Process Management in Sap Ibp

4/19/2022
SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain

Generated on: 2022-04-19 03:54:05 GMT+0000
SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain | 2202
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Original content: https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_INTEGRATED_BUSINESS_PLANNING/feae3cea3cc549aaa9d9de7d363a83e6?locale=en-

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Business Applications
Information about the applications and functions of SAP Integrated Business Planning.
In the following sections, you find detailed information about the functions of SAP Integerated Business Planning.
Process Management
Process management helps you to define, manage, and track planning processes. It also offers features for collaboration between the people involved in the process,
and automation to help reduce manual tasks.
Defining and Managing Planning Processes

A typical example for a planning process is the monthly sales and operations planning process. It includes a product review, followed by a demand review, a supply
and inventory review, a reconciliation review, and a management meeting. Each of these events represents a phase within the process and has its own individual
duration. The people who participate in each phase come from different functional groups. There is also a different set of activities that needs to be performed in each
of the phases. There are different requirements that need to be fulfilled before a process phase can be completed and the next one can start.
The process management functionalities allow you to reflect this process and support you in managing it.
Planning processes are typically repeated in recurring cycles. For example, a new sales and operations planning process takes place every month. To save you having
to set up a new process from scratch each time you want to repeat the planning cycle, you can create a template. In this template, you can define your company’s
planning process and all important aspects of it. First, you model the individual process phases, which are represented by process steps and drive the structure of the
process. For each of those process steps, you can define its individual duration, the participants who are involved, and the tasks they need to perform. Optionally, you
can also configure step dependencies and automation settings for your process and, if your system is connected to one of the supported collaboration tools, you can
also add a collaboration group. After you have created your template, you can reuse it and create a new process from it for each recurring period.
Recommendation
The process management functionalities in SAP IBP are designed for modeling a typical process for sales and operations planning with an average of 5 process
phases. We recommend that you include no more than 10 process steps in total for a process.
Social Collaboration
Process management can be used with or without a tool for social collaboration. The main difference is that if no collaboration tool is used, features based on this
collaboration tool will not be available.
SAP Jam and SAP Work Zone support the collaboration between the users who are involved in a process by enabling them to share data or information about the
process, have discussions, and manage their tasks. It also makes tasks transparent: each task that was defined in the template of a process is visible for all participants
in the corresponding collaboration tool. Additionally, a collaboration tool allows more detailed tracking of the progress.
For more information, see Social Collaboration.
Monitoring the Process and Tracking its Progress

The process and its phases can be monitored in the dashboard and in the Manage Processes app. Process management offers two types of information to support
monitoring: status and progress.
Status
Each process, process step, and task has a status. This status represents a snapshot of the current state of the process, process step, or task. For example, the status
indicates whether a process step has started, is in progress, or is completed. This provides a rough overview of the process.
Progress
In addition to the status, the progress of a process or a process step is also shown. The progress shows what has been accomplished in the process or process step so
far. It is updated every time a new activity has been carried out, for example, when a task has been completed. The progress is shown as a percentage. For the overall
progress, this percentage is based on the number of completed process steps. For the process step, the calculation of the progress depends on whether you use a
collaboration tool or not.
This is custom documentation. For more information, please visit the SAP Help Portal 1
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Automating the Process

There may be different requirements that need to be fulfilled before a process step can be started or completed. For example, the process step for the executive S&OP
meeting can only start after all previous process steps have been completed. Also, it may be required to run application jobs upon the start or end of a process step,
like running the copy operator upon the end of the demand review to create the consensus demand. All this needs to be coordinated by the people who are responsible
for the process steps.
The automation feature supports these people in managing the process steps and reduces the manual tasks they need to perform: for example, you can configure
process steps to be started or completed automatically when a given condition is fulfilled. Likewise, you can choose application jobs to run automatically after a
process step has been started or completed.
Related Information
Getting Started with Process Management
Configuring a Process
Settings for Process Automation
Managing a Process
Monitoring a Process
Managing Tasks
Apps for Process Management
Dashboards - Advanced
Social Collaboration
Driver-Based Planning – Overview

Driver-based planning supports you in capturing business drivers such as risks or opportunities. You can capture qualitative and quantitative information for them by
evaluating their likely effects and expressing those effects in key figure values for multiple planning levels. You can also consider the drivers in your supply chain
plan.
Drivers are internal or external factors such as business risks, opportunities, assumptions, or other events that can influence your organization’s supply chain plan in a
positive or negative way. Making these drivers transparent can help you understand how they could influence the direction of your supply chain plan and prepare to
change direction if needed. To do this, planners capture these drivers during a planning cycle for their business unit, like the marketing, demand, or supply
department. At the end of the planning cycle, the various drivers are consolidated and analyzed in a review meeting with stakeholders from the different business
units. It is then decided which of the drivers are relevant and need to be considered in the supply chain plan. Identifying these drivers can help your organization to
react to their possible effects and adjust your supply chain plan if needed.
The figure below shows how driver-based planning is done in the context of demand planning. During the planning cycle, planners prepare the sales plans, product
plans, marketing plans, and the demand forecast. The drivers are captured separately at the same time. All of this data is considered when the demand is adjusted in a
later step and discussed during the demand review meeting. After the demand review meeting, the resulting demand plan is approved and the drivers that may still be
valid for the next planning cycle can be adjusted and taken over for the next planning cycle.
For a detailed example, see Example: Risks and Opportunities as Drivers.
SAP Integrated Business Planning supports the driver-based planning process with the following functionality:
Driver-Based Planning App
Planners can capture drivers in the Driver-Based Planning app. They can create them for different aggregation levels and assign qualitative and quantitative
information to them. After the drivers have been reviewed, the drivers that are relevant for the supply chain plan can be marked in this app and considered in the plan
using key figure calculations.
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For more information on the app, see Driver-Based Planning.
Model Entities for Driver-Based Planning
To set up a driver-based planning process for your organization, you need a specific master data type for your drivers and key figures that you can use to capture the
estimated impact of the driver. The Unified Planning Area offers an example for the implementation of driver-based planning. For more information, see Setting Up
Driver-Based Planning.
Restrictions for Driver-Based Planning
There are some restrictions that need to be considered when you set up driver-based planning and work with the Driver-Based Planning app. For more information,
see Setting Up Driver-Based Planning and Driver-Based Planning.
Change History for Driver-Based Planning
Key figure changes made in the Driver-Based Planning app are tracked by the change history and can be viewed for auditing purposes.
When viewing the change history for driver-based planning, note that original changes are not tracked when planners change the total key figure value for a driver in
the summary view, when they create a driver, when they copy a driver, or when they replace it. Because they are not tracked, key figure changes cannot be seen in the
original changes view in the SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel. The total key figure value, however, is disaggregated, and this
disaggregation is tracked by the change history as the effect of the change. Planners can only look at this effect in the effects view.
When planners change key figure values in the detail view of the Driver-Based Planning app, however, these changes are tracked by the change history and can be
seen in the original changes view as well as in the effects view.
Demand Planning
Demand planning provides you with several tools to generate forecasts for various scenarios or for specific parts of your business. Using historical data and
scientifically based statistical algorithms, it allows you to improve the accuracy of revenue forecasts, align inventory levels with predictable changes in demand, and
enhance profitability for a given channel or product.
The following diagram shows the mandatory and optional steps that together comprise the demand planning process. Optional steps are indicated by dashed lines in
the graphic.
This image is interactive. Hover over each area for a description. Click highlighted areas for more information.
Process Steps
The diagram includes the following steps:
1. Create or edit forecast models.
To define how the system is to calculate the forecast using historical data, select the calculation parameters in one or more forecast models, which contain
settings for the following:
The main input and the output key figures of the forecasting process
The time horizon and periodicity for which you wish to consider historical data and calculate future data
The preprocessing algorithms to be used for cleansing the historical data with regards to missing values, outliers, and promotion-related sales lifts
The algorithms to be used for forecast calculation
The statistical measures to be used for error calculation during the postprocessing steps
Note
Due to performance reasons, we don't recommend that you add more than 150 forecasting steps to a forecast model.
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You can create and edit forecast models in the Manage Forecast Models app. For each algorithm, you can define parameters such as the input and output key
figures for the calculations.
For more information, see Manage Forecast Models.
2. Assign forecast models to planning objects (optional).
To use the created forecast models for calculating the forecasts, you must specify which forecast model is to be used for which attributes or master data
characteristics. You have the following options:
You create planning views in the IBP Excel add-in and select one of the available forecast models before you run statistical forecasting.
For more information, see step 4 below.
You assign forecast models to planning objects (combinations of master data characteristics) using the Assign Forecast Models app, and select Consider
Forecast Model Assignments in the IBP Excel add-in before you start a simulation or run statistical forecasting.
For more information, see Assign Forecast Models.
3. Gather historical data.
To create forecasts for the future you need data from the past, which usually means the sales history of a product from a certain time period. This data is
gathered from SAP ERP or APO DP using the Data Integration Using Cloud Integration for data services application job template, or by uploading of CSV
files using the Data Integration app.
Note
You can’t load changed data only. If a frequent data transfer is required, we recommend that you define separate HCI tasks with respective filter criteria.
Note
If a planning object is transferred to SAP Integrated Business Planning and is afterwards deleted in SAP ERP or APO DP (either directly or by realignment), it
isn’t deleted automatically in SAP IBP.
For more information, see Data Integration Scenarios and the SAP Cloud Platform integration guide at http://help.sap.com/ibp.
4. Create assignments for new product introduction
If you want to create forecasts for new products for which no historical values are available, you can identify and consider products that have a similar
historical sales pattern and assign them as reference products to the new product.
For more information, see New Product Introduction.
5. Integrate promotions
If you want to create a more accurate demand plan, you can integrate trade promotions data from external promotion planning systems. That is, you can run
statistical forecasting on a data basis that doesn’t contain the impact of promotions on the historical sales figures. At the end of the forecast process, you can
include the planned future promotions in your final demand plan.
For more information, see Integrating Promotion Data in Forecasting.
6. Assign to planning objects to ABC/XYZ segments (optional).
With the historical data gathered, the system can assign planning objects to ABC segments to prioritize them based on their relative importance, and to XYZ
segments to classify them based on their demand volatility. You can set the rules for these segmentation processes in the Manage ABC/XYZ Segmentation
Rules app.
For more information, see Manage ABC/XYZ Segmentation Rules.
7. Run time series analysis and change point detection
If you want the system to consider time series properties and change points in various forecasting processes, you can create a forecast automation profile with
rules for time series analysis and change point detection. Then you can run a forecast automation job that perform these processes.
8. Run statistical forecasting.
Once you have a forecasting model set up, you can start the forecasting process. Forecasting can be run in the background or interactively. Interactive
forecasting allows you to experiment with various forecast models and simulate forecasts while changing various key figure values. You can perform both
types of forecasting in the IBP Excel add-in.
For more information, see Run Statistical Forecasting.
9. Compare forecasts (optional).
If you want to gain insight into the forecasting accuracy of the planning areas in your responsibility, you can create calculations for forecast error measures in
the Manage Forecast Error Calculations app.
For more information, see Manage Forecast Error Calculations.
10. Solve alerts
If you have the SAP Supply Chain Control Tower application in place, you can set up alerts to identify conditions in the system that require your attention. For
example, you can define that an alert is to be created when the error measure called mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) exceeds 30%. In the IBP Excel
add-in, you can solve the alerts by reforecasting using a different forecast model that produces a lower MAPE level.
To set up an alert of this type, you must create a time-independent key figure for the planning area in the Planning Areas app. Then you must select that key
figure for saving the error measure in on the Postprocessing tab page of the Manage Forecast Models app. You also need to define the alert type and create an
alert subscription.
For more information, see the model configuration guide on the SAP Help Portal at http://help.sap.com/ibp and Postprocessing Steps.
11. Load forecast to SAP APO Supply Network Planning (SAP APO SNP)
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The demand plan can be used in SAP Integrated Business Planning for sales and operations, or it can be transferred to SAP APO Supply Network Planning as a
set of Planned Independent Requirements.
For more information, see the SAP Cloud integration guide at http://help.sap.com/ibp.
Inventory Optimization
SAP Integrated Business Planning for inventory recommends total inventory targets to maximize profit while buffering for uncertainty and maintaining customer
service levels.
Overview
Using SAP IBP for inventory for inventory optimization positions stock to absorb uncertainties, such as the following:
Forecast error
Demand variability
Supply uncertainty
By using a set of stochastic mathematical algorithms, inventory optimization determines the lowest stocking cost possible for locations across an entire supply chain
and provide stocking targets directly to planners at an item-location-time period level of granularity.
Note
For sample data, planning view templates, predefined dashboards, configuration guides, test scripts and more pertaining to SAP IBP for inventory, see SAP Best
Practices for SAP Integrated Business Planning. You can download the content at http://rapid.sap.com/bp/rds_ibp .
How Uncertainties Lead to Ineffective Stocking Levels

Uncertainties multiply across the supply chain due to the interdependency between suppliers, plants, warehouses, and customer sites. If you only consider one portion
of a supply chain, you may hold too much safety stock at one location, which leads to increased holding costs, or hold too little safety stock at one location, which
leads to stock-outs that either cause lower customer service levels or increased cost due to expedited orders.
The following table lists some common variables which cause uncertainty that lead to ineffective stocking levels:
Common variables
Customer Side Supply Side
Simultaneous internal and external demand varying for stock Batch size requirements
Errors in demand forecasting Late shipments
Demand that varies by season or time Frozen planning windows
Over-forecasting or under-forecasting demand Multiple supply sources
Outliers and unplanned spikes in demand Seasonal supply sources
Variability in deliveries to warehouses Regulatory QA production holds
Late changes in promotional event plans, such delayed execution or changes in Forecast error of raw material sourcing
the planned scope
Why Optimizing Safety Stock?

