDM) n
pannng areas of Demand Pannng (DP).
Prerequstes:
You have congured and actvated Tme Seres Data Management.
Features
You can work wth tme seres data n the pannng area at the foowng pannng
eves:
At ocaton product eve f the master pannng ob|ect structure contans the
characterstcs product and ocaton
At deta eve wth any characterstcs n the master pannng ob|ect structures
In ths case, pannng must take pace at the most detaed eve.
Note
The foowng genera constrants when workng wth TSDM n Demand Pannng:
You cannot use any tme seres data n characterstcs-based forecastng.
Reagnment s not possbe for pannng areas that use TSDM.
Pannng
You can carry out pannng wth TSDM key gures at ocaton product eve or at deta
eve f you are at the correct pannng eve. If not, the correspondng key gures are
not ready for nput n nteractve pannng. In mass processng, you must seect the
correct pannng eve as the aggregaton eve.
Actvtes
Pannng Area Mantenance
Genera Settngs for TSDM
You make the settngs for TSDM n pannng area mantenance on the Info tab page.
Here you specfy whether you want to pan wth tme seres data at ocaton product
eve or at deta eve. In both cases you must specfy a tmes seres type for whch
you have dened a correspondng tme seres data type n Customzng for TSDM:
TSDM at ocaton product eve
Seect a mode A tme seres data type. If you work wth ocatons for whch you have
set the vrtua chd ocaton (VCL) or thrd-party order processng (TPOP) ndcator n
the ocaton product master, use type C.
TSDM at deta eve
Seect a tme seres data type wth mode B.
Use Change Hstory
You can aso specfy that the system records when data n TSDM s changed n a
change hstory. For ths, the foowng prerequstes must be fued:
You have set the TSDM Change Hstory ndcator n pannng area mantenance on the
Info tab page.
You have set the Change Hstory ndcator n Customzng for Tme Seres Data
Management under Congure Tme Seres Data Management.
You must aso make sure that you have set the No Change Hstory ndcator for key
gures for whch the system s not to record changes.
Dene TSDM Key Fgures
For key gures that use TSDM, seect the settng 999 (TSDM: Ouantty) on the Key
Fgs tab page under Detas n the Semantc ed. Snce tme seres data cannot be
aggregated or dsaggregated, these key gures automatcay receve the
correspondng settngs for Cacuaton Type and Tme-Based Dsaggregaton on the
Key Fgure Aggregaton tab page.
If you pan wth tme seres data at ocaton product eve and want to see TPOP or
VCL data, create aternatve key gures for ths data. To do so, seect Goto Key
Fgure Mappng TSDM n pannng area mantenance.
Pannng Book Mantenance
If you work wth TSDM at ocaton product eve, the characterstcs Locaton and
Product must be avaabe. If you work wth TSDM at deta eve, you must pan wth
a the characterstcs that you have dened for the pannng ob|ect structure.
If you use a TSDM key gure, the pannng buckets proe can ony be vad for one
perodcty. Ths perodcty must be the same as the one you have dened n the tme
proe of the tme seres data type.
'C. Wh( (re he $ehod! of S(&!&c(- =orec(!&n* &n APO DP" Wh( (re he
$(&n y%e! of =orec(!&n* Eehod!" Wh( (re he d&,eren Un&.(r&(e
=orec(!&n* $ode-! (.(&-(b-e" 2r&eGy e<%-(&n he$.
Bascay we can dstngush between Ouatatve and Ouanttatve forecastng
methods
Qu(-&(&.e $ehod
Ouatatve forecastng technques are based on knowedge, experence, and nstnct
(nature), and are apped n the absence of quanttatve data. Ex: Deph Method.
Qu(n&(&.e $ehod
Ouatatve forecastng technques are based on mathematca procedures ( e.g trend,
tme seres anayss, ndcator forecasts, and exponenta smoothng.)
Each of the quanttatve methods tres to ntegrate hstorca key gures of a product
nto the forecast for future gures. However, there are two methods that are based
on dherent foundatons: the tme seres anayss and casua modes.

T&$e !er&e! (n(-y!&! 8Un&.(r&(e =orec(!&n* echn&Aue9
Tme seres anayss s based on the assumpton that demand foows a specc
pattern. A forecastng technque s therefore ntended to provde an estmate for the
pattern by usng hstorca observatons. The forecasts can then be cacuated based
on ths estmated pattern. The advantage of these methods s that they requre ony
hstorca observatons of the demand.
Unvarate forecasts can be dvded nto the foowng types of tme seres
progresson.

/on!(n
The demand vares very tte from a stabe mean vaue
Trend
The demand decreases or ncreases contnuousy over a ong perod of tme, wth
occasona uctuatons.
Se(!on(- de$(nd
Perodcay recurrng requrements peaks and sumps (fa) dher sgncanty from a
stabe mean vaue
Se(!on(- rend
Perodcay recurrng requrements peaks and sumps (fa), but wth a contnua
ncrease or decrease n the mean vaue
Iner$&en de$(nd
Demand s sporadc (the demand s rreguar)
No ch(n*e fro$ %re.&ou! ye(r
No forecast s carred out; nstead, the system copes the actua data from the
prevous year
'1.5o1 &! -&fecyc-e %-(nn&n* done &n APO DP" Wh( (re %h(!e-&n (nd %h(!e-ou
%rof-e!"
B&)e Prof-e3 A ke proe aows you to create the demand forecast of a product
usng the hstorca nput data of a product or products whose demand behavor s the
same or smar. Create ke proes for products wth short fecyces or for products
wth nsumcent hstorca data. You can use the same ke proe for mutpe
products. To nd out how to use a ke proe.
You can ag the hstorca data of "ke" products. The ags of a products n the ke
proe must be the same. However t s not possbe to use ags n con|uncton wth
aggregated fecyce pannng.
=orec(!&n* 1&h B&)e Prof-e!3 Lke modeng uses the hstorca data from one or
more characterstc vaue combnatons to create a forecast for another characterstc
vaue combnaton. Ths topc descrbes the use of ke modeng when runnng
forecasts ether n nteractve pannng or background processng. It does not appy to
aggregated fecyce pannng wth ke proes.
Integraton: Lke Modeng s fuy ntegrated wth product nterchangeabty. You
create ke proes and assgn them to characterstc vaues combnatons as
descrbed n Creatng "Lke" Proes and Assgnment of Lfecyce Proes. When
startng a forecast you do not have to undertake any addtona steps to start ke
modeng.
