Process Overview

Define Planning Hierarchy

Define Planning Data Define Business

Manage Master Data Define User Specific
Elements Rules for Planning
Planning Views
and Monitoring

Identify Product Life

Maintain Forecast Maintain Demand
Cycle Management
Profile Plan Release Profile
and Set Up Data

Load Planning Hierarchy

Confirm Load of Planning Hierarchy

 Master Data Components in DP
Material
EAN/UPC Package
Material Group
Type Type
Region

Product Product Programme

Programmed Country
Hierarchy Country
Dimension Cluster
SKU
Type Operator Sales Organization
Organisation
Sales Organization
Organisation
Location Dimension
Customer -facing Location

Customer Dimension
Key Customer
DP Lifecycle
Sales Dimension Status
Sales Division

Lifecycle Dimension
SKU + Sales Organization
 Master Data Elements in DP
• The three main master data elements in
demand planning are:
• Characteristics: Mutually exclusive entities, which can be combined with one
another independently
• Attributes: Properties of Characteristics, which can be determined uniquely from
the values of the parent characteristics; these are used to review and plan
consistently at different levels as required by the different parties in the Consensus
Forecasting process
• Characteristic Combinations: Every single unique combination of each of the
mutually exclusive characteristics and constitute the principal master data of
Demand Planning
 Key Terminology
• Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO): An SAP-SCM application
used to create and manage demand forecasts and Supply plans. It
resides in the SCM system.
• Characteristic: Master data elements, e.g. SKU, Sales Division, etc.
for which information like demand history, forecast, etc. are stored.
• Characteristic Combination: Every single unique combination of
each of the mutually exclusive characteristics and constitute the
principal master data of Demand Planning.
• CVC: The master data for planning activities and resides in
livecache. It is all of the combinations of planning hierarchy relevant
for demand planning and represents all the levels at which the user
may generate a forecast.