Inventory optimization helps manage uncertainty in the supply chain by determining the amount of safety stock to hold at stocking locations within the supply chain.
Safety stock absorbs uncertainty, allowing you to maintain customer service levels. Inventory optimization determines the optimal safety stock for each stocking
location and recommends targets, based on the following:
Demand from customers and demand uncertainty (direct demand) and the impact that has on internal replenishment orders (indirect demand and indirect
demand uncertainty)
Forecast error and its impact across the supply chain
Lead times and their variability, replenishment frequency, and lot sizes
Target service levels at customers
The resulting recommended inventory levels balance risk and cost appropriately. Not every location will see a reduction in inventory, but the entire supply chain will
achieve a cost reduction of inventory while maintaining service levels.
Optimal Inventory Placement

Optimal inventory placement is based on inventory forms and purposes, that is, on inventory components. Inventory components comprise the total inventory for a
given product.
Calculating inventory components and their targets strengthens inventory optimization. Inventory components include estimates, targets, average quantities, and
currency values. An example of inventory components include the following:
On-hand stock – inventory that is physically in the supply chain, that is cycle stock and safety stock
Cycle stock – inventory that is used to fulfill orders
Pipeline stock – stock on order
Safety stock – stock kept in reserve to meet unexpected demand and prevent stock-outs
The following figure illustrates the inventory replenishment process and the components involved:
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Inventory Replenishment and Components
In the basic inventory ordering process, there is a periodic review where a planner looks at the current stock and what will be arriving, and compares that to forecast
demand, which determines the committed inventory (on hand plus on order). If the committed inventory falls below the calculated target inventory position, you
order up to the target inventory level.
Target Inventory Position
The correct target inventory position (TIP) for a location is the amount of inventory needed to:
Meet current demand
Meet future demand until the next order is received
Cover demand uncertainty
TIP is calculated based on forecasts and includes the following types of inventory:
Pipeline stock
Cycle stock
Safety stock
Note
TIP is independent of the committed inventory. For example, in a demand ramp-down situation, there may be enough inventory to cover future demand without
placing an order.
The following figure illustrates the components of the target inventory position:
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Target Inventory Position
Modeling a Supply Chain

A supply chain network modeled in SAP Integrated Business Planning for inventory drives optimization process and results. You can view the supply chain model
using the Supply Chain Network app. For more information, see Supply Chain Network.
The Supply Chain Network app renders a visualization of the complete supply chain with nodes and arcs representing items, locations, and paths. The following
figure illustrates a supply chain that has been visualized with the Supply Chain Network app:
Supply Chain Network Visualization
Understanding the concept of how a supply chain is modeled helps with the understanding of how inventory optimization uses inputs from all the elements of a
supply chain to determine inventory recommendations for the entire supply chain. The model is built automatically by the inventory operators in real-time, using
source data from the ERP and source systems; it is not manually built by any user. The resulting supply chain model is a graphical representation of a supply chain
network and the entities it contains. These entities, or nodes, represent supplier locations, customer locations, stocking, and non-stocking locations. Nodes are linked
by supply paths (or arcs) that represent the flow of inventory; either raw materials or finished goods.
In a typical supply chain model, a supplier node is where materials originate and a customer node is where finished products reach customers. In between supplier
and customers, there are a number of other nodes that represent other locations where inventory resides as it flows from supplier to customer, such as manufacturing
plants, warehouses, and docks. The following table describes these nodes:
Node Type Description
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Node Type Description
Stocking node A location where inventory is carried and that has a demand stream. Stocking
nodes can be the following:
Internal stocking nodes have internal demand streams, for example, a

warehouse supplying raw materials to a manufacturing plant.
Customer-facing stocking nodes have customer-facing demand streams, for

example, a location that supplies a store.
Hybrid nodes have both internal and customer-facing demand streams, for
example, a location that ships finished goods to customer nodes, but also
ships to an internal node to create multipacks.
Non-stocking node Locations that do not hold any inventory, for example, production plants or cross-
docks. Non-stocking nodes are flow-through points.
Process point Not physical locations, but logical points along the supply chain model where
processing of inventory occurs, for example, the creation of bills of material
(BOMs).
Once you provide the input data, you can run inventory optimization to create the network topology and determine the optimal amount of safety stock to carry at
stocking locations across the supply chain.
Integration with Other Applications in SAP Integrated Business Planning

Inventory optimization uses outputs from IBP for demand or IBP of sales and operations (for example, variability, bias, and timing) to optimize inventory and set
optimal inventory targets, which IBP for response and supply and IBP for sales and operations can use. The following figure illustrates how inventory optimization
integrates with other IBP apps:
Integration with other apps
You can use the Manage Forecast Error Calculations app to calculate forecast error and use it as a primary input for inventory optimization at the base planning level.
For more information, see Manage Forecast Error Calculations.
Any change in inventory targets results in a change in supply. Efficient placement of inventory at the item-location-time period level of granularity reduces the
number and severity of changes needed. The outputs from the inventory application allow proper consideration of (and the modeling of) uncertainty in sales and
operations planning.
In addition, inventory optimization links to analytics in SAP Integrated Business Planning to provide management-level roll-up information to evaluate and
implement root-cause improvements.
Inventory optimization uses the same Excel-based user interface as other applications in SAP Integrated Business Planning.
Related Information
Configuring System Administration for Inventory Optimization
Sample Planning Area for Inventory Optimization
Using Inventory Optimization
Demand-Driven Replenishment
SAP Integrated Business Planning for demand-driven replenishment supports Demand Driven Materials Requirement Planning (DDMRP) as defined by the Demand-
Driven Institute.
The five components of DDMRP are as follows:
1. Buffer positioning
2. Buffer sizing
3. Dynamic adjustments
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4. Demand-driven planning
5. Visible and collaborative execution.
The following figure illustrates the process:
Five Components of DDMRP

Demand-driven replenishment supports DDMRP by performing the following:
Enabling strategic inventory positioning through the creation of decoupling point buffers (buffer positioning)
Creating buffer profiles and maintaining buffer levels (buffer sizing)
Allowing for dynamic adjustments to buffer profiles (dynamic adjustments)
Creating DDMRP order recommendations and order generation (demand-driven planning)
Reviewing priorities, inventory projections, and buffer and signal integrity status (visible and collaborative execution)
The main objective with DDMRP implementations is to enable material and information flow through a supply chain. In DDMRP, flow is achieved in the following
three ways:
By dampening the effect of variation across the supply chain by decoupling lead times and identifying where to buffer quantities of inventory, and how much to
buffer to ensure the shortest possible lead time and the optimum amount of inventory.
By driving replenishment based on actual demand, rather than forecasts.
By exposing downstream inventory and demand status to upstream sources to facilitate demand-driven prioritization of supply.
Decoupling point buffers are quantities of stock planned at a location that provide an aggregation point for demand by creating a more stable supply funnel. Buffers
also compress lead time between the buffer and the customer, which can lead to better service percentages. That is, the lead time to the customer is decoupled from
the supplier, as inventory is buffered at the decoupling point.
Placing decoupling points and their associated buffers is dependent on the supply chain and several factors, including the following:
Critical operation protection
Customer tolerance time
Inventory leverage and flexibility
Sales order visibility horizon
Potential lead time to market
Variable rate of demand and supply
Each factor should be taken into consideration when evaluating whether a node should become a decoupling point.
For example, a node that stocks multiple downstream customers that also has high variability in supply for items from upstream in the supply chain may be a good
candidate for a decoupling point and a buffer. By making this location a decoupling point, that can protect a critical operation and mitigate against the variation in
demand and supply.
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Once you position the decoupling points, the decoupled lead time is calculated based on the longest unprotected path between two decoupling points, as illustrated in
the following figure:
Individual lead time refers to transport or production lead times that are inputs from the ERP system.
For setting up buffers, DDMRP uses a dynamic, three-zone color-coded buffer for planning and execution. The levels are calculated both using individual item
properties and group settings (the buffer profile) at a location. For more information, see Buffer Zones and Average Daily Usage (ADU).
In DDMRP, net flow position is used to decide whether to place a new replenishment order on a buffer and to decide the order size. Net flow position in DDMRP is
calculated based on the following formula:
net flow position = on-hand stock + open supply - qualified demand
where:
On-hand stock is the quantity of stock physically present
Open supply is the total quantity of outstanding replenishment orders
Qualified demand is demand-driven (DD) relevant demand that is past-due or due today + qualified spikes
Qualified spikes represent the total DD-relevant demand in future periods that meet the following conditions:
Total DD-relevant demand is larger than the spike threshold
Future periods fall within the spike horizon
The following figure illustrates how qualified spikes are calculated:
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When net flow position falls at or below the top of yellow zone, a new replenishment order is proposed to bring the net flow to the top of green, as illustrated in the
following example:
At decoupling points, replenishment supply elements are generated based on their order recommendation and are propagated upstream, creating dependent demand
until the next decoupling point.
At non-decoupling points, demand elements are covered similarly to the local MRP, based on existing MRP setup.
The following figure illustrates how the DDMRP uses buffers to decouple supply generation across the network:
Finally, supply elements are prioritized according to their target buffer status during the execution phase.
You perform supply planning based on DDMRP every day for one single date (at the end of decoupled lead time). However, there are cases where it's necessary to
provide visibility into future supply plan beyond the decoupled lead time. To support this, demand-driven replenishment provides visibility to future supply plan
depending on the target system for supply generation. For more information see DDMRP Supply Generation with SAP IBP Order-Based Planning.
Note
For sample data, planning view templates, predefined dashboards, configuration guides, test scripts and more pertaining to SAP IBP for demand-driven
replenishment, see SAP Best Practices for SAP Integrated Business Planning. You can download the content at http://rapid.sap.com/bp/rds_ibp .
Key Features
The key features of SAP IBP for demand-driven replenishment are as follows:
Recommends strategic positioning of decoupling point buffers simultaneously across the end-to-end supply chain
Enables creation of scenarios for decoupling point decisions
Calculates average demand as Average Daily Usage (ADU) and its variability using past, future or blended (past and future) flexible time horizons
Generates time-phased buffer levels simultaneously for the supply chain, including multiple-sourcing networks
Plans new supply elements across the end-to-end supply chain, based on DDMRP principles
Provides native integration to SAP S/4HANA demand-driven replenishment for the follow up execution processes, as well as to SAP ECC
Note
Scheduling agreements for DDRMP materials are not supported.
Implementation in SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain

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You can implement demand-driven replenishment planning with SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain using three different scenarios, depending on
your target solution for generating supply elements:
DDMRP supply generation with SAP IBP using order-based planning
You can implement SAP IBP for demand-driven replenishment to position decoupling points, sizing buffer zones and their adjustments. Replenishment orders
are generated in SAP IBP for response and supply (order-based planning). You use SAP ERP (ECC or SAP S/4HANA) systems for the execution processes,
including planning replenishment elements and producing analytical reports. The following image illustrates this option.
For more information see [Link TBA]DDMRP Supply Generation with SAP IBP Order-Based Planning.
DDMRP supply generation with SAP S/4HANA for demand-driven replenishment
You can implement SAP IBP for demand-driven replenishment to position decoupling points, sizing buffer zones and their adjustments. You use SAP
S/4HANA demand-driven replenishment features for planning and execution of supply elements. The following image illustrates this option.
For more information see DDMRP Supply Generation with SAP S/4HANA for Demand-Driven Replenishment.
DDMRP supply generation with SAP ERP, supply chain integration add-on for SAP Integrated Business Planning
You can implement SAP IBP for demand-driven replenishment to position decoupling points, sizing buffer zones and their adjustments, as well as recommend
replenishment proposals. You use the provided heuristics and analytics in SAP ERP, supply chain integration add-on for IBP to generate supply elements. You
also use SAP ERP, supply chain integration add-on for IBP to follow execution steps. The following image illustrates this option.
For more information see DDMRP Supply Generation with SAP ERP, Supply Chain Integration Add-On for SAP IBP.
Along with the different options for supply generation, several SAP IBP apps, planning operators, and planning areas are used with demand-driven replenishment, for
both strategic planning and tactical response.
Implementation of DDMRP in SAP IBP for demand-driven replenishment includes the following areas:
SAP8 sample planning area for demand-driven replenishment
SAP7 sample planning area, if using order-based planning for supply generation in SAP IBP
Demand-Driven Replenishment Profile app
SAP IBP demand-driven replenishment planning operators (time series): Calculate DDMRP Buffer Levels, Recommend Decoupling Points (Solve) , Map to
Decoupling Points, and Calculate Average Daily Usage.
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Demand-driven replenishment order-based planning operator: Order-Based Planning: DDR Run (when using order-based planning for supply generation)
DDMRP Buffer Analysis app
DDMRP Buffer Status Monitoring app
In addition, you can use the following apps to monitor and adjust DDMRP:
SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel
Analytics – Advanced app
Dashboard – Advanced app
Supply Chain Network app
Projected Stock app (when using order-based planning for supply generation)
Related Information
DDMRP Supply Generation with SAP ERP, Supply Chain Integration Add-On for SAP IBP
Sample Planning Area for Demand-Driven Replenishment
Buffer Zones and Average Daily Usage (ADU)
Demand-Driven Replenishment Profiles
DDMRP Buffer Analysis
DDMRP Buffer Status Monitoring
Planning with Microsoft Excel
Analytics – Advanced
Supply Chain Network
Time-Series-Based Supply Planning

SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) allows you to create a demand and supply plan for your supply chain network using the following time-series-based supply
planning algorithms:
Supply planning heuristic to create an infinite supply plan without shortages in which all demands are fulfilled regardless of available supply.
Supply planning finite heuristic to create a priority-based finite supply plan in which demands are fulfilled depending on available supply.
Supply propagation heuristic to create an infinite supply plan in which only the available supply is propagated downstream through the supply chain.
Note
As of SAP IBP for Supply Chain 2005, the time-series-based supply propagation heuristic is no longer available for customers on newly installed SAP IBP
systems.
As a customer upgrading to 2005 who has already used the supply propagation heuristic in previous releases, you can continue using it.
Shelf life planning heuristic that takes the shelf life of products into account when creating a supply plan (infinite without shortages).
Supply planning optimizer to create a finite cost-optimized supply plan.
The algorithms are typically used within a sales and operations (S&OP) business process.
You can run the planning algorithms from the SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel (SAP IBP, add-in for Microsoft Excel) in simulation or
batch mode. You can also start the planning runs from the Application Jobs app. The resulting plan provides information on how much of each product should be
purchased, produced, or shipped at each location in your supply chain and in which period of the planning horizon. The supply plan also allows you to identify issues
in your supply chain, such as insufficient production capacity or stock. You can configure alerts to warn you about such issues. You can then use the functions in the
Excel add-in to try out different solutions and share scenarios with other team members before coming to a decision about what changes need to be made.
You can model and plan any depth of network of supply-chain-relevant locations and production steps.
The supply plan answers any questions you may have, such as the following:
How much do I need to produce and where should I produce it?
How much do I need to transport and from where to where?
How much do I need to source from external sources of supply that are not modeled in my supply chain?
Where do I have issues in my supply plan?
Planning Method
The time-series-based supply planning algorithms calculate the flow of products through your supply chain to satisfy demand. Using customer demand as the starting
point and taking different constraints and planning data into account, the algorithms calculate which locations in your supply chain can supply the product to the
customer and how much each location can supply in each period of your planning horizon.
The algorithms propagate customer demand through the supply chain in an upstream direction (for example, from customer to distribution center, from distribution
center to plant). The product receipts are then transferred back through the network in a downstream direction and the product is supplied to the customer (for
example, from plant to distribution center, from distribution center to customer).
The resulting plan includes all material flows to customers from plants and suppliers via distribution centers or other intermediate locations, and includes all
production processes.
Planning Algorithms
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The following planning algorithms are available:
Time-series-based supply planning heuristic
You use this algorithm for infinite demand and supply planning. The algorithm calculates supply based on the assumption that all resource capacities are
infinite. It fulfills all demands, balancing insufficient supply with negative project stock for the location products in question. This does not necessarily produce
a feasible plan, but it allows you to identify issues with supply and also capacity bottlenecks.
For more information, see Time-Series-Based Supply Planning Heuristic.
Time-series-based supply planning finite heuristic
You use this algorithm for finite demand and supply planning. The algorithm takes constraints into account, such as resource capacities. Demands are
processed in priority order, with the algorithm planning supply for each demand top-down though the supply chain. If the available supply is insufficient,
demand can remain unfulfilled or only partially fulfilled.
For more information, see Time-Series-Based Supply Planning Finite Heuristic.
Time-series-based supply propagation heuristic
Note
As of SAP IBP for Supply Chain 2005, the time-series-based supply propagation heuristic is no longer available for customers on newly installed SAP IBP
systems.
As a customer upgrading to 2005 who has already used the supply propagation heuristic in previous releases, you can continue using it.
As a variant of the supply planning heuristic, this algorithm also calculates an infinite demand and supply plan. In contrast, however, it propagates only the
available supply downstream through the supply chain and does not fulfill all demands. It therefore allows you to see the impact of the supply problem, that is,
which customer demands and net demands of which customer products and location products will not be met.
For more information, see Time-Series-Based Supply Propagation Heuristic.
Time-series-based shelf life planning heuristic
You use this algorithm for infinite demand and supply planning that needs to take the shelf life of products into account. Customer demands are defined with a
required minimum shelf life, meaning that corresponding customer receipts need to have a remaining shelf life that's the same as, or longer than, the minimum
shelf life defined for the customer demand. As with the supply planning heuristic, the algorithm calculates supply based on the assumption that all resource
capacities are infinite. It fulfills all demands, balancing insufficient supply with negative project stock for the location products in question.
For more information, see Time-Series-Based Shelf Life Planning Heuristic.
Time-series-based supply planning optimizer
You use this algorithm to generate a cost-optimized production, distribution, and procurement plan for the entire supply chain network, taking into account
certain constraints. The algorithm can be configured to generate a plan that maximizes either profits or delivery.
Note
In many situations, an optimized supply planning solution is required, for which the time-series-based supply planning optimizer is provided. Note, however,
that this algorithm is available only with the license SAP Integrated Business Planning for response and supply.
For more information, see Time-Series-Based Supply Planning Optimizer.
Note the following:
The system administrator determines which algorithms are available for the planner in the Excel add-in and in the application jobs app.
The time-series-based supply planning heuristic and time-series-based supply planning optimizer were called S&OP heuristic and S&OP optimizer respectively
in previous releases (up to 1705). They were renamed in 1708.
Planning Input and Output