=&nd&n* B&)e Prof-e!3 When executng a forecast the system checks for each
characterstc vaue combnaton f a ke proe has been assgned. A ke proe s
ony taken nto account, f exacty the vaues for the speced characterstc vaue
combnaton are found n the current seecton.
/h(r(cer&!&c 7(-ue /o$b&n(&on!3 If the system nds a ke proe (see above)
the characterstc vaue n the seecton s repaced by the one(s) n the ke proe.
The system now checks whether the new characterstc vaue combnaton exsts. If t
does not, the system ssues an error message and forecastng s stopped.
/(-cu-(&on of he 5&!or&c(- D(( 3 The system then uses the nformaton
(characterstc vaue(s), factors, acton, and possby weghtng proe and ag) to
cacuate the hstorca data.
Ph(!e-In6Ph(!e-Ou Eode-&n*
When you ntroduce a new product or phase out an exstng product, you expect the
demand to be notceaby dherent to that n the "mature" phase of the products fe.
Phase-n/out modeng ets you take ths behavor nto account. In the master forecast
proe that s used for the seecton the Lfecyce Pannng Actve ndcator has been
set.
In contrast to prevous reeases the system takes wd cards n to account. The basc
settngs contan the characterstcs for saes organzaton, ocaton, and product. The
foowng assgnment has been made:
You enter nteractve pannng and dr-down from saes organzaton 1000 to product
P1 and start forecastng. The proe Phase-In1 s used.
Ph(!e-In6Ph(!e-Ou Prof-e!
A product's fecyce conssts of dherent phases: aunch, growth, maturty,
dscontnuaton. In APO Demand Pannng, you can represent the aunch, or phase-n,
of a product usng a phase-n proe.
Phase- n proes and phase-out proes are bascay the same. Both change the
demand hstory or demand forecast of a product by gven percentages durng a
speced perod or perods.
Ph(!e-In Prof-e!
Your am s to have the forecast mmck the upward saes curve that you expect the
product to dspay durng phase-n.
Aternatvey, f you are basng the forecast on a "ke" proe, you mght ad|ust the
hstorca data of the "ke" product upwards to correct the downward trend n
demand durng the "ke" product's dscontnuaton phase
Ph(!e-Ou Prof-e!
Your am s to have the forecast mmck the downward saes curve that you expect
the product to dspay durng phase-out. You mght acheve ths wth a phase-out
proe that ooks ke ths:
You dene the &$e !%(n of ( %h(!e-&n6ou %rof-e by the start date and end date
you enter n the phase-n proe. Whether the proe changes the de$(nd h&!ory
or the de$(nd forec(! depends on the tme range you specfy for the phase-n/out
proe. If the tme range es wthn the hstorca tme horzon of the forecast proe
used, the demand hstory s ad|usted. If the tme range es wthn the future horzon,
the demand forecast s ad|usted.
A**re*(ed B&fecyc-e P-(nn&n* 1&h B&)e Eode-&n*3
Aggregated Lfecyce Pannng enabes you to use assgnments to ke proes at the
deta eve when pannng at aggregated eve, for nstance product group eve. Ths
means that the hstorca data for the seecton at aggregate eve s a coser
representaton of the facts and consequenty aows a more accurate forecast.
PrereAu&!&e!
Aggregated fecyce pannng makes use of aggregaton. Therefore the key gures
used for hstorca data and the forecast must sum the detas at hgher eves. In
other words the cacuaton type N - No Cacuaton must not be used. Smary you
cannot use cacuaton types that average the data - types A and D.
To use aggregated fecyce pannng, you must set the Aggregated Lfecyce Pannng
wth Lke Proes ndcator n the basc settngs for fecyce pannng for the reevant
pannng area. In both forms of aggregated fecyce pannng (wth ke modeng and
phase-n/out) the system creates an nterna tabe for processng the characterstc
vaue combnatons. If ths tabe becomes too arge, the system termnates. To
prevent ths happenng the number of characterstc vaue combnatons as dened
by the characterstcs n the basc settngs s checked. If the number of characterstc
vaue combnatons or the number of perods s too arge, aggregated fecyce
pannng s not carred out and an error message s ssued.
The system carres out the foowng actvtes:
1. It reads any exstng hstorca data at aggregate eve.
2. It reads the seecton and determnes the ndvdua characterstc vaue
combnatons at the eve of the basc settngs.
3. It determnes for whch characterstc vaue combnatons ke proes exst
4. It determnes the new aggregated hstorca vaue by takng the vaue from step
1 and for each deta eve that has been assgned a ke proe subtractng any
hstorca vaue and addng the vaue determned usng the ke proe.
5. It now uses ths aggregated hstorca data to carry out a forecast.
6. The resut s ntay wrtten to the aggregate eve and then dsaggregated to
the deta eves usng the cacuaton type speced for the key gure n the
pannng area.
Aggregated fecyce pannng does not determne how the forecast vaue s
dsaggregated. You specfy the cacuaton type for a key gure n pannng area
mantenance.
If you are usng a Pro Rata cacuaton type and there are aready vaues n some
ces and not n others, ony those ces wth vaues receve a proporton of the
forecast vaue.
/on!r(&n!
Ths functon does not work wth hstorca data that s stored n InfoCubes. You
cannot work wth ke proes that contan a ag.
A**re*(ed B&fecyc-e P-(nn&n* 1&h Ph(!e-In6Ou Eode-&n*
Aggregated fecyce pannng wth phase-n/out modeng enabes you to use
assgnments to phase-n or phase-out proes at the deta eve when pannng at
aggregated eve, for nstance product group eve.
Ths functon s part of the Interchangeabty sute of functons n Demand Pannng.
PrereAu&!&e!
Aggregated fecyce pannng makes use of aggregaton. Ths means that cacuaton
types N (no cacuaton), A (average), and D (average at owest eve of deta) cannot
be used together wth aggregated fecyce pannng wth phase-n/out modeng. In
fact ony cacuaton types S (pro rata), P (based on another key gure), and I (pro
rata; f nta: based on dherent key gure) are permssbe.
To use aggregated fecyce pannng, you must set the Aggregated Lfecyce Pannng
wth Phase-In/Out Proes ndcator n the basc settngs for fecyce pannng for the
reevant pannng area.