Different constraints and planning data are used as input for demand and supply planning, including the following:
Master data such as customers, locations, sources of supply, and resources, and master data attributes such as quota arrangements, lead times, and lot sizes
Input key figures such as customer demand, stock on hand, projected stock, inventory target, and capacity supply
The planning output includes demand-related key figures such as dependent demand and capacity demand, and supply-related key figures such as transport receipts
and production receipts, external receipts, and customer receipts.
For more information, see Master Data and Key Figures.
Planning Versions
A planning version is a set of key figures that represents a particular plan. Planning versions are defined by your system administrator.
The base planning version is the default planning version and is provided in the standard system.
Each planning version has a baseline, that is, the "true" key figure values before you edit them and simulate scenarios. If supply planning reveals issues in the supply
plan, you may need to change the baseline of the relevant version.
Running Planning Algorithms

You can run the planning algorithms for time-series-based supply planning directly in the Excel add-in in the planning view (see Planning Views) that you use for
supply planning. In the Excel add-in menu, you can call the planning algorithms in the Advanced data group under SOP Operator. The SOP Operator menu item
includes all functions that are typically needed for time-series-based supply planning in an S&OP business process, including some auxiliary functions.
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You can also run the planning algorithms as application jobs, for example, to schedule them as recurring jobs.
You can run the algorithms in the following modes:
Simulation
This mode allows you to simulate your supply plan in real time (for example, to see the effect of changes that you have made to input key figures such as
customer demand and capacity supply). The results are shown immediately in your planning view.
Batch job
This mode allows you to schedule your plan to run in the background (for example, if you know that the algorithm has to process a large amount of data). You
can view the progress of the batch job in the log. When the batch job is finished, you open the planning view to display the generated supply plan.
Application jobs can only be run in batch mode. For the Excel add-in, your system administrator determines whether simulation and batch modes are available there.
Tip
We recommend not to run planning algorithms in multiple versions or scenarios at a time. Instead, start or schedule one algorithm run one for each version or
scenario.
Permissions
Only authorized users can perform supply planning. For information about users and authorizations, see Identity and Access Management.
As for permission filters (for more information, see Permission Filters), note the following behavior in time-series-based supply planning:
Note
The visibility part of the permission filter settings for a user is applied while reading the values of supply planning key figures and passing them to the S&OP
operator. No permission filter is used while writing the values back to the supply planning key figures. However, SAP recommends to provide the supply planner
with full visibility of the entire network. The S&OP operator runs can be limited to one or more subnetworks, but this does not influence the data reading or writing
permissions.
More Information
If you are a system administrator who wants to know how to configure supply planning, see Configuration (Configuration Expert).
If you are a planner who wants to know how to use the Excel add-in to generate a supply plan, see Creating a Supply Plan (Planner).
For more information on advanced topics such as subnetworks, see SAP Note 2238074 .
Exception Management
Overview of features that allow you to recognize and follow up on supply chain planning issues.
Using alerts, IBP can make you aware of situations that you consider to be critical, according to conditions that you defined upfront. For example, you can detect
situations where the customer demand exceeds 5000 pieces or the projected stock falls below 500 pieces.
IBP provides you with different options for configuring alerts, as follows:
Alert key figures are defined in the IBP configuration by a configuration expert (like all key figures).
Business users can include the alert key figures in their Excel planning view, where abnormal key figure values get highlighted using the format that the user
defined in the planning view definition.
Customer alerts can be defined and monitored by any business users using dedicated SAP Fiori apps.
Various features make it easier to manage and process alerts: You can share alerts with other users or user groups, snooze alerts that are currently not relevant,
and jump from an alert to the places where the alert context is visible and where the alert situation can be analyzed in detail (such as the Excel planning view,
analytics charts, or external systems).
You define the conditions under which an alert is triggered using rules and threshold values. Special machine learning algorithms can help you with defining
alerts when threshold values are not known in advance and data shifts over time.
The supply chain problem indicated by a custom alert requires the planner responsible to follow up, or it might require multiple planners to collaborate. To
track and manage the resolution of the issue in IBP, you can create a case.
Related Information
Creating Key Figures
Custom Alerts
Case Management
Custom Alerts
Custom alerts are used to find important or critical supply chain issues such as inventory shortages, an imbalance of supply and demand, or any unexpected changes
in the supply chain.
You can specify the threshold values that will be used to determine issues. For example, you can specify the threshold values for minimum stock levels in a particular
location.
Based on these threshold values, the system analyzes the data on the fly and finds where the threshold values are reached. This enables you and your colleagues to
react quickly, before a supply chain situation becomes a problem.
The apps available for custom alerts include the following:
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Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts
Monitor Custom Alerts
Define Custom Alerts Overview
Custom Alerts Overview
Intelligent Visibility
Planner Workspaces
Custom alerts are generated by the system and visible to assigned users regarding important or critical supply chain situations. Information contained in the custom
alert allows users to analyze and measure the impact of unexpected situations on their business. Users can fine-tune the criteria for alerts to be generated to mitigate
issues in the supply chain. Custom alerts are integrated with cases in SAP Supply Chain Control Tower, which facilitates the tracking and resolution of supply chain
problems.
Note
Custom alerts aren't synonymous with key figure alerts defined in the SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel, and aren't merged together.
User-defined scenarios aren't supported in custom alerts.
Related Information
Demand Sensing
Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts

With this app, you can create definitions and subscriptions for calculating custom alerts. Definitions include the planning area, versions and scenarios, time horizon,
calculation levels, static or machine learning rules that are used to calculate alerts. You can share custom alert definitions and subscriptions with other users and user
groups.
Purpose
You can use the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app to create custom alert definitions and subscriptions. These definitions and subscriptions will be used to
calculate custom alerts for critical supply chain issues, for example, in the Monitor Custom Alerts, Intelligent Visibility, and Planner Workspaces apps and allow
users to take appropriate actions to solve them.
Key Features
You can do the following:
Select the planning area, versions, and scenarios of the data for which you would like to calculate alerts.
If you select a planning area for order-based planning, you can select one of the available alert definition templates and have certain alert rules, key figures, and
default chart types automatically filled out. This allows you to create the custom alert definition faster. In addition, it allows you to display custom alerts in the
Intelligent Visibility app that show specific sales orders that are triggering an alert along with any gating factors causing a delay in confirming the orders.
Select a planning view template that can be used to display custom alert data in SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel to analyze and
solve issues.
Select the time horizon and calculation levels you would like to use as your data set to calculate alerts.
Choose whether alerts that occur across the selected time horizon are aggregated into a single chart in the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
Specify the minimum number of consecutive periods during which a condition must exist before an alert is calculated.
Define rules and conditions under which alerts are calculated, including machine learning rules.
Select how custom alert data is displayed in all apps where custom alerts are available, such as Monitor Custom Alerts, Intelligent Visibility, Analytics -
Advanced, and Dashboard - Advanced by selecting different chart types and formats.
Select the key figures that you want to be displayed in the custom alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts app to help you analyze custom alerts and take action.
Add complementary charts that can help you analyze and react better to alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
Add one or more procedure playbooks that can be used to solve the issues detected in the custom alerts calculated for the custom alert definition in the Monitor
Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps.
Share custom alert definitions with other users or user groups. You can also give specific users and user groups write access so that they can edit the custom
alert definitions.
Subscribe to custom alert definitions, which you’ve created or have been shared with you, and if needed, add filters and select key figures to customize further
the alerts that will be calculated. Alerts are calculated in the Monitor Custom Alerts app only for custom alert definitions with subscriptions.
Share subscriptions with other users or user groups. You can also give specific users and user groups write access so that they can edit the custom alert
subscriptions.
Edit, copy, and delete custom alert definitions and subscriptions that you’ve created.
Copy custom alert definitions and subscriptions that have been shared with you individually or as part of a user group.
Opt out of custom alert definitions and subscriptions that you've created or that are shared with you if you’re no longer involved in resolving custom alerts.
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Opt in to custom alert definitions and subscriptions that you've created or that are shared with you but from which you've previously chosen to opt out.
View the number of alerts per subscription and navigate directly to the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
Supported Device Types

Desktop
Tablet
Smartphone
Creating Custom Alert Definitions

Create definitions for calculating custom alerts using a wizard. Definitions include the planning area, versions and scenarios, time horizon, calculation levels, static or
machine learning rules that are used to calculate alerts. You can share custom alert definitions with other users or user groups. You can subscribe to custom alert
definitions.
Prerequisites
If you would like to use different categories to group your alerts, you’ve defined them in the Manage Categories app. For more information, see Manage
Categories.
If you would like to use complementary charts to visualize alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps, you’ve defined them or they’ve
been shared with you in the Analytics - Advanced app. For more information, see Creating Analytics Charts.
If you would like to add procedure playbooks to your custom alert definition to provide guidance for solving the supply chain issues detected in the Monitor
Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps, you've defined them or they've been shared with you in the Procedure Playbooks app. In addition, the planning
area of a procedure playbook must be the same as the planning area of a custom alert definition. For more information, see Procedure Playbooks.
Procedure
1. Open the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app.
2. Choose Create.
3. Enter the required information for the General Information step of the alert definition wizard.
a. Enter a name for the custom alert definition.
b. Enter a description.
c. If you have a default planning area assigned to your user under Me Area Settings , this planning area will be selected by default. Otherwise, select a
planning area.
d. The base version is selected by default. Select any other versions and scenarios for your alert definition.
If you don’t select a version and scenario, all versions and scenarios for the planning area will be used.
e. To help you and other users prioritize the issues that need to be resolved, select the severity for the alerts that will be calculated using this custom alert
definition.
f. Select a category for grouping your alerts.
g. If you selected a planning area for order-based planning, select an alert definition template.
When you select one of the available alert definition templates, the calculation level attributes and period, alert rules, and key figures will be
automatically filled out for you. This will allow you to create the custom alert definition faster. In addition, it will allow you to display custom alerts in
the Intelligent Visibility app that show specific sales orders that are triggering the alert along with any gating factors causing a delay in confirming the
orders.
h. Select a planning view template that will be used to display the data when you navigate from the Monitor Custom Alerts app to the SAP Integrated
Business Planning, add-in for Microsoft Excel.
i. By default, the status for the alert definition is Active. If you don’t want alerts to be calculated yet, set the status of the alert definition to Inactive.
j. Choose Next Step.
4. Enter the required information for the Data Selection step of the alert definition wizard.
a. Select the time horizon for which you want alerts to be calculated.
The time period can be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly, depending on the selected planning area. You can also select a range of periods, a
number of previous periods, or a number of next periods.
b. Select the Rolling checkbox if you want the time horizon to be dynamically shifted with the offset between the date on which you access the Monitor
Custom Alerts app and the date on which the custom alert definition was created or changed.
For more information, see Example: Rolling Time Periods.
c. Select calculation level attributes.
Calculation levels specify the level at which the data is aggregated. For example, if you want the alert definition to calculate alerts for all product
shortages across all your locations, select Location ID and Product ID.
If you selected an alert definition template, Location ID, Location Type, and Product ID are added automatically. Location ID and Product ID are
mandatory but you can remove Location Type and add additional calculation level attributes.
d. Select a calculation level period, for example, if you want the alert definition to calculate alerts weekly, select Weekly.
The calculation level period that you can select depends on the selection you made for the time horizon.
If you selected an alert definition template, the calculation level period is set to Day. You can remove it and leave it blank.
e. If you selected a calculation level period, you can either select to aggregate alerts over the time horizon or enter a minimum number of consecutive
periods during which a condition must exist before an alert is calculated.
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Select the Aggregate Alerts over Time Horizon checkbox if you want any supply chain issues that occur during the specified time period to be
combined in a single chart in the Monitor Custom Alerts app. However, if you selected an alert definition template, you can’t select the Aggregate
Alerts over Time Horizon checkbox.
Enter a minimum number of consecutive periods during which a condition must exist before an alert is calculated. If you selected an alert
definition template, the minimum number of consecutive periods is set to 1.
f. Choose Next Step.