Features: Ths functon adapts forecast data n the forecast perod. It cannot be used
for hstorca data. For performance reasons t ony works together wth the forecast
key gure, not for the corrected forecast. Ths means you cannot use ths functon
together wth an entry n the Days n Perod ed n the forecast proe. Ths functon
does not work wth forecast key gures that are stored n InfoCubes. You can combne
ths functon wth Aggregated Lfecyce Pannng wth Lke Modeng
'#.5o1 &! Pro$o&on P-(nn&n* done &n APO DP" Wh( &! /(nn&b(-&F(&on Hrou%"
In APO Demand Pannng, you can pan promotons or other speca events separatey
from the rest of your forecast. Use Promoton Pannng to record ether one-tme
events or repeated events such as quartery advertsng campagns. Other exampes
of promotons are trade fars, trade dscounts, deaer aowances, product dspays,
coupons, contests, free-standng nserts, as we as non-saes-reated events such as
compettors' actvtes, market ntegence, upward/downward economc trends,
hurrcanes, and tornados.
The advantages of pannng promotons separatey are:
You have the abty to compare the unpromoted forecast wth the promoted
forecast.
You have the abty to correct saes hstory by deductng from t past promotons,
thus obtanng un-promoted hstorca data for the basene forecast.
The processes of basene forecastng and promoton pannng can be kept
competey separate. For exampe, the saes force mght do an nta forecast,
whch s upoaded from Exce spreadsheets, whe marketng s responsbe for
promoton pannng.
Prerequstes
In Admnstraton of Demand Pannng, you have created a pannng area contanng
the foowng key gures:
Basene forecast and Promoton pan
The promotons are stored n the promoton key gure. If you dene a promoton
as a percentage, the system converts t nto an absoute number before storng
t.
If you wsh to see the promoton key gure n nteractve demand pannng, you
have created n a pannng book a data vew that contans a row for the
promoton key gures. It s advsabe to aso have a row and key gure for the
basene forecast.
If you wsh to access promoton pannng through nteractve demand pannng,
you seected the Promoton vew when creatng the pannng book.
You have dened the "owest eve of deta" or promoton eve at whch
promotons are saved by choosng from the SAP Easy Access menu Demand
Pannng Pannng Promoton Mantan Promoton Key Fgures. In the
promoton denton the owest eve s the furthest characterstc to the rght.
You see the promoton denton n the promoton pannng tabe.
You have dened any promoton bases that you wsh to use.
You have created any cannbazaton groups that you wsh to use.
You have created any promoton attrbute types that you wsh to use.
If you wsh to see the tota of the basene forecast and the promoton forecast n
nteractve demand pannng, you have wrtten a macro that adds together these
two key gures and dspays the resut n a thrd row, whch you determne
yoursef.
You have decded whether you w reease the promoton pan and the basene
demand pan to Suppy Network Pannng separatey or together. If you wsh to
reease them together, you have dened a key gure and a macro for ths
purpose and have ncuded them n the data vew.
If you want to reease separatey, you must reease the promoton to a dherent
category than the basene forecast. When customzng the SNP pannng area you
must assgn a key gure to the addtona category.
Proce!! =-o1
The foowng steps descrbe one possbe way to mpement the promoton pannng
process.
The demand panner creates the basene forecast usng mass processng.
The demand panner checks the forecast resuts n nteractve demand pannng.
In promoton pannng, promotons are created: for exampe, marketng's
promotona caendars, trade promotons, and knowedge about the decne of a
compettor are a apped to the saes key gure. Promoton pannng s accessed
through nteractve demand pannng.
In nteractve forecastng, the demand panner vews the mpact of a panned
promotons on tota forecasted saes and makes the na ad|ustments to the
demand pan.
The demand pan (the sum of the basene forecast, the promoton pan and the
na ad|ustments) s reeased to SNP.
The constraned SNP pan s passed back to Demand Pannng.
The accuracy of the forecast s checked aganst actua data.
/(nn&b(-&F(&on Hrou%
Groups together products whose saes are mpacted, ether postvey or negatvey or
both, by the same promoton. The mutua dependency of saes of smar products s
known cannbazaton.
Use cannbazaton groups to mode the mpact of a promoton on saes of reated
products. You specfy the cannbazaton group when you create a promoton for a
product. The promotons for the other products n the cannbazaton group are
cacuated automatcay.
To use cannbzaton groups, you must ncude a characterstc for the product n the
pannng book. If you do not use 9AMATNR for the product, you must specfy whch
characterstc s the product n the master pannng ob|ect structure.
If you use cannbazaton, the products that you want to pan n Demand Pnnng
must be dened as products n the APO master data.
Structure:
The foowng exampe ustrates the structure of a cannbazaton group.
A 5% dscount causes saes of ter bottes of rosemary shampoo to rse by 30,000
unts, causng saes of 250 mter bottes to drop by 3,000 unts and saes of 500
mter bottes to drop by 5,000 unts, but saes of ter botte stands to rse by
10,000 unts.
For each product you enter a cannbazaton factor. Ths factor s a postve or
negatve number that represents the amount by whch saes of the product are
postvey or negatvey mpacted by the promoton.
Exampe of a Cannbazaton Group
Produc /(nn&b(-&F(&on =(cor
Lter bottes of rosemary shampoo 30
250 mter bottes of rosemary shampoo -3
500 mter bottes of rosemary shampoo -5
Lter botte stands 10
''. E<%-(&n %roce!! of A-er & E<ce%&on E(n(*e$en &n DP" 5o1 (re A-er
Eon&or Prof-e! !eu%" Wh( &! he d&,erence be1een Dyn($&c (nd
D((b(!e (-er!" Wh( &! he (b-e !or&n* D((b(!e (-er!"
=&<ed )ey f*ure3 Contans the key gure, n whch the xed vaue of the basc key
gure s saved.
ReAu&re$en3 Ths settng s requred for pannng f you wsh to protect a detaed
panned vaue aganst change by an aggregated pannng.
U!e3 Whe pannng a key gure, you can wsh to protect the panned vaue aganst
any overwrtng. The vaue can be xed n the pannng tabe. The xed key gure s
requred to store ths nformaton. The xed basc key gure vaue s coped down to
the nest deta nto ths key gure. The nformaton wth ths s avaabe on an
aggregated eve as regards what share of the key gure s xed and must not be
changed. If the share s 100% then the key gure must not be changed by pannng
functons. If the share s between 0& and 100% then the vaue may ony be changed
n a restrcted way. The change s ony dsaggregated on those detas that are not
xed.