5. Define static or machine learning rules or both for the calculation of alerts in the Alert Rules step of the alert definition wizard.
a. To define static rules, define one or more rule groups that contain one or more individual rules to refine the conditions under which alerts are calculated.
If you selected an alert definition template, the static rules are automatically filled out for you.
b. Define a key figure rule or a key figure rule with period offset.
Enter the following:
Key figure
Positive or negative offset value if you’re defining a rule with period offset (optional)
The values of the first key figure will be used for calculating custom alerts with an offset in the future or in the past from the selected time horizon.
Operator
Note that the null operator is used to differentiate between null and zero values. For example, you can create a rule that the Confirmed Quantity
key figure is null. The system will identify entries for the confirmed quantity for which no values have been defined.
Value
Rule type
You can use one of the following rule types:
Absolute
The value of a key figure is compared to a threshold value.
Percentage (%)
The values of two key figures are compared using a percentage value.
Key figure if you’re using percentage rule type
Positive or negative offset value if you’re defining a rule with period offset and using percentage rule type (optional)
The values of the second key figure will be used for calculating custom alerts with an offset in the future or in the past from the selected time
horizon.
Note
You won’t be able to create a key figure rule with period offset in the following cases:
You haven’t selected a calculation level period.
You’ve selected the Aggregate Alerts over Time Horizon checkbox.
You have set the minimum consecutive period to more than 1.
c. If you want to apply the key figure rules to specific calculation level attributes, for example, specific locations or products, add one or more attribute
rules.
d. If you’ve selected a calculation level period, and if you want to apply the key figure rules to a specific time period, add a period rule.
The time period for the rule can be only within the selected time horizon. If the Rolling checkbox has been selected for the time horizon, it will also be
automatically selected for the period rule. You can add only one period rule per rule group.
For more information about rules, see Example: Static Alert Rules
e. Choose whether all rule group conditions or any rule group condition that you define must be satisfied.
f. Choose whether all rules or any rule that you define in a rule group must be satisfied.
g. To define machine learning rules, toggle the Machine Learning Rules switch.
If you selected an alert definition template, you can’t define machine learning rules.
If you define both static and machine learning rules, the static rules are applied first and the machine learning rules are applied only on the result of the
static rules.
h. Select the algorithm you would like to use.

i. If you would like to use the DBSCAN algorithm, enter the required data.
The settings are technical and must be defined only by experienced users or data scientists. For more information, see DBSCAN Clustering Method.
j. If you would like to use the k-means algorithm, enter a key figure.
For more information, see K-Means Clustering Method.
k. Choose Next Step.

6. Define how key figure values are displayed in the Display Options step of the alert definition wizard.
a. Select the default chart type that will be used to display the values of the key figures.
The chart type that you select, such as bar, column, line, or pie, will impact the number of key figures that you can select in the display options. For more
information about specific chart requirements, see Chart Types. Note that not all listed chart types are available for custom alerts.
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b. For most chart types, you can define key figure display options. By default, the key figure display is set to Automatic and default options will be used for
the chart display. If you would like to define different color and appearance options for your charts, choose User-Defined.
c. Add the number of key figures required for the chart type you selected.
The key figures that are added in the alert rules, either by you or by an alert definition template, are automatically added as key figures in the display
options. You can remove them or add other key figures. Note that the first key figure in the list is the main key figure that is going to be displayed for the
corresponding custom alerts.
d. If you selected the User-Defined option, depending on the chart type that you selected, you can change the colors for the selected key figures.
e. If you selected the User-Defined option, depending on the chart type that you selected, you can change the appearance of the key figures in the chart.
The following options are available:
You can choose which key figures to show on the primary and secondary axes.
You can choose whether the key figures are shown as bars or lines.
f. Select the default conversions for the key figures you selected, for example, default currency or unit of measure.
g. If the calculation level attributes you selected have a description attribute defined in the Master Data Types app, select the display option for each
attribute. For example, select to display only the ID or both the ID and the description.
Note that the order of the calculation level attributes and period in the list is going to be the order in which the calculation level is displayed for the
corresponding custom alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts, Intelligent Visibility, and Analytics - Advanced apps.
h. Depending on the chart type that you selected, define the corresponding chart options.
Legend position
Select if the legend is displayed automatically where there’s enough space around the chart, or at the top, bottom, left, or right.
Value label
Select if value labels are displayed or not.
Axis title
Select if axis titles are displayed or not.
Number format
Select the number format you want to use in all places where key figures are displayed for your custom alerts.
By default, the Automatic option is selected for most chart types and the number format for the chart key figures will use the highest number of
decimals that has been defined in the display settings for the key figures of the planning area. For the key figures displayed outside of charts, the
number format that has been defined in the display settings for each key figure will be used.
By default, the Percentage option is selected for pie charts.
You can select the User-Defined option and select the data value and axis value formats you want to use.
i. Select complementary charts that can help you further understand and analyze the causes of alerts.
j. Choose Next Step.
7. Add procedure playbooks to your custom alert definition in the Procedure Playbooks step of the alert definition wizard.
a. Add one or more procedure playbooks that can help understand the reasons for the custom alerts and provide activities and actions that can be taken to
resolve them in the Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps.
You can add procedure playbooks with status Active and Inactive. However, only the active procedure playbooks will be displayed in the Monitor
Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps.
b. Choose Next Step.

8. Share the custom alert definition with other users and user groups in the Sharing step of the alert definition wizard.
a. Add users and user groups to a custom alert definition so that afterward you can add them to the subscription or they can create their own subscriptions
to allow them to monitor custom alerts. In addition, you can give specific users and user groups write access so that they can edit the custom alert
definition. However, they won't be able to add or remove users and user groups, give write access, or delete the custom alert definition. Note that even if
users with write access decide to opt out of a custom alert definition, they'll continue to have write access to the definition.
b. To view a summary of your custom alert definition and make any changes, choose Review.
9. Create your custom alert definition.
If you want to create both the custom alert definition and a subscription, choose Create and Subscribe. For more information about the required steps for
creating a subscription, see Subscribing to Custom Alert Definitions.
If you want to create only the custom alert definition and create a subscription later, choose Create.
Example
Watch the interactive tutorial for step-by-step instructions: Defining and Monitoring Custom Alerts.
All tutorials are captioned exclusively in English.
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Example: Rolling Time Periods

Time periods over which custom alerts can be calculated can be adjusted dynamically with the passing of time based on the date on which a custom alert definition is
created or changed and date on which the Monitor Custom Alerts app is accessed.
Example of Daily Rolling

You create a custom alert definition on January 1, 2020 with a time period from February 15, 2020 through March 15, 2020. You select the Rolling checkbox. On
January 2, 2020, the time period that is applied to the calculation level of the custom alert definition shifts to February 16, 2020 through March 16, 2020.
Example of Monthly Rolling

You create a custom alert definition on January 1, 2020 with a time period from February 2020 through March 2020. You select the Rolling checkbox. On February 1,
2020, the time period that is applied to the calculation level of the custom alert definition shifts to March 2020 through April 2020.
Example: Static Alert Rules

Examples of rules for the calculation of alerts by comparing a key figure value to an absolute threshold value or comparing two key figure values using a percentage
value; rules with period offset where the key figure values are compared with an offset in the past or in the future from the selected time horizon; and key figure rules
applied only to certain calculation level attributes.
Example 1: Using the Absolute Rule Type

You can define a rule that calculates an alert if a projected inventory shortage is greater than 100 pieces as follows:
Key Figure Operator Value Rule Type
Projected Inventory Shortage greater than 100 Absolute
Example 2: Using the Percentage (%) Rule Type

You can define a rule that calculates an alert if the projected inventory shortage is greater than 10% of total demand quantity as follows:
Key Figure Operator Value Rule Type Key Figure

Projected Inventory Shortage greater than 10 Percentage (%) Total Demand Quantity
Example 3: Using the Absolute Rule Type with Period Offset

In the Data Selection step, you have selected June as time horizon and monthly as calculation level period. You can define a rule that calculates an alert if the value of
consensus demand two months before the selected time horizon is less than 200 pieces as follows:
Key Figure Offset Operator Value Rule Type

Consensus Demand -2 less than 200 Absolute
The key figure values for April will be used to calculate custom alerts.
Example 4: Using the Percentage (%) Rule Type with Period Offset
In the Data Selection step, you have selected June as time horizon and monthly as calculation level period. You can define a rule that calculates an alert if the
difference between the value of consensus demand is less than 200% of its value two months before and one month after the selected time horizon as follows:
Key Figure Offset Operator Value Rule Type Key Figure Offset
Consensus Demand -2 less than 200 Percentage (%) Consensus Demand 1
The key figure values for April will be compared with the values of the key figure for July and will be used to calculate custom alerts.
Example 5: Applying Key Figure Rules to Calculation Level Attributes and Period
You can create different rule groups and define different key figure rules, for example, for different locations and time periods.
You can define a rule that calculates an alert if the sales forecast quantity is greater than or equal to 500 pieces for a specific location and time period as follows:
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1. Define the following key figure rule:

Sales Forecast Quantity greater than or equal to 500 Absolute
2. Define the following attribute rule:
Attribute Operator Value

Location equal to Hamburg
3. Define the following period rule:
Time Period
November 2020
An alert will be calculated if the sales forecast quantity in Hamburg for the month of November 2020 is greater than or equal to 500 pieces.
For all other locations and time periods, you can add another rule group with the following key figure rule:

Sales Forecast Quantity greater than or equal to 1,000 Absolute
An alert will also be calculated if the sales forecast quantity in any location for any month of the selected time horizon is greater than or equal to 1,000 pieces.
Machine Learning Rules

The density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) and the k-means clustering-based algorithms can be used for outlier detection when
threshold values aren’t known in advance and when data shifts over time.
If you use static rules in your custom alert definition, it might be difficult to ensure that the correct outliers are identified. You might have to create several custom
alert definitions to determine an outlier. With machine learning rules, this problem is solved because an algorithm carries out optimal clustering to determine an
outlier. Defining static rules is fine if the threshold for an exception condition is known and the data is consistent. If the data is variable and changes in patterns occur,
static rules may lead to too many or too few custom alerts. With machine learning rules, you can define custom alerts without knowing the exact thresholds. In
addition, if the data changes, your custom alert definition is automatically adjusted.
For example, if you define custom alerts for your product’s sales quantity based on an ABC indicator, the rules would be different for product A (a fast seller), which
could be set at 5% decline in sales, and for product C (a slow seller), which could be set for 20% decline in sales. This means that you’ll have to create separate
custom alert definitions to be able to calculate custom alerts for a drop in your sales quantity. With machine learning rules, the grouping of your ABC products can be
done automatically. Similarly, it allows you to find the outliers more easily.
The DBSCAN and k-means clustering methods are used to find and group points on a chart that are close together. They also help in identifying outliers (isolated
points in low-density regions outside the groupings).
Recommendation
When working with a very large number of records, we recommend that you schedule the Alerts and Analytics Buffering application job to improve the performance
of the alert detection as the operation will time out after ten minutes. When the job to retrieve outliers is scheduled, the results are stored in a buffer, which makes the
results faster and easier to retrieve.
Note
As machine learning requires intensive processing, it's normal for your operation to take longer than when processing custom alerts with static rules.
DBSCAN Clustering Method

The density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm checks attribute groupings and performs clustering on these attributes. In
addition to performing outlier determination on one key figure, it uses multiple attributes during the calculation process.
Attribute Clustering Method

The DBSCAN algorithm automatically determines the clustering of the data based on the attributes provided in the Attributes field. You can use one of the following
clustering methods:
Soft Clustering
With soft clustering, all the data is sent to the DBSCAN algorithm in a single batch and the clustering is performed while the algorithm is running. This results in
faster execution time than the hard clustering method.
Hard Clustering
With hard clustering, the data is preclustered based on the Attributes field and the DBSCAN algorithm is called several times for each cluster. The result is the
aggregation of the results of all calls.
Example
You’ve defined an alert with calculation level by product and day. The time horizon for your alerts is one year and you’ve applied a planning filter for three specific
products. You have selected Product ID as an attribute and hard clustering as attribute clustering method.
The data is retrieved based on the filter provided, 365 days for three products. Once this is completed, the data is split based on the attribute provided in the DBSCAN
algorithm. In this example, there are three clusters of 365 records. Each of these three clusters is sent to the DBSCAN algorithm separately. The DBSCAN algorithm
runs three times and finds the outliers. All outliers are then aggregated together and presented as the final result.
Since with this option it’s required to call a distinct DBSCAN algorithm for each cluster defined in the Attributes field, it could be a lot slower to execute compared
to the soft clustering method.
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Machine Learning Parameters

You can use one of the following machine learning parameters:
Automatic
DBSCAN uses a machine learning algorithm to automatically determine the most accurate values for all the parameters based on the data to process. The Euclidean
distance method is used.
Note
The automatic determination of the parameters is redetermined each time an alert is calculated.
Manual
When you select this option, you can change each parameter that can influence the DBSCAN outlier detection algorithm. These options are technical and must be
used only by experienced users or data scientists:
Minimum number of points for a cluster
Example
The data provided to the DBSCAN algorithm is 4, 4, 4, and 10. If the minimum number of points for a cluster is set to 5, the outliers will be 4, 4, 4, and 10. If
the minimum number of points for a cluster is set to 2, the outlier will be 10 because there are three values with value 4 and they’re considered as a cluster.
Scan radius
This is the distance between each point that is considered as being a part of the same cluster.
Example
The data provided to the DBSCAN algorithm is 3 and 5. If the scan radius is set to 1, both values 3 and 5 will be determined as outliers as the distance between
the values is 2. If the scan radius is set to 3, the values 3 and 5 will be considered close enough to be part of the same cluster and no outliers will be detected.
Number of threads
Specifies the number of parallel runs. Running multiple threads at the same time can improve performance but it can also add load to the server.
Category weight
This determines the importance of the clustering based on the Attributes field. The higher the category level, the closer the results will be to hard clustering
since the DBSCAN clustering is performed at all levels and outliers are determined and aggregated at each level.
Example
The following selections have been made:
Soft clustering
Attribute: Product ID
Scan radius: 3
Product 1 values: 10, 11, 12, and 100
Product 2 values: 100, 101, and 102
If DBSCAN is called with a low value in the category weight, the algorithm won’t attach importance to the product clustering. The algorithm compares all the
values and determines two clusters. The first cluster is 10, 11, and 12. The second cluster is 100, 100, 101, and 102. No outliers are detected.
If DBSCAN is called with a high value in the category weight, the algorithm creates clusters based on the product ID provided in the Attributes field. The
algorithm compares all the values like in the previous example but it also compares the products one by one. When the first product is processed alone, the
values 10, 11, and 12 are considered as a cluster and the value 100 is considered as an outlier.
Distance method
This is the mathematical model used to calculate the clustering and the outliers. You can use one of the following models:
Manhattan
Euclidian
Minkowski
If you select this model, you have to enter a number for Minkowski power.
Chebyshev
Standardized Euclidian
Cosine
Example
In the following example, the DBSCAN algorithm is used to determine the outlier. ABC indicator and quantity are used as parameters. Since DBSCAN uses both key
figures and attributes in the calculations, the ABC indicator is also considered by the algorithm when determining the outlier. The algorithm first checks the quantity
key figure and then checks the ABC indicator attribute. As a result, the algorithm identifies the only value of 100 for ABC indicator A as an outlier.
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Note
When using automatic parameters, DBSCAN requires a minimum of 25 distinct records to be able to complete the clustering accurately. If there are fewer records,
the results will be insignificant. For example, you’ve defined an alert based on PRODID, LOCID, and an aggregation level by day. You need at least 25 distinct
records to use DBSCAN with PRODID as an aggregated attribute. In other words, for each product you must have a combination of records of at least five days and
five locations.
K-Means Clustering Method