Eon&or&n* =orec(! A-er!3 You can use the "Aert Montor to montor forecast
aerts for " Demand Pannng (DP). In a forecast aert proe, you make a user-specc
seecton of aerts that are reevant for your area of responsbty, for exampe, your
pannng book.
Prerequstes
Optona: You have speced prortes for forecast aerts n Customzng. If you do
not specfy prortes, the system ssues a forecast aerts as warnng messages, as
standard.
In the "Forecast Proe for Demand Pannng, you have dened a dagnoss group.
You mantan separate dagnoss groups for Unvarate forecasts and MLR (mutpe
near regresson). The dagnoss group contans the threshod vaues, whch trgger
an aert when they are exceeded. For Unvarate forecasts these are aways
maxmum vaues. For MLR the vaues can be ether upper or ower mts,
dependng on what knd of ad|ustments you are deang wth.
MLR ad|ustment measures are cacuated for the entre mode. Exceptons are Durbn-
H, the T-test, and the mean eastcty, whch are cacuated separatey for each
varabe. (The mean eastcty s not ncuded n the dagnoss group. However, you can
dspay t n nteractve pannng).
You can aso dene dagnoss groups n the forecast vew and MLR vew wthn
nteractve pannng.
You can ony enter threshod vaues for the dagnoss groups. You cannot change them
n the aert proe.
Features: We can dvde forecast aerts nto two groups of aert types:
Aerts for Unvarate forecasts
In Demand Pannng, you can measure the accuracy of the forecast usng varous
cacuaton methods for forecast errors. The system saves severa forecasts for a
specc perod, and compares these forecasts wth the actua vaues. If a varance
occurs, the system generates an aert. For more nformaton on cacuatng forecast
errors, see
Mean Absoute Devaton (MAD)
Error Tota (ET)
Mean Absoute Percent Error (MAPE)
Mean Percent Error (MPE)
Mean Square Error (MSE)
Root of the Mean Square Error (RMSE)
EBR (-er!
You use MLR to evauate the ehects of varous causa factors on the forecast. There
are varous functons avaabe for ths purpose. The system generates an aert f the
cacuaton resut from the statstcs fas short of, or exceeds, the upper or ower
mts.
Seect the aert types that are reevant for you.
Seect the pannng book for whch the system shoud determne aerts. You can
enter a seecton restrcton. A pannng area characterstc denes a parta
quantty of a the data contaned n the pannng area. If you enter a seecton
range for a specc characterstc, ony those aerts w be dspayed that have
that partcuar characterstc. If you do not enter a seecton, the system
determnes aerts for a seectons n a pannng book. The pannng area
contans forecasts for a ocatons and products for a regon. When you seect a
ocaton or a product from the pannng area, the system ony generates aerts
for ths ocaton or product.
Specfy the text and the message that w be dspayed n the Aert Montor
MnApp.
If necessary, assgn the forecast aert proe to your " Overa Aert Proe, your
" SCC User Proe, or your user n the area menu for Demand Pannng under
Envronment Current Settngs Assgn Panner to Aert Proes.
For performance reasons, we recommend restrctng the aerts to be
dspayed to a mnmum.

'+.Wh( &! f<&n*" 5o1 c(n ( )eyf*ure be f<ed (nd 1h( &! he (!!oc&(ed
conf*ur(&on"
=&<ed )ey f*ure3 Contans the key gure, n whch the xed vaue of the basc key
gure s saved.
Requrements: Ths settng s requred for pannng f you wsh to protect a detaed
panned vaue aganst change by an aggregated pannng.
Whe pannng a key gure, you can wsh to protect the panned vaue aganst any
overwrtng. The vaue can be xed n the pannng tabe. The xed key gure s
requred to store ths nformaton. The xed basc key gure vaue s coped down to
the nest deta nto ths key gure. The nformaton wth ths s avaabe on an
aggregated eve as regards what share of the key gure s xed and must not be
changed. If the share s 100% then the key gure must not be changed by pannng
functons. If the share s between 0& and 100% then the vaue may ony be changed
n a restrcted way. The change s ony dsaggregated on those detas that are not
xed.
'0. Wh( (re &nfocube!" Wh( (re he $ehod! o *e d(( fro$ &nfocube o (
)eyf*ure &n Iner(c&.e P-(nn&n*"
Type of Info Provder.
An InfoCube descrbes a sef-contaned dataset (from the reportng vew), for
exampe, for a busness-orented area. Ths dataset can be evauated wth the BEx
query.
An InfoCube s a set of reatona tabes that are created n accordance wth the star
schema: a arge fact tabe n the center, wth severa dmenson tabes surroundng t.
E<ch(n*e of D(( 2e1een Info/ube! (nd P-(nn&n* Are(!
You store permanent data n InfoCubes. In genera ths s ether hstorca actua data
or forecasts that you want to keep for future comparson. Current data for pannng s
kept n LveCache n pannng areas. Demand Pannng tsef s conducted n
LveCache. You need to transfer data between the two, for nstance to use hstorca
data as the bass for forecastng.
When desgnng your pannng area, remember that athough pacng a ot of a data
n LveCache mproves performance t requres more memory.
Importng Data nto Pannng Areas: There are bascay two methods of mportng
data.
If you want have permanent access to the data. When you assgn key gures to
the pannng area, you enter the InfoCube from whch the key gure s taken.
Ths forms a permanent nk between the InfoCube and the pannng area.
If you ony want to copy data occasonay from an InfoCube to the pannng
area. You use the functon Loadng Data from an InfoCube nto a Pannng Area. A
smar functon s Copy Management, whch aows you to copy between
pannng areas and versons.
Exportng Data from Pannng Areas to InfoCubes: There are two possbtes here:
You can export drecty as descrbed n" Extractng Data from a Pannng Area (move
mode)or usng ndrecty DataStore ob|ects as descrbed n" Updatng InfoCubes Usng
DataStore Ob|ects (deta mode).
Wth the second method t s easer to update InfoCubes. If you export drecty there
s the danger that you copy the same data tme and tme agan to the InfoCube. You
can avod ths by usng DataStore ob|ects.
U%-o(d Proce!!3
The process for upoadng data s more or ess the same rrespectve of the type of
source system. Ths process s descrbed n outne beow. For more nformaton about
each step, see the SAP Lbrary for SAP NetWeaver under SAP NetWeaver Lbrary
SAP NetWeaver by Key Capabty Integraton Informaton by Key Capabty
Busness Integence Data Warehousng Data Warehousng Workbench.
You have made the necessary settng for the source systems n the current system
and n the source system. Process:
1. You create an InfoArea.
a. On the SAP Easy Access screen, choose Demand Pannng Envronment
Data Warehousng Workbench.
b. In the modeng tree on the eft, choose Data Targets.
c. Rght-cck the Data Targets node on the rght and choose Create InfoArea.
d. Enter a name and a descrpton for the InfoArea.
e. Choose Enter.
2. If necessary, you create an InfoCube.
3. You now dene the source system.
Ths step depends on the type of source system for the data.
4. If necessary, you create an appcaton component.
5. You create an InfoSource for ths appcaton component.
Here you decde whether to mantan transacton data or master data. In genera,
data for use n Demand Pannng s transacton data. Master data conssts of
attrbutes, texts, and herarches and s stored n a characterstc.
6. You now assgn the source system that you created n step 3 to the InfoSource.
You dene the transfer structure, transfer rues, and communcaton structure. The
transfer structure denes how the data s transferred from the data source. The
communcaton structure denes how data s mported nto the InfoCubes. If you ony
have one data source for an InfoSource, there s no dherence between the transfer
structure and the communcaton structure.
7. You create update rues for the InfoCube.
The update rues determne how the data s upoaded from the communcaton
structure of the InfoSource to the ndvdua InfoCubes.
8. You create an InfoPackage.
An InfoPackage contans, for exampe, the foowng data:
When the data s to be upoaded, for nstance, mmedatey or as a background
|ob
Detas about the externa data such as the ocaton of at es
Seecton crtera
The target InfoCube(s)
You can aso use InfoPackage groups to schedue severa InfoPackages together.
Bo(d&n* D(( fro$ (n Info/ube &no ( P-(nn&n* Are(
Use ths functon to oad data from an InfoCube nto a pannng area. Ths functon s
desgned for InfoCubes that are not dened n pannng area admnstraton. The
characterstcs n the seecton condton and the groupng condton refer to the
characterstcs n the InfoCube. Otherwse, the functonaty s the same as n the
Copy/Verson Management functon. For more nformaton, see Copy Management.
S(.&n* D(( &n DP (nd SNP U!e
In Demand Pannng (DP) and Suppy Network Pannng (NSP), you can store data n
three ways:
n veCache tme seres ob|ects
n veCache orders
n an InfoCube
Each key gure n a pannng area has ts own data storage method.
Ine*r(&on
Snce pannng areas for Suppy Network Pannng can contan ony the standard SNP
characterstcs, you can ony use a |ont pannng area for Demand Pannng and
Suppy Network Pannng, f demand pannng n your company s done on product
eve or on product and ocaton eve. If you want to do demand pannng at other
eves, such as brand or regona eve, you must have separate pannng areas.
=e(ure!
B&.e/(che T&$e Ser&e! Objec!
The data s stored n buckets, wth no reference to orders. Ths storage method s
sutabe for tactca, aggregated pannng. It s the usua method for savng current
Demand Pannng data. Ths process aso supports the Saes & Operatons Pannng
process. If you save a key gure to veCache tme seres ob|ects, you can use the
foowng functons:
Constrant propagaton up and down stream (matera constrants, capacty
constrants, stock eve constrants)
Aggregaton and Dsaggregaton
Freey denabe macros
Product aocaton checks
Characterstcs-Based Forecastng
Snge- and muteve nnte heurstcs
Capacty Leveng
MILP Optmzer
Capabe-To-Match (CTM)
Depoyment
Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI)
There are a number of standard key gures that are saved to veCache tme
seres ob|ects whch you can ncude n an SNP pannng area by choosng Edt
SNP tme seres ob|ects.
The prerequstes for savng a key gure to veCache tme seres ob|ects are that:
You have created tme seres ob|ects for the pannng area.
When creatng the pannng area, you made no entres for the key gure n the
eds InfoCube, Category or Category Group.
When creatng the pannng area, any entry you made n the ed Key gure
semantcs s prexed wth TS (an entry n ths ed s optona).
For an exampe of Saes & Operatons Pannng usng the tme seres storage
method, see pannng book >ASOP, pannng area >ASNPC1 (transacton
/SAPAPO/SNPSOP) n the standard APO system.
B&.e/(che Order!
The data s stored wth reference to orders. Ths storage method s sutabe for
operatve pannng, such as n a cassca SNP setup. If you save a key gure to
veCache orders, you can use the foowng functons:
Rea-tme ntegraton wth R/3
Fu peggng
Freey denabe macros
Snge- and muteve nnte heurstcs
Capacty Leveng
MILP Optmzer
Capabe-To-Match (CTM)
Depoyment
Rea-Tme Depoyment
Transport Load Buder (TLB)
Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI)
There are a number of standard key gures that are saved to veCache orders
whch you can ncude n an SNP pannng area by choosng Edt SNP
standard.
The prerequstes for savng a key gure to veCache orders are that:
You have created tme seres ob|ects for the pannng area (even though you
are savng to orders).
When creatng the pannng area, you ether speced a Category or Category
Groupor entered a Key gure semantcprexed wth LC.
When creatng the pannng area, you made no entry for the key gure n the
InfoCube ed.
For an exampe of Suppy Network Pannng usng the orders storage method, see
pannng book >ASNP>+, pannng area >ASNPC# (transacton /SAPAPO/SNP94) n
the standard APO system.
Info/ube!
The data s stored n an InfoCube n the Admnstrator Workbench. Ths storage
method s sutabe for data backups, od pannng data, and actua saes hstory. In
Demand Pannng, actua saes hstory s used to generate master data and as the
bass for forecastng.
In Demand Pannng you can ony read from InfoCubes, f you have speced the
InfoCube n pannng area conguraton. For more nformaton about savng data n
InfoCubes.