The k-means algorithm uses only key figure values as parameters and ignores attributes. It uses only one key figure for its calculations.
The k-means algorithm requires a minimum number of clusters to be provided and the clusters must be of similar size. However, the number of clusters in SAP
Integrated Business Planning is determined automatically.
Example
In the following example, the k-means algorithm is used to determine the outlier. ABC indicator and quantity are used as parameters. Since k-means uses only
numerical values in the calculations, the ABC indicator attribute is ignored by the algorithm and only the quantity key figure is considered. As a result, an outlier
can’t be identified since there are multiple records with the same values.
Subscribing to Custom Alert Definitions

Subscribe to custom alert definitions and, if needed, select attributes and key figures to customize further the alerts that are calculated. Alerts are calculated only for
alert definitions with subscriptions. Share subscriptions with users and user groups so that they can view the alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent
Visibility apps.
Prerequisites
If you would like to use planning filters in your custom alert subscription, you’ve defined them or they’ve been shared with you in the Planning Filters app. For more
information, see Planning Filters.
Procedure
2. From the list of custom alert definitions, which you’ve created or have been shared with you, select a definition for which you want to create a custom alert
subscription.
3. Choose the Subscriptions tab.
4. Choose Create.
5. Enter a name for the custom alert subscription.
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6. Enter a description.
7. Choose whether you would like to receive notifications for custom alerts for your custom alert subscription in the Notifications area in the launchpad shell bar.
For more information about notifications, see Setting Up Notifications and Emails for Custom Alerts.
8. By default, the status for the custom alert subscription is Active. If you want to stop viewing custom alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts app temporarily, set
the status of the subscription to Inactive.
9. To restrict the data that is used to calculate custom alerts for your subscription, for example, to a specific location or product, do the following:
Define ad hoc attribute filters by choosing Add and entering the following:
Attribute
Operator
Value for the attribute
Select a planning filter so that predefined filters are applied to your custom alert subscription without you having to enter them manually.
10. If you want to see more periods displayed in a chart when you analyze alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts app, enter a number of periods before and after.
The period before is the number of periods before an alert is calculated for which you want to display the key figure values. The period after is the number of
periods after an alert is calculated for which you want to display the key figure values. By adding periods before and after, you can see more clearly the trends
that led to the alert being calculated.
Note
You can use this display option only in the following cases:
A calculation level period has been selected in the custom alert definition.
The Aggregate Alerts over Time Horizon checkbox hasn’t been selected in the custom alert definition.
The minimum consecutive period has been set to 1 or less in the custom alert definition.
The custom alert definition doesn’t contain any static rules with period offset.
11. By default, the key figures that are part of the custom alert definition are included in the subscription. Select the key figures you want to exclude from the
custom alert subscription.
At least one key figure must be included in the custom alert subscription. Note that the first key figure in the list is the main key figure that is going to be
displayed for the corresponding custom alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps. You can change the order of the key figures in the
custom alert definition.
12. By default, the complementary charts that are part of the custom alert definition are included in the subscription. Select the charts you want to exclude from the
custom alert subscription.
13. By default, the calculation level attributes and period that are part of the custom alert definition are included as filters for the complementary charts in the
subscription. Select the calculation level attributes and period that you don’t want to use as filters for your complementary charts.
The complementary charts for the corresponding custom alerts that are calculated in the Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps will use only the
calculation level attributes and period that you’ve selected as filters for the complementary charts in your subscriptions.
14. By default, the users and user groups that are part of the custom alert definition are included in the subscription. You can give specific users and user groups
write access so that they can edit the custom alert subscription. However, they won't be able to add or remove users and user groups, give write access, or
delete the custom alert subscription. Note that even if users with write access decide to opt out of a custom alert subscription, they'll continue to have write
access to the subscription. You can also select users and user groups you want to remove from the custom alert subscription. They won’t be able to view the
alerts that are calculated in the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
15. Choose Create.
Viewing Custom Alert Definitions and Subscriptions

View a list of custom alert definitions and subscriptions that you’ve created or have been shared with you. Get a detailed overview of custom alert definitions and
subscriptions. Navigate to the Monitor Custom Alerts app from a custom alert subscription and view details about the corresponding alerts.
Procedure
A list of all custom alert definitions, which you’ve created and have been shared with you, and which you've opted in and opted out, are displayed in a table
that contains some basic information, such as number of subscriptions, status, severity, calculation levels, and key figures.
2. To get an overview of a custom alert definition, choose a definition in the list.

3. To view a list of all subscriptions for the custom alert definition, choose the Subscriptions tab.
You can view all subscriptions for the custom alert definition that you’ve created and that have been shared with you and that you've opted in and opted out. In
addition, you can view all subscriptions that have been created by other users and that haven't been shared with you, if any. You can view basic information
about the subscriptions, such as status, alert range, refresh time, filters, and key figures. If a subscription is for one version or scenario, the alert range
represents the number of alerts that are calculated for the version or scenario. If a subscription is for more than one version or scenario, the alert range
represents the lowest and the highest number of alerts that are calculated for the versions or scenarios.
4. To open the custom alerts that are calculated for a custom alert subscription in the Monitor Custom Alerts app, click the alert range number for the subscription.
You can see the custom alerts that are calculated only for custom alert subscriptions to which you're opted in.
5. To refresh the number of alerts for a subscription or for all subscriptions, choose the corresponding refresh icon.
You can refresh the number of alerts only for custom alert subscriptions to which you're opted in.
6. To get an overview of a subscription, choose a subscription in the list.
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Editing Custom Alert Definitions

Overview of changes you can make to custom alert definitions that you’ve created or that have been shared with you with write access and their impact on the
underlying subscriptions as well as instances when certain changes aren’t possible.
You can make changes to custom alert definitions that you’ve created or that have been shared with you with write access to reflect any changes that are happening in
your supply chain.
You can edit custom alert definitions as follows:
Add calculation level attributes or period, key figures, and complementary charts.
When you add calculation level attributes or period, key figures, and complementary charts to a custom alert definition, you can choose whether to include or
exclude these changes in all underlying custom alert subscriptions. In the case of calculation level attributes or period, if you choose to include them in the
custom alert subscriptions, they’ll be used as filters in the complementary charts in the subscriptions.
Remove calculation level attributes or period.
If you remove calculation level attributes or period from a custom alert definition, and if any complementary charts in the underlying subscriptions are using
these calculation level attributes or period, they’ll be removed from the subscriptions as well.
Remove complementary charts.
If you remove complementary charts from a custom alert definition, they’ll be removed from the underlying subscriptions.
Add users or user groups.
You can add users and user groups only to a custom alert definition that you've created, however, they won’t be automatically added to the underlying
subscriptions. You can't add users and user groups to a custom alert definition that has been shared with you with write access.
Keep in mind that you can't always do the following:
Remove key figures.
You can remove key figures from the custom alert definition and they’ll be removed from the subscriptions only if this leaves the subscriptions with enough
key figures for the selected chart type.
Select a different chart type.
You can select a different chart type in a custom alert definition only if the number of selected key figures in the underlying subscriptions supports it.
Remove users or user groups.
You can remove users or user groups from a custom alert definition and the underlying subscriptions only if they aren't the users or don't contain the users who
created the subscriptions. You can't remove users and user groups from a custom alert definition that has been shared with you with write access.
Changing the Owner of Custom Alert Definitions and Subscriptions

Change the owner of custom alert definitions and subscriptions using the Content Administration app.
Context
If a user who has created custom alert definitions and subscriptions leaves the department or the company, you can change the owner of the definitions and
subscriptions using the Content Administration app as follows:
If a user has created a custom alert definition and one or more subscriptions for the definition, you can change the owner of the definition. The owner of all the
subscriptions that were created by the original owner for this definition will be changed as well.
If a user has created one or more custom alert subscriptions for a definition, you can change the owner of one or more of these subscriptions. The owner of the
corresponding definition and all other subscriptions created by the same user for this definition will be changed as well.
Procedure
1. Open the Content Administration app.
2. Select the custom alert definition whose owner you want to change and choose Change Owner.
3. Enter the name of the new owner.
The owner of the custom alert definition is changed. If the original owner had created any custom alert subscriptions for this definition, the owner of these
subscriptions is changed as well. If the new owner of the definition and subscriptions was a user with whom the definition and subscriptions were shared, the
sharing is removed. If a custom alert subscription had been shared with the original owner of the definition, the sharing is removed.
The steps to change the owner of a custom alert subscription are the same except that you have to select the subscription whose owner you want to change.
Related Information
Content Administration
Opting Out of Custom Alert Definitions

Opt out of custom alert definitions that you've created or that are shared with you.
Procedure
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A list of all custom alert definitions, which you’ve created or have been shared with you, are displayed in a table that contains some basic information, such as
number of subscriptions, status, severity, calculation levels, and key figures.
2. You have the following options to opt out of a custom alert definition that you've created or that has been shared with you:
Select a custom alert definition from the list and choose Opt Out.
To get an overview of a custom alert definition first, choose the definition in the list, and on the overview page, choose Opt Out.
Results
You’ve opted out of the custom alert definition along with all the custom alert subscriptions that you created for the definition or that are shared with you. You’ll no
longer see any custom alerts related to the custom alert definition in the apps that display custom alerts, such as Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility. You
can choose to opt in to the definition again and you'll be opted in to all the subscriptions that you created for the definition or that are shared with you.
Opting Out of Custom Alert Subscriptions

Opt out of custom alert subscriptions that you've created or that are shared with you if you no longer want to use them.
Procedure

3. To view a list of all subscriptions for the custom alert definition that you’ve created and that have been shared with you, choose the Subscriptions tab.
The subscriptions are displayed in a table that contains some basic information, such as status, alert range, refresh time, filters, and key figures.
4. You have the following options to opt out of a custom alert subscription that you've created or that has been shared with you:
Select a custom alert subscription from the list and choose Opt Out.
To get an overview of a custom alert subscription first, choose the subscription in the list, and on the overview page, choose Opt Out.
Results
You’ve opted out of the custom alert subscription. You’ll no longer see any custom alerts related to the custom alert subscription in the apps that display custom
alerts, such as Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility until you choose to opt in to the subscription again.
Deleting Custom Alert Definitions

Delete custom alert definitions that you’ve created.
Procedure
1. Open the app by choosing the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts tile in the launchpad shell bar.
2. You have the following options to delete a custom alert definition:

Select a custom alert definition that you’ve created from the list and choose Delete.
To get an overview of a custom alert definition that you’ve created first, choose the definition in the list, and on the overview page, choose Delete.
Results
The custom alert definition is deleted along with all the subscriptions that are created for the definition by you and other users. No alerts related to the custom alert
definition will be calculated or available in the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
Deleting Custom Alert Subscriptions

Delete custom alert subscriptions that you’ve created.
Context
Note that when the creator of a custom alert definition deletes it, the custom alert definition is deleted along with all the subscriptions that are created for the
definition by the creator and other users. For more information, see Deleting Custom Alert Definitions.
Procedure
1. Open the app by choosing the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts tile in the launchpad shell bar.

3. To view a list of all subscriptions for the custom alert definition that you’ve created and that have been shared with you, choose the Subscriptions tab.
The subscriptions are displayed in a table that contains some basic information, such as status, alert range, refresh time, filters, and key figures.
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4. You have the following options to delete a custom alert subscription:
Select a custom alert subscription that you’ve created from the list and choose Delete.
To get an overview of a custom alert subscription that you’ve created first, choose the definition in the list, and on the overview page, choose Delete.
Results
The custom alert subscription that you’ve created is deleted. No alerts related to the custom alert subscription will be calculated or available in the Monitor Custom
Alerts app.

You can use the Monitor Custom Alerts app to calculate on-the-fly alerts to which you are subscribed and display them in a comprehensive chart or table.
Key Features
Refresh specific alert subscriptions from the alert menu to avoid waiting to refresh all subscriptions at once.
Analyze the charts and metrics to identify and resolve potential supply chain issues.
Link a new or existing case to an alert in order to follow up with, delegate, and resolve issues.
Evaluate and assess the risks you may encounter if you do not take immediate action.
Snooze your alerts for a later processing time.
Go to web-based planning or Microsoft Excel to analyze and change data.
Navigate to the custom alert definition to maintain or update your alert definition.
Navigate to an external system such as on-premise system and begin a transaction to solve alerts.
Download the list of alerts into a file.
View procedure playbooks that you’ve created or that are shared with you from the Procedure Playbooks app. Procedure playbooks provide more information
on how to solve alerts.
View order-based information for supported external key figures that are enabled to show order details.

Desktop
Tablet
Smartphone
Related Information
How to Monitor Alerts
Snoozing Alerts
Supported External Key Figures
How to Monitor Alerts