To specfy an InfoCube from whch the key gure s read n a versons, proceed as
foows:
1. In S&DP Admnstraton, seect the pannng area.
2. Choose Change from the context menu.
3. Choose Detas on the Key Fgures tab page.
4. Seect the requred key gure and enter the InfoCube n the reevant ed.
You can use dherent InfoCubes for dherent versons. To do ths, contnue as above
up to step 3. In step 4, do not enter an InfoCube. Choose. A daog box appears n
whch you enter the InfoCube for each Verson. After you have entered the necessary
nformaton, choose to save the data and return to the prevous screen. You can use
to check that ths data has been entered.
'4. 5o1 c(n you co%y d(( fro$ one )eyf*ure o (noher )eyf*ure &n !($e
%-(nn&n* (re( or o (noher %-(nn&n* (re("
/o%y E(n(*e$en3 Use ths functon to copy one or more key gures between
pannng areas n any of the foowng ways:
From a key gure saved n the veCache tme seres to the same or another key
gure aso saved n the veCache tme seres
From a key gure saved n an InfoCube to the same or another key gure aso
saved n an InfoCube (the InfoCube(s) must be dened n pannng area
admnstraton)
From a key gure saved n an InfoCube to the same or another key gure saved n
the veCache tme seres (the InfoCube key gure must be dened n a pannng
area)
Froma key gure saved n veCache tme seres to the same or another key gure
saved n an InfoCube (the InfoCube must be dened n pannng area
admnstraton)
From one pannng area to another
Wthn the same pannng area
From one verson to another
Wthn the same verson
From one key gure to a dherent key gure
From one key gure to the same key gure n a dherent pannng area and/or
verson
Screen e< Wh( o do
Horzon You must enter a From date and a To date.
Seecton condton Seect ndvdua characterstc vaues or ranges of
characterstc vaues from whch you wsh to copy.
If you make no entres here, a characterstc vaues for
whch characterstcs have been seected n the
groupng condton and whch are common to source
and target are coped.
Groupng condton Seect the characterstcs from whch you wsh to copy.
By defaut, a characterstcs are seected.
Before copyng, the system aggregates the data to the
eve of the characterstcs you seected. It then copes
ths data to the mapped target characterstcs (see
"Characterstc assgnment" beow) and then
dsaggregates t to the remanng characterstcs n
accordance wth the Cacuaton type dened for the
target key gure n pannng area admnstraton. Whch
characterstcs you seect here can have profound
ehects on the resuts. In ths respect, the groupng
condton s smar to the pannng eve n mass
processng.
Propose key gures If you wsh the system to suggest a mappng of
dentcay named key gures, check ths box.
Key gure assgnment Cck here to check and edt, or dene the key gure
mappng.
Use the data transmsson type Key gure copy DP-DP to
copy key gures wthn Demand Pannng.
Use the data transmsson type Key gure copy f a
standard SNP eve has been dened for the the source
and/or target pannng areas(s); that s, f the pannng
area(s) s/are used n Suppy Network Pannng. Ths
ensures that the characterstcs "ocaton" and "product"
are ncuded n the groupng condton.
To add the key gure vaue to the target key gure,
check the box Add data. To overwrte the key gure
vaue of the target key gure, eave ths box unseected.
Characterstc assgnment Cck here to dene the mappng of characterstcs.
The system takes nto account ony those perodctes that are common to both
pannng areas. For exampe, f the data s saved n months n the source pannng
area but n months and weeks n the target pannng area, the system copes to
months n the target pannng area and then dsaggregates the data to the storage
buckets n accordance wth the Tme-based dsaggregaton settng made for the
target key gure n pannng area admnstraton.
Ac&.&&e!
From the SAP Easy Access menu, choose Demand Pannng Envronment
Copy/Verson Management.
':. Wh( u!er !e&n*! (re reAu&red for /o--(bor(&.e P-(nn&n* hrou*h ITS"
Wh( (re he re!r&c&on! 1hen u!&n* Iner(c&.e P-(nn&n* T(b-e .&( ITS.
Suppy Chan Coaboraton:
The goa of SAP APO Coaboratve Pannng (CLP) s to hep enterprses carry out
coaboratve suppy chan pannng actvtes wth ther busness partners. Thus,
reevant nput from busness partners can be taken nto account to synchronze
pannng across the network and everage APO to generate optmzed pans based on
data from the suppy network. Enterprses can now focus on enhancng customer
vaue by enabng true busness coaboraton across busness partners n ther
networks.
Internet and assocated technooges such as XML have revoutonzed nter-
enterprse busness processes by enabng seamess nformaton exchange between
busness partners. Hgh voumes of data can be transferred at ow cost and even
mnor busness partners can exchange nformaton n an economca manner.
Interactve on-ne access to each others systems can be acheved easy va a
conventona Internet browser.
APO CLP s the budng bock whch enabes enterprses to coaboratvey pan a
ogstcs actvtes rangng from forecastng to shpment pannng together wth ther
busness partners. Coaboratve Pannng extends the boundares of suppy chan
management to ncude a reevant busness partners and enabe coaboratve
busness processes across the network. The dstnct enttes n the network such as
suppers, manufacturers, and retaers can cooperate and act as a snge entty
focused on deverng enhanced customer vaue whe reducng costs throughout the
entre chan.
SAP APO Coaboratve Pannng was desgned to:
Enabe exchange of requred pannng nformaton wth busness partners
Aow the use of browser to read and change data
Restrct user access to authorzed data and actvtes
Support consensus pannng process
Support excepton-based management
Ine*r(&on
There are two bascs optons for usng APO Coaboratve Pannng:
Coaboraton Engne (CE) wthn/between APO systems
Interactvey wth Internet Transacton Server (ITS)
/o--(bor(&.e Su%%-y (nd De$(nd P-(nn&n*
The goa of coaboratve demand pannng s to exchange perod-based key gures
between manufacturers and retaers n order to reach a consensus-based forecast.
The goa of coaboratve suppy pannng, on the other hand, s the exchange of
matera requrements between manufacturers and suppers at an eary stage, so
that a partes nvoved can ad|ust ther suppy and producton pans. Key gures can
be exchanged at dherent eves of pannng.

Partners can exchange data n two ways:
Automatcay, usng tme seres data exchange between SAP systems
Manuay, va a Web browser for coaboraton between SAP and non-SAP systems
The foowng prerequstes appy to both demand and suppy pannng. The foowng
settngs determne how an externa partner can work n Coaboratve Suppy and
Demand Pannng:
Proce!!
Beow s an exampe of a smpe coaboratve process n suppy and demand
pannng: For an addtona exampe of coaboratve suppy pannng
Coaboratve Suppy and Demand Pannng
';. E<%-(&n he %roce!! of !e&n* u% b(c)*round job! &n DP" Where (nd ho1 do
you defne he (**re*(&on -e.e- (nd !e-ec&on cr&er&on for 1h&ch
b(c)*round %roce!!&n* &! o be done.
A**re*(&on (nd D&!(**re*(&on3
Aggregaton refers to the functon whereby key gure vaues on deta eve are
automatcay summed up at runtme and shown or panned on aggregated eve. If,
for exampe, you dspay the forecasted demand for a regon n the nteractve
pannng tabe, you see the forecasted demand that the system has summed up for
the varous dstrbuton channes, product fames, brands, and customers, for that
partcuar regon.
Dsaggregaton refers to the functon that automatcay provdes the detas of a key
gure vaue from aggregrated eve on deta eve. If, for exampe, you forecast the
demand for a partcuar regon, the system breaks the vaue down mmedatey nto
the dstrbuton channes, product fames, brands, products, customers, and so on n
ths regon.
Aggregaton and dsaggregaton ensure a consstent pannng approach throughout
your organzaton. The sum of the vaues on deta eve aways equas the tota on
aggregated eve. Key gure vaues are aways saved on the owest eve of deta. If
aggregates exst, the data s aso saved on ths aggregate eve.
Ac&.&&e!
To dene the cacuaton type and the tme-based dsaggregaton type for a key
gure, on then SAP Easy Access screen, from Advanced Pannng and Optmzaton
choose Demand Pannng Envronment Admnstraton of Demand Pannng and
Suppy Network Pannng. Seect the requred pannng area and, n the context menu,
choose Change. Make your settngs n the Cacuaton Type ed and n the Tme-
Based Dsaggregaton ed. These settngs appy to a pannng books n whch the
key gure s used.
Iner(c&.e De$(nd P-(nn&n* U!e
You can use nteractve demand pannng for severa purposes:
To create the demand forecast nteractvey
To vadate dherent unvarate forecast modes
To vadate dherent causa modes
To verfy the resuts of a forecast created n the background
To process aerts ssued n background |obs
You start nteractve demand pannng by choosng Advanced Pannng and
Optmzaton Demand Pannng Pannng Interactve Demand Pannng from
the SAP Easy Access menu.
Proce!! =-o1
1. Create an actvty.
2. Create a pannng |ob.
3. Schedue the pannng |ob.
4. Revew the resuts n the |ob og, and take any necessary acton.
/re(&n* (n Ac&.&y
1. To access ths screen from the SAP Easy Access screen, choose Demand
Pannng Pannng Demand Pannng n the Background Dene Actvtes
for Mass Processng.
2. In the Actvty screen, enter a name and a short descrpton for the actvty.
3. Choose Create.
4. In the Header Settngs box enter the pannng book and the data vew for whch
you wsh to run the forecast.
5. On the Forecast tabstrp, specfy the forecast proe on whch the forecast
shoud be based.
6. If you wsh a background forecast for the seecton speced n the mass
processng |ob to aways use ths forecast proe, check the box Aways use |ob
proe. Otherwse, the system uses the seecton t nds n the master forecast
proe under Goto Assgnment. The system records here the ast forecast
proe to be used for a seecton. Uness you specfy otherwse, t assumes that
you want to use ths forecast proe wth ths seecton the next tme you run the
forecast.
7. Specfy whether you wsh aerts to be ssued for the |ob and whether or not you
wsh exstng aerts to be overwrtten by the new aerts.
8. Seect the error messages for whch you wsh a forecast to be saved. If a
message s ssued that you have not seected, the forecast s not saved.
9. Check and, f necessary, change the sequence number n the Acton counter
ed. You use the scro buttons on the rght hand sde of the ed to change the
sequence of the actons.
Ensure that no resuts are saved between each ndvdua acton. Ths means
that t s not possbe to schedue a sequence of actons n whch an acton
depends on the resuts of a prevous acton. If, however, you want ths to be the
case, you must create mutpe background |obs. If you then schedue the |obs,
you can specfy the sequence n whch they are to run.
10. Choose Edt Accept acton.
The acton appears n the Actons st n the mdde of the screen.
If you need to deete an acton, pace your cursor on t and cck Deete acton. If
you do ths, the system automatcay renumbers the remanng actons.
11. Repeat steps 5 to 9 unt you have nshed enterng your actons.
12. Choose Actvty Save.
/re(&n* ( P-(nn&n* Iob
1. From the SAP Easy Access menu, choose Demand Pannng Pannng
Demand Pannng n the Background Create demand pannng n the
Background.
2. Enter a name and a short descrpton for the pannng |ob.
3. Choose Pannng |ob Execute.
The nta Create Pannng |ob screen appears.
4. Enter the pannng book and data vew you speced n the mass processng
actvty, as we as the verson for whch you wsh to run ths |ob.
5. Choose Pannng |ob Execute.
The second Create Pannng |ob screen appears.
6. Enter the actvty that you want to carry out n ths |ob.
7. Specfy whether the system shoud generated a |ob og.
Se-ec In order o
One Run the forecast for a of the pannabe characterstc vaue
combnatons n one seecton. In the ed besde ths ndcator,
choose the seecton ID usng F4 Hep.
To see whch pannabe characterstc vaue combnatons are
contaned n the seecton, cck the Dspay con. Ths opens the
Seectons daog box. where you have access to a exstng
seectons. In addton, you can aso create a new seecton.
Severa Run the forecast for a of the pannabe characterstc vaue
combnatons n severa seectons. To choose the seecton IDs, cck
the Choose deta button. The system carres out the |ob for a of the
pannabe characterstc vaue combnatons n the chosen
seectons.
Seect a Run the forecast for a of the pannabe characterstc vaue
combnatons n the InfoCube.
Aggregaton
eve
Dene the aggregaton eve as foows:
1.Cck on Aggregaton eve.
2. Seect the characterstcs that correspond to the aggregaton eve
on whch you want the |ob to be carred out. The defaut eve s the
most detaed eve.