The Monitor Custom Alerts app allows you to monitor alerts.
Prerequisites
You have configured the navigation from SAP Integrated Business Planning apps to other SAP systems and transactions. For more information, see Creating
Generic Navigations to Other Systems.
Procedure
1. Select the Monitor Custom Alerts tile in the launchpad.
2. Enter filter criteria and choose Go.
All active custom alerts for which you have either subscribed, or which have been shared with you by other users, and which meet your filter criteria, if any,
appear in a list. You can also view a list of snoozed custom alerts. You can click any active or snoozed custom alert to display its details.
Note
You can set a global configuration parameter to limit the number of alerts that are displayed in the Monitor Custom Alerts app: This global configuration
parameter ensures that alert definitions that generate many alerts do not impede performance when it is not feasible to review large volumes of alerts in the UI.
You can set the following parameter value in the Configuration UI under Manage Global Configurations:
Parameter Group: ANALYTICS
Parameter Name: MAX_ALERTS_PER_SUBSCRIPTION
Parameter Value: User configurable
In the Monitor Custom Alerts app, there is a warning icon to indicate which alert subscriptions have generated more alerts than the maximum number of alerts
allowed.
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If you notice, there are actually fewer alerts than the number of alerts that is displayed on the tile of the launchpad it is because of the global configuration
setting. For example, if 228 was set as the maximum number of alerts for a subscription, the actual number of alerts could be 448 and that is the number you'll
see on the Monitor Custom Alerts tile in the launchpad. But when you go into the monitor, you'll see only 228.
In the Custom Alerts lists, the information displayed about each alert includes the following:
Subscription name
The name and the value of the first key figure defined in the subscription
Calculation level used to aggregate the data
Severity (high, medium, low)
An icon, if the alert is linked to a case
3. In the header of the details section of the screen, you can see information about the alert as follows:
Description of the alert subscription
This is the description you or another user gave when creating the custom alert subscription. If the description is empty, then the name is displayed.
Average
The value is an average of a key figure over a consecutive period. For example, if the consecutive period was set at three months in the custom alert
definition and the key figure value for the projected stock shortage is 149,990 USD, then this value displayed on the UI represents the average projected
inventory shortage over the three-month period.
Consecutive period count
This is the total number of consecutive periods during which conditions existed to trigger an alert. For example, if you or another user made a setting in
the custom alert definition that a condition has to exist for a minimum of three months for an alert to be triggered in the Monitor Custom Alerts app, you
would see a Consecutive Period Count number that is equal to or greater than 3. For example, if you see in the details section of the UI Consecutive
Period Count: 4, this means that the alert conditions existed for 4 consecutive time periods or more.
Period of first occurrence
This denotes the time period during which the alert first occurred.
Version
This is the version of the data the alert is based on.
4. Under Alert Charts, you can see the values of metrics that you chose in the alert subscription in a chart display.
By default, the main chart is used to display the alert data, but if any complementary charts were defined in the custom alert definition or subscription, you can
select them using the arrows in the carousel. This carousel enables you to easily navigate from one chart to another by just clicking on the arrows at the left or
right of the chart area. All the complementary charts that are available in Custom Alerts are predefined in the Analytics - Advanced app.
When you display a complementary chart, the context data of the alert is passed to the complementary chart to restrict the data display. This enables you to see
the values of the key figures in the context of the alert.
For example, the calculation level of the alert is based on product ID and location ID and the complementary chart is based on location ID and customer ID.
Each time you select an alert from the app list, the complementary chart displays the key figures restricted to the product ID, location ID, and customer ID.
If periods before and after were defined in the custom alert subscription, the KPIs for those periods are displayed in the main chart. For example, if the alert
occurs for the month of June 2015, and the period before is two months, and the period after is three months, then the metrics are displayed in the chart for the
months of April, May, June, July, August, and September of 2015.
Key figure values are displayed with the unit of measure or currency that was defined in the custom alert definition.
5. Optionally, if your administrator has enabled this feature for your business user, you can choose a key figure value from the chart and select Show Order
Information to see more information.
Note
If there are no calculation level attributes defined in the custom alert definition, the Show Order Information option is not available.
This functionality is only available for the external key figures that are enabled to show order details. For more information, see Supported External Key
Figures.
From the table, you can select the order number to go to the relevant app in order-based planning for more information depending on the order type. For
example, you might want to check the confirmation status of a sales order and choose the order number to view the orders in the View Confirmations app for
order-based planning.
if you've preconfigured target navigation systems for your custom alerts, you can choose Navigate To <Navigation Name> .
Note
Depending on the configuration, the navigation button may appear only for objects from the filtered planning area.
6. Optionally, if you’ve created procedure playbooks or have some shared with you and they have been assigned to your custom alerts, select Procedure
Playbooks in the alert details. Procedure playbooks are used to provide you with more information about resolving supply chain issues detected in your custom
alerts.
You can rate, and add comments to a procedure playbook. You can also see the average rating for the procedure playbook and the total number of ratings that
were given as well as the distribution of the ratings. You can also view all of the detailed ratings and comments that were made by other users.
The Activities can contain a link that you can use to take action by navigating to other apps within or outside of SAP IBP for Supply Chain, navigating to web
pages, sending emails, and making phone calls.
You can also provide feedback on which activities were useful to you or helped you resolve an alert by choosing to like, to dislike, or to remain neutral about
them.
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7. Under Key Figures, you can analyze the key figure values and see the calculation level that was used to calculate them.
8. Under Information, you can display the alert definition and subscription details to find out which conditions triggered the alert. You can also see if the time
horizon was calculated dynamically, as the time horizon under the custom alert definition is displayed as Rolling. For more information, see Example: Rolling
Time Periods.
For snoozed alerts, you can view additional information, such as the remaining snooze period, the snooze type, and so on.
9. If the alert is linked to a case, you can click the Case tab to display additional case information. By clicking the case link, you can navigate to the Manage
Cases app to edit the case.
Related Information
Snoozing Alerts
Case Management
Example: Monitoring Alerts Over Time

Supply chain issues can occur at the beginning of your defined time horizon. The issues themselves may not change but the knock-on effect is the cascade of alerts
into time periods that fall after the initial period. The alerts list groups the alerts by the other attributes of your calculation levels such as Product ID and Location ID.
To establish an efficient approach to solving the original supply chain issues, you can select the Aggregate Alerts over Time Horizon checkbox when you create a
custom alert definition. This option prevents multiple alerts that are triggered during individual periods during a time horizon being represented in as many different
charts as periods. Instead, what you see is a visualization of alerts in each period across your defined time horizon in one single chart in the monitor. Having all this
information at a glance in one screen or chart enables you to quickly and easily solve all the issues that are related to those alerts for the entire horizon at once. The
chart displays a bar for each time period in the time horizon where an alert is generated.
This feature only works if you have assigned a time-based attribute in your calculation level when you're creating your custom alert definition. In addition, you'll
need to make sure that your custom alert definition fulfills the following criteria:
The minimum number of consecutive periods required for an alert to be triggered (field Minimum Consecutive Period in your custom alert definition) is equal
to 0 or 1
The period before/period after is equal to 0
The chart in the monitor shows the following:
Number of alerts
Attribute values except for time
First and last periods
Example: Monitoring Custom Alerts

This is an example of how to monitor alerts that occur over a period. In this example, the rule conditions for triggering alerts are as follows:
Key figure 1 is greater than 10
Minimum number of consecutive periods that your specified rule conditions have to be met before an alert is triggered is equal to 0
The periods before and after the alert occurred are equal to 0
The following table shows the key figure values changing over time:
Attributes for Attribute Values for Calculation of Alerts

Calculation Level
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Location Loc1 Loc2
Product Prod1
Key Figure 1 is 10 15 20 5 30 35 40 7 50 8 60 65 9 75 80 5 90 95 7 105
equal to:
Two alerts are displayed and are aggregated on product and location level for the whole time horizon. The total number of alerts where the key figure value is greater
than 10 for Loc1 and Prod1 is six alerts. The total number of alerts where the key figure value is greater than 10 for Loc2 and Prod1 is seven alerts.
How to Solve an Alert

You can solve your custom alerts in several different ways.
You can solve your custom alerts by snoozing them, adding them to a case, or navigating to other apps or external systems.
Related Information
Snoozing Alerts
Adding Alerts to a Case
Navigating to Other SAP IBP Apps or to External Systems
Snoozing Alerts
Snoozing alerts provides a flexible solution to temporarily switching alerts off.
You might need to do this in the following cases, for example:
An alert exists but you're not able to do anything to solve the issues in the short term.
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You've solved the issues and you know the alert will disappear as soon as the data changes.
You have other work that is more critical and you'll continue working on the alert in a few days..
You need more information to solve the alert and you'll work on it in few days.
Note
For transparency and tracking purposes, you can add comments to explain why you snoozed the alert.
Snoozed alerts are displayed on the Snoozed list in the Monitor Custom Alerts app. For snoozed alerts there is an additional tab displaying the snooze information.
You can reactivate an alert manually to move it from the Snoozed list to the Active list by selecting the Activate button.
There are several snooze options available:
Snooze for All Users and User Groups

You have the option to snooze or activate any shared alerts for all users and user groups. This way, alerts are snoozed or activated once for all users who can view
them.
To snooze for all users and user groups, you can select one or multiple alerts from the alert list and then choose Alert Status. You can decide whether you want to
snooze the alerts for yourself or for all users and user groups that you share the alerts with.
You can also snooze an individual alert from the alert details. To do so, choose Snooze, and select an option: Snooze for Me or Snooze for All.
To activate for all users and user groups, you can select one or multiple snoozed alerts from the alert list and then choose Alert Status. You can decide whether you
want to activate the alerts for yourself or for all users and user groups that you share the alerts with.
You can also activate an individual alert from the alert details. To do so, choose Activate, and select an option: Activate for Me or Activate for All.
The snooze information tab displays which user snoozed the alert.
Note
If an alert is snoozed individually, it will remain snoozed for that user and will not be affected by another user who wants to snooze for all.
Snooze Indefinitely
The alert is displayed on the Snoozed list until you decide to activate it manually.
Snooze Until Data Changes

The alert is displayed on the Snoozed tab until one of the key figures changes. In this case the alert is moved to the Active list.
Snooze Until
The alert will be displayed on the Snoozed list until the date you enter. Once this date is reached, the alert comes up on the Active list again.
Remove Obsolete Snoozed Alerts

If the problem that triggered the alert is resolved during the snooze period, the alert disappears from the monitor until the problem occurs again. The checkbox
Remove Obsolete Snoozed Alerts controls where the alert will then be displayed:
If you haven't selected the checkbox, the alert appears in the Snoozed list.
If you have selected the checkbox, the alert appears in the Active list.
Example
You have a product and expect stable sales. You choose to snooze an alert for this product and select the Remove Obsolete Snoozed Alerts.
In the table below, you have an alert set up with the following rules: When product sales are less than 1000 per week, an alert is triggered.
Example for Removing Obsolete Snoozed Alerts

Week Sales Alerts
1 500 Generated and snoozed with Remove Obsolete
Snoozed Alerts enabled.
2 1200 No alert is generated. The snooze is automatically
deleted by the system. The next time this product has
an alert, action is required and it shouldn't be snoozed.
3 800 The alert is no longer snoozed because you've enabled
the Remove Obsolete Snoozed Alerts option. The alert
was deleted during Week 2 and is now an active alert.

Add alerts to a new or an existing case to help resolve supply chain issues.
The Case section allows you to view basic information about that case and how close it is to being resolved. You can navigate to the Manage Cases app to work on
resolving the issues.
Follow these steps to add alerts to a case:

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1. Open the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
2. Select one or more alerts from the list and choose Case Add to Case .
Note
To add an alert to a case, it must not have been already added to a case. If you select alerts to add to a case, and one or more already belong to a case, you will
receive an error.
3. If you choose to add the alert to a new case, fill the mandatory fields by providing a name, description, priority, and owner. Optionally, assign the case to a user
or user group and save your changes.
4. Launch the Manage Cases app by either selecting the link to the case itself in the Case tab of the alert details, or by opening the app from the Fiori launchpad.
If you choose to navigate from the case, it is automatically displayed in the app.
If you launch the app, you can select the case from the list.
5. From the Alerts tab, you can see all the current alerts that have been added to the case in the alert monitor.
You can view the alert subscription name, the calculation level, the date on which the alert was added to the case, and the value of the main key figure.
Note
If you can't see any value for the main key figure, check your permission filter settings. You can use the permission filters to select which users or user groups
are allowed to view specific information.
6. The Comments tab allows you to submit comments that you have about the case. You can also view comments made by other users.
7. The Snapshots tab lets you view a snapshot of the alert data that is taken and saved from the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
8. The History tab provides you with more information about the case including what changes were made and when the changes occurred.
9. Optionally, select an alert from the Alerts tab to return to the Monitor Custom Alerts app where you can return to viewing that alert. From here, you can save
snapshots.
Related Information
Manage Cases
Navigating to Other SAP IBP Apps or to External Systems

You can solve alerts by navigating to other IBP apps or other external systems.
Make sure you have configured the navigation from SAP Integrated Business Planning apps to other SAP systems and transactions. For more information, see
Creating Generic Navigations to Other Systems.
Features
Navigation to SAP IBP, Add-In for Excel
Select one, several, or all the alerts from the list of custom alerts and choose Go To Excel to navigate directly to the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in
for Microsoft Excel and display the alert data either in a dedicated Microsoft Excel template or simply in a Microsoft Excel view. To display the data in a template,
you have to configure it in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app. Which templates can be selected depends on the planning area and user access. If you
don't assign a template, the add-in will show the data in a Microsoft Excel view.
Note
It is possible that the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel is not fully compatible with the alert, because Microsoft Excel only supports time-
series based key figures. If you have included a key figure that is in not time-series based in your alert definition, this key figure will not be displayed when you
navigate to Microsoft Excel. If none of the key figures are supported, the add-in stops working and shows an error message.
If you select multiple alerts when navigating from Monitor Custom Alerts to the add-in for Microsoft Excel, all combinations of attributes between the alerts are
displayed within the Excel planning view.
For this feature to function properly, verify that you have downloaded the add-in for Microsoft Excel that is concurrent with the release of SAP Integrated Business
Planning you are using.
When you navigate to the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel from an alert, you see the active alerts. Other sheets are still displayed as
they were defined in the original template.
Navigation to Analytics
Select Go to Analytics to navigate directly to the Analytics app in Explore mode.
Depending on the chart that is currently displayed (main chart or one of the complementary charts if there are any) the system passes all the parameters of the
displayed chart (including attributes, key figures, filters) to the Analytics app.
There you can view the same main chart as in the Monitor Custom Alerts app. You can manipulate the chart display by adding key figures and filters. You can then
either save or discard the changes.
Navigation to Web-Based Planning
You can navigate to the Web-Based Planning app to quickly change data or to resolve your alerts. You can do so from the list or from the details section. When you
choose Go To Web-Based Planning, a new window opens so that you can continue to view your alerts at the same time.
This feature is enabled when all of your selected alerts are from the same alert subscription. When you choose to go to the Web-Based Planning app, it filters the
attributes that are passed by the alert monitor. For example, if you select Product ID = HT_001 and Location ID = LOC_001, then only this combination is displayed.
If more than two alerts are selected for different time periods, the web-based planning time from and time to are the first and last period of the selected alerts. For
example: if you select an alert for January 2020 and another alert for June 2020, then you will see all six months of data in Web-Based Planning.
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If the calculation level does not contain a time dimension, then the chosen time horizon of the alert is displayed in the Web-Based Planning app.
Navigation to View Gating Factors
Choose an alert from the Monitor Custom Alerts list. In the alert details, select Go to Gating Factor to navigate directly to the View Gating Factors app.
For example, you may want to know the root cause of negative projected stock. Therefore, you will create an alert to detect this shortage situation. From the alert
you've created, you can navigate to the View Gating Factors app to further analyze this exception and find the gating factor.
Note
This navigation feature is only available for alerts based on an order-based planning area.
Navigation to Custom Alert Definition
If you want to navigate to the alert definition in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app, search for and select an alert. In the Information tab under the
Custom Alert Definition section, choose the name of your alert definition. A new tab opens so that you can maintain or update your alert definition.
Navigation to Other Systems
If navigations to other systems have been configured, you can navigate from an alert to an SAP GUI system and transaction or a Web-based application. This will
allow you to view more information related to the alert and take action to solve issues. Choose an alert from the list of custom alerts, select Navigate to <Name
of Navigation> .