3. Choose Enter.

The aggregaton eve can make a bg dherence to the forecast resuts. If you run the
forecast on a hgh eve (for exampe, at dvson eve), the system aggregates the
hstorca data (for exampe, the hstorca data of a products n a dvson) before t
carres out the forecast. However, f you run the forecast on a ow eve (for exampe,
for |ust one product), the system creates the forecast based on the hstorca data at
ths eve, and then aggregates the forecast resuts n the pannng screen at runtme.
The aggregaton eve works as foows:
a. The system determnes whch pannabe characterstc vaue combnatons are
dened n the seecton.
b. The system determnes whch characterstc vaues are dened n the
aggregaton eve. For exampe, f you dene Produc as your aggregaton
eve, the system creates forecasts at product eve for the foowng products:

9. Choose Pannng |ob Save.
Schedu-&n* ( P-(nn&n* Iob
1. From the SAP Easy Access menu, choose Demand Pannng Pannng
Demand Pannng n the Background Schedue Demand Pannng n the
Background.
2. Enter the |ob name.
3. Choose Program Execute.
4. In the Start Tme daog box, specfy when you wsh the |ob to start runnng.
5. Choose Save.
Re!u-
The system carres out the pannng |ob at the tme speced. To check the |ob status,
choose Demand Pannng Pannng Demand Pannng n the Background |ob
Overvew of Demand Pannng n the Background.
Re.&e1&n* he Iob Re!u-! &n he Iob Bo*
Use the |ob og to check the resuts of a mass processng |ob. To generate a |ob og,
seect Generate og when you create a |ob. To vew the |ob og, choose Demand
Pannng Pannng Demand Pannng n the Background Demand Pannng
Logs n the Background.
=e(ure!
The |ob og shows:
Name of |ob
Date on whch the |ob started
Tme at whch the |ob started
Whether the |ob competed successfuy (green), wth warnngs (yeow) or wth
errors (red)
A message for every characterstc vaue combnaton that was processed n the
|ob
A queston mark n the Message ong text coumn ndcates that a ong text exsts
for the message. Cck on the queston mark to vew the ong text.
Forecast error messages f the |ob ncuded a forecast
Ac&.&&e!
You can aso use the foowng functons:
Show/hde a characterstc vaue combnatons that competed successfuy/wth
warnngs/wth errors
Sort the og n order of characterstc vaue combnatons
Fter accordng to characterstc vaue combnaton or message text
Prnt the current vew of the og
Downoad the current vew
Send the current vew to the ema user
Dene dspay varants for the og
It s essenta that you perodcay deete the |ob og. If you do not, performance
probems can occur. To deete the |ob og choose Demand Pannng Pannng
Demand Pannng n the Background Deete |ob Log.
'>. Wh( &! Ad(%&.e =orec(!&n*"
Wth ths functon the system attempts to automatcay nd the best forecast
settngs (mode and parameters) for seectons n background processng. For each
seecton n the |ob t determnes the best proe and assgns t to the seecton. In
future |obs, the forecast s carred out usng ths proe. Optonay you can set up the
system so that f an error threshod s exceeded for a seecton, the system agan
starts automatc mode seecton and nds the new optma forecast settngs for the
seecton.
Ths functon s ony avaabe n background pannng.
Ine*r(&on
Ths functon s fuy ntegrated n the background processng transactons together
wth the forecast strategy Automatc Mode Seecton Procedure 2.
PrereAu&!&e!
For both functons
You have not set the Aways use |ob proendcator for the actvty.
You have assgned a forecast proe that s based on forecast strategy Automatc
Mode Seecton Procedure 2 (strategy 56) to the actvty. (Ths s the |ob proe.)
For Generate proe on error
A proe has aready been assgned to the seecton n queston. Ths means that
You have aready run a background forecastng |ob n whch the Generate proe
and assgn t functon was actve
You have carred out a forecast n nteractve pannng wth any forecast
strategy or
You have manuay assgned a forecast proe to the seecton. For ths, from
the SAP Easy Access screen, choose Demand Pannng Envronment Assgn
Forecast Proes to a Seecton.
You have entered a dagnoss group n the forecast proe that s assgned to the
seecton.
=e(ure!
Two smar functons are avaabe:
Generate Forecast Proe and Assgn t
You assgn a forecast proe that s based on the" Automatc Mode Seecton
Procedure 2 strategy to the actvty. After the system has found the best forecast
method and optmzed the parameters for a seecton t uses ths data to generate
a forecast proe and to assgn t to the seecton. Ths runs once; t does not
check whether the chosen method s aways the best. You use the second functon
to do ths.
For more nformaton about assgnng proes to seectons Generate New
Proe on Error
In mass processng t s possbe to check the quaty of a forecast for a seecton
by assgnng a dagnoss group to the forecast proe. If a measure of error n the
dagnoss group s exceeded, the system automatcay starts" Automatc Mode
Seecton Procedure 2 and assgns the new proe that s generated to the
seecton.
Ac&.&&e!
Both ndcators are avaabe on the actvty mantenance screen. To access ths
screen from the SAP Easy Access screen, choose Demand Pannng Pannng
Demand Pannng n the Background Dene Actvtes for Mass Processng. On the
nta screen, enter the name of the actvty and choose Change. The two ndcators
are at the bottom of the Contro Parameters secton of the screen.
Generate proe on error
Make sure when usng ths functon that the measure of error (MAD, MAPE etc. ) that
you use n the automatc mode seecton 2 to nd the best forecast proe s aso
ncuded n the dagnoss group that s used n the forecast proe.
After the system has determned that a error measure has been exceeded, started
automatc mode seecton 2 and determned that the error measure s st exceeded
t does not try to further optmze the mode. Instead t assgns the new proe and
ssues an aert.

+C. D&!cu!! (bou Noe! E(n(*e$en J 1h&ch )ey f*ure! (nd 1h( -e.e- c(n &
be cre(ed. 5o1 doe! ( %-(nner )no1 here (re noe! &n Iner(c&.e
P-(nn&n*"
Noe! E(n(*e$en
Use notes to remnd you or nform other demand panners of the reasons why the
demand forecast n a partcuar perod at a partcuar eve s as ow or hgh as t s.
Notes are pannng area specc. Ths means that f you create a note for a key gure
and tme bucket n one pannng area, you can see ths note n a pannng books n
ths pannng area provded the same key gures and tme buckets exst n the
pannng books.
The notes management screen area has a status bar and a toobar.
Status Bar
The status bar s vsbe when you open the notes management screen area.
Toobar