Find out which external key figure quantities you can view order information for.
The following table contains the external key figures that are supported for this feature. A few remarks about the table:
If the key figures are included in the SAP7 sample planning area, the corresponding key figure IDs and key figure descriptions are shown.
"Not applicable" in the table means that the key figure isn’t included in the SAP7 sample planning area, but the external key figure quantity can be assigned to
the specified planning level in your planning area configuration if necessary.
You can also see which SAP7 planning level the key figure quantities are assigned to, and the external data source that the planning level is linked to.
External Key Figure Quantity SAP7 Key Figure ID

SAP7 Key Figure SAP7 Planning Level Data Source
Description
OPEN_SALES_QUANTITY SALESORDERREQUEST Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Requested)
CONFIRMED_SALES_QUANTITY SALESORDERCONF Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Confirmed)
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_INTIME SALESORDERCONFINTIME Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Confirmed In Time)
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_LATE SALESORDERCONFLATE Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Confirmed Late)
OPEN_SALES_QUANTITY Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
CONFIRMED_SALES_QUANTITY Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_INTIME Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_LATE Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND DISTRDEMANDPLANNED Distribution Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned)
CONFIRMED_DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND DISTRDEMANDCONFIRMED Distribution Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
DEPENDENT_DEMAND DEPDEMANDPLANNEDORDER Dependent Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned)
CONFIRMED_DEPENDENT_DEMAND DEPDEMANDPRODUCTIONORDER Dependent Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_PLANNED DISTRRECEIPTPLANNED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned)
DISTR_RECEIPT_PLANNED_GR DISTRRECEIPTPLANNEDGR Distribution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned; Goods
Receipt)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED DISTRRECEIPTCONFIRMED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
DISTR_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
PRODUCTION_PLANNED PRODPLANNED Production (Planned) PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
PRODUCTION_PLANNED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
PRODUCTION_CONFIRMED PRODCONFIRMED Production PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
PRODUCTION_CONFIRMED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SUBSTITUTION_DEMAND SUBSTDEMAND Substitution Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SUBSTITUTION_RECEIPT SUBSTRECEIPT Substitution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND_PLANNED DISTRDEMANDLANEPLANNED Distribution Demand PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Planned)
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND_CONFIRMED DISTRDEMANDLANECONFIRMED Distribution Demand PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Confirmed)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_PLANNED DISTRRECEIPTLANEPLANNED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Planned)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED DISTRRECEIPTLANECONFIRMED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Confirmed)
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External Key Figure Quantity SAP7 Key Figure ID SAP7 Key Figure SAP7 Planning Level Data Source
Description
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND DISTRDEMANDLANE Distribution Demand PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT DISTRRECEIPTLANE Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
DISTR_RECEIPT_PLANNED_GR DISTRRECEIPTLANEPLANNEDGR Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Planned;
Goods Receipt)
DISTR_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
SUBSTITUTION_DEMAND SUBSTDEMANDSUBST Substitution Demand PERPRODLOCSUBST STD_LMSUBST
for Substitution
Scenario
SUBSTITUTION_RECEIPT SUBSTRECEIPTSUBST Substitution Receipt PERPRODLOCSUBST STD_LMSUBST
for Substitution
Scenario
Note
External key figures are only supported if their request-level calculation is a single sum or average aggregation from the base planning level without any further
calculation.
Solving Supply Chain Issues in the SAP Integrated Business Planning Add-In
for Microsoft Excel
You can view alert data in the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel with the navigation to Excel feature that is available in Monitor Custom
Alerts.
You can optionally specify the template in the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel that can be used to view the data. You can configure
which template you want to use in the custom alert definition.
You can select one or several or all alerts that are shown in the Active list of the monitor. If you select more than one alert, they must belong to the same custom alert
subscription otherwise you'll get an error message and have to make a new selection.
Click the Go to Excel button in the Monitor Custom Alerts app and view the alert data in the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel.
Using the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel, you can manipulate the alert data and quickly solve the issues causing the alert.
Note
When you navigate from the alert to the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel, the key figures of the alert are the ones that are displayed in
the Excel template. If an alert key figure is not a time series key figure, the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel will ignore it. When
navigating from the alert to the SAP Integrated Business Planning add-in for Microsoft Excel, the active alerts are used to display the data.
Reducing the Number of Alerts

There are a couple of ways you can reduce the number of alerts that are triggered by definitions and subscriptions.
You can also snooze alerts in the Monitor Custom Alerts app. This is a flexible solution available to all users to temporarily switching alerts off. For more
information, see Snoozing Alerts.
Dependencies
You can activate or deactivate definitions and subscriptions in edit mode.
You need to be the creator of the alert definition to be able to edit it.
Once you have deactivated an alert definition or subscription, no alerts will be generated in the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
Deactivate Definitions and Subscriptions

The custom alert definition is activated by default. As long as you are in edit mode in the definition, you can deselect the Active checkbox and the definition will not
generate any alerts even if you have subscribed to it.
Set a Minimum Number of Consecutive Periods

Enter a figure in the Minimum Consecutive Periods field to define the minimum number of sequential time periods during which a condition must exist before an
alert is triggered. When you define a minimum number of consecutive periods, the periods before and after are ignored in the subscription. This reduces the number
of alerts over consecutive time periods to just one whenever the conditions are fulfilled.
If you enter 0 or 1, an alert is generated for each period.
If you enter a value greater than 1, only one alert is generated for each consecutive period.
The field Minimum Consecutive Periods is only enabled if you enter a time-based attribute in the Calculation Level field. If you remove the time-based attribute from
the Calculation Level, the system resets the minimum number of consecutive periods to 1. A single alert will be created for the duration of the alert condition beyond
the minimum threshold. All the metrics in the alert will be enabled to set the Average function for the calculation of the metric during the alert duration. The Average
will be displayed in the alert monitor with the metric description. The alert date will be the first period in which the condition existed and will be displayed in the
monitor. The duration of the consecutive periods for the alert will be displayed in the alert monitor, including the name of the period (for example, days, weeks, or
months).
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Buffering and Refreshing of Custom Alerts

Overview
You should only use the buffer if you notice that it takes more time to render a chart in Analytics - Advanced, Dashboards - Advanced, and Monitor Custom Alerts.
For instance, if your chart takes less than two seconds to load, there is no need to use the buffer. If your chart takes, for example, up to three minutes to load, you may
want to use the buffer.
Note
The first time you access the chart it can take more time to load. Once the buffer is applied, you will see your chart in a few seconds depending on the amount of data
that has to be rendered on the UI.
The data that is read from the buffer is a snapshot from the first time you created the chart, or the last time you refreshed the chart. For example, if you don’t refresh
the chart for three weeks, then data from three weeks ago is displayed. It is important to keep a good balance between the buffer and the last time you refreshed the
data.
Here is another example: Your application may only require a chart be refreshed once a week. In this case, you can put the chart in the buffer once each week without
having to refresh it.
There are two ways to update the buffer:
By refreshing your chart manually in the Dashboards - Advanced, Analytics - Advanced, and Monitor Custom Alerts applications.
By using the scheduler and creating a job using the Alerts and Analytics Buffering job template.
Caution
There is a limit of 5000 total entries that can be put into the buffer. For example: If you have 1 chart shared with 30 users who have different authorization
access including permission filters and attribute permission, the chart is buffered 30 times. This results in the reduction of the number of entries in the buffer by
30 out of the 5000.
It's important to avoid the creation of multiple authorization accesses for users in order to achieve an optimal usage of the buffer.
For example. different users with the same authorization access sharing the same chart would result in one single entry in the buffer..
Prerequisites
In the Global Configuration app, under Parameter Group: ANALYTICS, the BUFFERING parameter value setting is set to TRUE by default.
You can choose to set the BUFFERING to FALSE if your charts are already quick to load. This means that you do not need to refresh your charts because the latest
version is always displayed.
If you want to set the BUFFERING to FALSE, choose Edit and type FALSE into the Value field.
Note
You can switch between the TRUE and FALSE settings to test your charts without causing issues
Procedure
Here is how you can use the buffer in Analytics - Advanced, Dashboards – Advanced (required), and Monitor Custom Alerts:
In the Analytics - Advanced app, select a chart. The last refresh time will appear in the upper right-hand corner. Each time you click into that chart, you will see the
amount of time since you first clicked it. If you want to see the latest version, choose Refresh.
Dashboards – Advanced
In the Dashboards – Advanced app, you can see the amount of time since you last refreshed a chart in upper right-hand corner. You can choose to refresh one or all
charts on your dashboard.
In the Monitor Custom Alerts app, you can click Refresh to update all your alerts at once,
Note
If you refresh several alert subscriptions, this could take quite some time.
Schedule a Job
Here is how you can schedule a job for a specific chart that you want to refresh in the buffer:
In Dashboards – Advanced, Analytics - Advanced or Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts, give your chart a meaningful name that you plan to use for the
scheduled job.
In the Application Jobs app, click Add to create a new job template In the Job Template field, choose the Alerts and Analytics buffering job template. Enter the Job
Name.
In Scheduling Options, select Define Recurrence Pattern to set the scheduling parameters and choose OK.
In Parameters, you can schedule a job for a specific chart.

Caution
Each parameter is executed separately. Only use the Planning Area parameter if you have a small amount of charts.
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If you are looking for a specific chart, only use the Alert/Analytic Charts parameter.
Select Schedule and then refresh the page. Navigate back to the dashboard to view the refreshed chart based on the scheduled job.
Caution
Avoid choosing a planning area only parameter that has too much data. For example: if you select a planning area with 1000 charts, each chart can take up to 30
seconds to load and only the last 5000 total will be buffered.
Instead, analyze which chart is taking more time to load and schedule a job for that specific chart.
Optimizing the Buffer Usage

To optimize the usage of the buffer, there is the BUFFERING_NB_SECS parameter in the Global Configuration app. This parameter helps the system choose
whether the chart should be read from the buffer or if it should be calculated. Each time a chart is calculated, the system retains the last execution time.
The system will read from the buffer if the last running time from the specific chart is greater than the number put in the configuration.
The default value is three seconds.
Combining Selection Criteria

Optionally, you can use the Combine Selection Criteria checkbox in the Alerts and Analytics buffering job template to schedule the buffering for specific charts or
alert subscriptions in order to reduce the calculation time. Using the Combine Selection Criteria checkbox will apply an and statement to the parameters to identify
the charts that will be buffered.
Note
By default, the Combine Selection Criteria checkbox is deselected so the application job runs the same as in previous versions.
Example
The following example table shows a list of different planning areas with charts, users and shared user groups that can be put into the buffer based on your selection.
In this case, you choose to put Chart 1 and User 1 into the buffer:
Planning Area Chart Users User Groups

Planning Area 1 Chart 1 User 1, User 2 User Group 1 (User 3 and User 4)
Planning Area 1 Chart 2 User 1 -
Planning Area 2 Chart 3 User 1 -
Results without Combining Selection Criteria
When the Combine Selection Criteria checkbox is deselected, all six instances of Chart 1 or User 1 are accumulated and placed into the buffer:
Planning Area 1, Chart 1, User 1

Note
If Combine Selection Criteria is left deselected, all instances of the specified charts or users along with their respective planning areas or shared user groups are
loaded, resulting in a longer calculation time.
Results using Combine Selection Criteria
When the Combine Selection Criteria checkbox is selected, only one instance Chart 1 and User 1 is placed into the buffer:
By intersecting the selected parameters, only the specified chart for that user are loaded, resulting in a quick calculation time.
Setting Up Notifications and Emails for Custom Alerts

Set up notifications and emails to stay informed when custom alerts have been calculated.
Prerequisites
You've created custom alert definitions and subscriptions, or they've been shared with you, and subscriptions have been set as notification relevant in the Define
and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app. For more information, see Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts.
To have custom alert subscriptions that were created before SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain (SAP IBP) 2108 as notification relevant, the
administrator/configuration expert must make sure the value of the SUBSCRIPTION_NOTIFICATION_DFLT global parameter is set to YES in the Global
Configuration app. For more information, see Global Configuration Parameters.
The Email Template for Custom Alerts (/IBP/ALERT_SUMMARY_EMAIL) template is delivered by default. If a custom email template has been created
based on the predelivered template in the Maintain Email Templates app, the administrator/configuration expert has entered the technical name of the custom
email template as the value of the CUSTOM_ALERTS_SUMMARY_TEMPLATE global parameter. For more information, see Maintain Email Templates.
Optionally, for users to be able to receive emails for custom alerts, the administrator/configuration expert has set the following global parameters:
EMAIL_SENDER_ADDRESS
EMAIL_SENDER_NAME
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To trigger notifications for custom alerts, the administrator/configuration expert has scheduled the Custom Alert Notifications application job. For more
information, see Predefined Application Job Templates.
For users to be able to receive emails for custom alerts, the administrator has defined valid email addresses for them in the Maintain Employees app. For more
information, see Maintain Employees.
Context
You can use the Monitor Custom Alerts app to calculate and view custom alerts. However, if you want to stay informed and not miss an alert while you're performing
other tasks in other apps of SAP IBP, you can receive notifications for your active and snoozed custom alerts in the Notifications area in the launchpad shell bar. In
addition, you can choose to receive an email for your active and snoozed custom alerts. You can navigate to the Monitor Custom Alerts app and take further action
both from a notification and from an email. A notification or an email is received only if at least one custom alert has been calculated and even if all custom alerts are
snoozed.
Procedure
1. To view notifications for the active and snoozed alerts that require your attention, click Notifications in the launchpad shell bar.
2. Once you've received a notification for custom alerts, to receive emails for the active and snoozed alerts that require your attention, choose Me Area
Settings Notifications in the launchpad shell bar.
3. Select the E-Mail checkbox for the IBP Custom Alerts Summary notification type and save your entries. Note that notifications for custom alerts are always
sent with medium priority and the high-priority settings aren't related to custom alert severity.
4. To navigate to the Monitor Custom Alerts app and take further action, click the corresponding notification or the link in the email. To make sure you're viewing
the latest alerts, refresh the list in the Monitor Custom Alerts app.

Purpose
You can use the Define Custom Alerts Overview app to create overviews for your custom alerts that you can add to your dashboard. You can create these overviews
either based on subscriptions or other criteria.
Note
You must have created at least one subscription in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app to be able to use the By Subscription selection type. If you have no
subscriptions, you must choose the By Other Criteria selection type.
Features
Define Custom Alerts Overview by Subscription
You can define your custom alerts overview by subscription.
Define Custom Alerts Overview by Other Criteria
You can define a custom alerts overview using other criteria.
View Custom Alerts Overview in the Dashboard
You can view and track your custom alerts overview by adding your custom alerts overview to your dashboard.
Related Information
Define Custom Alerts Overview By Subscription
Define Custom Alerts Overview By Other Criteria

To define a custom alerts overview by subscription, do the following:
Procedure
1. Define general settings like name, planning area and version as well as sharing options with users or user groups.
The subscription you are able to choose are based on the planning area and version you have selected.
2. Choose the selection type By Subscription.

3. Choose at least one subscription. You may also select multiple subscriptions.
4. Choose attributes that you've maintained in your subscription, operators, and values that you want to filter on.
5. Define the view and chart options by picking a preferred chart type from the various options available in the dropdown list and choose how you’d like to group
your alerts.
You have the option to display the version / scenario name, description, or both on your chart.
6. Use the Summary button to view the settings.
You have the option to edit your settings and criteria in this step before you save your custom alerts overview.
Note
If the alerts overview was created by another user and shared with you, only the creator has the authorization to edit the overview.
7. Simulate your custom alerts overview by choosing the Preview option and save your settings if you’re satisfied.
Related Information
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Use this app to define a custom alerts overview using other criteria.
Procedure
1. Define general settings like name, planning area and version as well as sharing options with users or user groups.
The planning area and version you select in this step determines the key figures you can choose in the next step.
2. Choose the selection type By Other Criteria.

3. You must choose at least one of the three criteria listed – key figures, category or severity.
4. Choose the + sign to add one or more attribute filters.
This allows you to choose one or more attributes, operators and corresponding values.
5. Define the view and chart options by picking a preferred chart type from the various options available in the dropdown list and choose how you’d like to group
your alerts.
6. Use the Summary button to view the settings.
You have the option to edit your settings and criteria in this step before you save your custom alerts overview.
Note
If the alerts overview was created by another user and shared with you, only the creator has the authorization to edit the overview.
7. Simulate your custom alerts overview by choosing the Preview option and save your settings if you’re satisfied.
Related Information

Context
Adding your custom alerts overview to a dashboard helps you to view and track your custom alerts. You can add your alerts overviews to a dashboard by doing the
following:
Procedure
1. Go to the Dashboards Advanced app.
2. Create a new dashboard or use an existing one from within the app.
3. Choose the Alerts Overview option from the Add Analytics Object dropdown list.
4. In the Add Analytics Objects window, search for the required alerts overview.
5. Select the required overviews and add them to the dashboard by choosing the Add Chart button at the bottom of the screen.
You can now view your selected overviews in the dashboard.
The alerts overview that you may display in the Dashboards - Advanced app sums up the number of alerts for the same attribute combinations when the alert
definition is configured to be aggregated over time horizon.
For example, you have an alert that is aggregated over time horizon with a subscription (SUB1). This subscription has three alerts and each contains five
occurrences for different time periods. In this case, the aggregated results of three alerts (not the exploded non-aggregated value of 15 alerts) are displayed.
Related Information
View Custom Alerts in the Custom Alerts Overview

Context
You want to view the complete list of alerts related to an Alerts Overview for detailed information and processing.
Procedure
1. Go to the Dashboards - Advanced app.
2. Navigate to a dashboard with alerts overviews.
3. On the chart, click on the Go to Analytics App button.
Only the alerts related to the selected alerts overviews are visible in the list.
Related Information
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Edit a Custom Alerts Overview

Context
You want to change an existing alerts overview that you created in the past.
Procedure
1. Go to the Analytics Advanced app.
2. Click on an existing Alerts Overview from the worklist.
3. Update the required information. You must proceed through all the steps to save your changes.
4. You can save your updated information after the Summary step.
You cannot save changes to a shared alerts overview.
Related Information
Sharing a Custom Alerts Overview

You can share your custom alerts overview with other users or user groups.
If the alerts overview is created by another user and shared with you, only the creator has the authorization to edit the overview.
Alert subscriptions and definitions that are part of an overview are not automatically shared.
Show Active and Snoozed Alerts in the Custom Alerts Overview

Context
In the Define Custom Alerts Overview app, you have the option to show the number of active or snoozed alerts on a chart to help you distinguish your alerts.
If the Show Active and Snoozed Alerts checkbox is checked, the following chart types are unavailable:
Heat Map
Donut
Pie
If the Show Active and Snoozed Alerts checkbox is unchecked, the following chart types are unavailable:
Stacked Bar
Stacked Column
Procedure
Follow these steps to show your active and snoozed alerts on a chart:
1. In the Define Custom Alerts Overview app, fill in the General Information fields.
2. In Selection Type, for example, choose By Subscription and click Add to select an existing subscription.
You also have the option to add an attribute filter.
3. Under View, name your chart and choose the Chart Type and your Group By preferences.
Check the Show Active and Snoozed Alerts checkbox. You also have the option to show the Axis Title and Value Label.
Click Summary.
4. You can click Preview to view the results. You can also continue editing your alerts overview or Save.
Custom Alerts Overview

The Custom Alerts Overview app allows you to view a summary of alerts as a graphic.
Purpose
You can use the Custom Alerts Overview app to view a summary of current alerts in the form of a bar chart. The alerts are clustered by subscriptions and either
severity or category. The overview allows you to visualize which alerts will be triggered if the Monitor Custom Alerts app is executed. You can use filters to
prioritize which alerts need to be processed first.
Features
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Visualize Alerts in the Overview
The app displays in a bar chart the number of alerts (x axis) by subscription (y axis). If any subscriptions are restricted by the global setting in configuration for the
maximum number of alerts that can be displayed, you will see an asterisk (*) in front of the subscription name. In addition, the total number of alerts for all your
subscriptions and the distribution of those alerts by severity is displayed as information at the top of the details screen.
You can view the summary of alerts in a table by clicking on the Table icon.
You can use grouping options to view the alerts. By default, the app displays alerts grouped by Severity showing the number of high, medium, and low alerts.
However, you can choose to group by category or not group the alerts at all. To change the grouping, click on the Personalize icon and, in the Group By pop-up, you
can select Category as the criterion by which you want to group the alerts in the bar chart or None if you do not want any grouping at all.
Refreshing Custom Alerts Overview
Alert subscription status is buffered. If you want to display the most recent status of your subscribed custom alerts, you can refresh the alerts by clicking the Refresh
button. Note that refreshing large amounts of alerts may take time.
Navigate to the Monitor Custom Alerts App
You can navigate to the Monitor Custom Alerts app from the overview by clicking on one of the bars in the chart that is displayed.
As the alerts are clustered by subscription, only the alerts belonging to the selected subscription are displayed in the monitor. The subscription acts as a filter for the
alerts in the monitor and information on the filtering is displayed at the top of the Custom Alerts list, for example, Filtered by: Shortage of Product ABC. You can
reset the filter and display all the alerts, if required.
If you choose the Back to Overview button, the overview is displayed again and you can select another subscription.

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Procedure Playbooks
With this app, you can create procedure playbooks for solving supply chain planning issues. A playbook can contain a detailed description of the issues, the reasons
for the issues, and activities and actions to be taken to resolve them. You share playbooks with users or user groups.
Purpose
You can use this app to manage procedure playbooks. You can use your internal best practices and guidelines for solving supply chain planning issues as a basis for
creating procedure playbooks. You create a playbook for a planning area and an app area where it can be used, for example, custom alerts. You can include a detailed
description with an overview of the issues that the procedure playbook helps resolve and the possible reasons for the issues. You can also define activities and actions
that can be taken to resolve the issues. You share a procedure playbook with other users or user groups. You or any user with whom you shared the procedure
playbook can then assign it to a custom alert definition in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app. When a custom alert is calculated and displayed in the
Monitor Custom Alerts or Intelligent Visibility app, users with whom the procedure playbook has been shared can view it along with the alert and use it while trying
to resolve the issue.
Key Features
You can use this app to do the following:
Create procedure playbooks that contain a detailed description of supply chain planning issues.
Define activities that can be performed to resolve the issues.
Define actions that can be performed to resolve the issues, for example, show a link to another app.
Share procedure playbooks with other users or user groups. You can also give specific users and user groups write access so that they can edit the procedure
playbook.
View the average rating as well as the individual ratings and comments that users provided for the procedure playbook while using it to resolve supply chain
planning issues.
View the number of times a procedure playbook has been used while trying to resolve issues.
View the number of times an activity with an action has been used while trying to resolve issues.
View the number of times an activity has been liked, disliked, or has been given a neutral rating.
Edit, copy, and delete procedure playbooks that you’ve created.
Copy procedure playbooks that have been shared with you individually or as part of a user group.
Reset the ratings, comments, and usage for a procedure playbook if they no longer apply after you've made changes to the procedure playbook.
Reset the feedback and the usage for activities if they no longer apply after you've made changes.
Opt out of procedure playbooks that you've created or that are shared with you if you no longer want to use them.
Opt in to procedure playbooks that you've created or that are shared with you but from which you've previously chosen to opt out.

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Creating Procedure Playbooks

Create procedure playbooks for solving supply chain planning issues. A playbook can contain a detailed description of the issues, the reasons for the issues, and
activities and actions to be taken to resolve them. You share playbooks with users or user groups.
Prerequisites
If you would like to use different categories to group your procedure playbooks, you’ve defined them in the Manage Categories app. For more information, see
Manage Categories.
Context
You create a procedure playbook for a planning area and an app area where it can be used, for example, custom alerts. You can add a detailed description for the
playbook that can contain your internal best practices and guidelines for solving supply chain planning issues, or an overview of the issues that the playbook helps
resolve and the possible reasons for the issues. You can also define activities and actions that can be taken to resolve the issues. You share a procedure playbook with
other users or user groups. You or any user with whom you shared the procedure playbook can then assign it to a custom alert definition in the Define and Subscribe
to Custom Alerts app. When a custom alert is calculated and displayed in the Monitor Custom Alerts or Intelligent Visibility app, users with whom the procedure
playbook has been shared can view it along with the alert and perform the proposed activities and actions while trying to resolve the issue.
Procedure
1. Open the Procedure Playbooks app.
A list of procedure playbooks that have been shared with you is displayed.
2. Choose Create.
3. Enter a name for the procedure playbook.
4. Enter a short description for the procedure playbook that will be displayed in the apps where the playbook is used.
5. Enter a revision note with any information that can help you keep track of your procedure playbooks.
6. Select a category for grouping your procedure playbooks.
For example, if you group your procedure playbooks into different categories, it will be easier to search for them and assign them to custom alert definitions.
7. If you have a default planning area assigned to your user under Me Area Settings , this planning area will be selected by default. Otherwise, select a
planning area.
8. Choose where the procedure playbook can be used.
For example, you can define a procedure playbook that provides a solution for issues detected in a custom alert. The procedure playbook can then be assigned
to a custom alert definition in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app. When a custom alert is calculated and displayed in the Monitor Custom Alerts or
Intelligent Visibility apps, the procedure playbook will be displayed along with the alert to help users solve the issue.
9. By default, the status for the procedure playbook is Active. If you don’t want it to be used in other apps, such as Monitor Custom Alerts or Intelligent
Visibility, set the status of the playbook to Inactive. However, you can still assign a playbook to a custom alert definition in the Define and Subscribe to
Custom Alerts app even if it's in status Inactive.
10. Enter a detailed description for the procedure playbook.
In the detailed description, you can copy and paste text from an external source, for example, your internal best practices and guidelines for solving supply
chain planning issues. You can also provide, for example, an overview of the issues that the procedure playbook helps resolve, the possible reasons for the
issues, and any information that can be used to resolve them. You can format the text, use different styles and colors, and insert different types of elements
within the text, such as images and hyperlinks.
11. Create one or more activities that users can perform to solve an issue.
For example, if you're creating a procedure playbook to help users solve issues with negative projected inventory at a distribution center, you can create the
following activities:
Name Description
Check Location Source Check the location source to verify if an internal transportation lane exists
from plant to distribution center
Check Production Source If a distribution center is procuring externally, check if production source
header with source type U exists
12. For each activity, you can create an action.
An action can be to show a link so that a user can navigate to a Web page or Web-based app where more information related to a particular supply chain
planning issue is available. The following are examples of types of links that you can create:
URL Description
#IBPMasterData-manage This URL will allow the user to navigate to the Manage Master Data app in
SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP).
#IBPOrderBasedGatingFactor-display?LocationNumber={LOCID} If the planning area of the procedure playbook has the LOCID attribute, this
URL will allow the user to navigate to the View Gating Factors app in SAP
IBP and the placeholder will be replaced with the location ID value from the
custom alert.
https://www.example.com/#Material-displayFactSheet?Material= If the planning area of the procedure playbook has the PRDID attribute, this
{PRDID} URL will allow the user to navigate to the Material app in SAP S/4HANA and
the placeholder will be replaced with the product ID value from the custom
alert. For information about other links to SAP S/4HANA apps that can be
shown, see Example: Navigation to Other SAP Solutions. Note that links to
SAP S/4HANA order-related apps aren’t supported.
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URL Description
https://www.example.com This URL will allow the user to visit a Web page.
mailto:donna.moore@example.com This URL will allow the user to create an email.
tel:+1 111 111 1111 This URL will allow the user to make a phone call.
13. If you created more than one activity for the procedure playbook and if the sequence in which the activities must be performed is important, you can arrange
them accordingly and define them as sequential activities.
In the Monitor Custom Alerts and Intelligent Visibility apps, the activities will be displayed as sequential and in the sequence in which you defined them and
users can choose to perform them in the suggested sequence.
14. Share the procedure playbook with users and user groups.
Only the users and user groups with whom you share the procedure playbook will be able to view it and include it in other apps. In addition, you can give
specific users and user groups write access so that they can edit the playbook, however, they won't be able to add or remove users and user groups, give write
access, or delete the playbook. Note that even if users with write access decide to opt out of a procedure playbook, they'll continue to have write access to the
playbook.
Case Management
You use cases to track, manage, and resolve supply chain problems. A case is a folder of evidence for tracking and managing supply chain problems.
You can use the Manage Cases app to create and manage cases.
Example
You’re a supply chain analyst and you are now analyzing alerts using the Monitor Custom Alerts app. You see that there is shortage of a certain product and you want
to take action. To keep a record of the actions that you will take and to enable you to involve other colleagues, you can use the Manage Cases app. The Manage Cases
app allows you to capture users’ comments, log values for key performance indicators and compare them over time.
Manage Cases
When used in conjunction with the Monitor Custom Alerts app, Manage Cases offers the possibility to log action that has been taken to solve alerts.
You can access the Manage Cases collaboration app from either the corresponding launchpad tile or from the Monitor Custom Alerts app. You can also use the app to
do the following:
View cases
View the list of cases you have access to. You can access cases you have created or of which you are the owner or an assignee.
View the details of and history of changes to a case
Click one case in the list view. Use the toolbar buttons to group the cases, for example, by status, or sort the list of cases by creation date. The History tab
shows details of changes that have been made to a case including who made the changes and when.
Filter and search for specific cases
Create new cases
Click Create and specify a name, a description, a category, a priority, an owner, assigned users, assigned user groups, and a due date.
Add an alert to a case
Take an alert snapshot
Assign cases to users and user groups
Select a case from the list and click Assign.
Close resolved cases
Select a case from the list and click Close. You can choose one of the following options:
Close if everything has been resolved
Close with Partial OK if there were a few things that didn’t go well during the resolution of the case.

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Creating a New Case

Creating cases can help resolve supply chain issues.
You can create a new case to help resolve supply chain issues in two ways: either in the Manage Cases app or in the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
Manage Cases App

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1. Launch the Manage Cases app.
2. Click Create and fill in the following mandatory information in the pop-up:
Name of the case
Description
Case owner
3. Select a category if one was created in the Manage Categories app.
4. Select a priority depending on the urgency of the resolution of the case.
5. Assign users and user groups now or at a later stage.
Any assignee, case owner, or creator can change these assignments at a later stage. You have the option of notifying the newly assigned users by e-mail about
the changes.
6. Add a due date by when you want the case to be resolved.
Again, you as the creator can change the date later if necessary. The case owner also has the required authorization to change this if necessary. Other users and
user groups cannot change the due date.
7. Click Save and you see the case added to the top of the list of cases in the list view.
Monitor Custom Alerts App

1. Launch the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
2. Select an alert from the list that hasn't already been assigned to a case (doesn't have a suitcase icon).
3. Click Add to Case.
4. Select New Case in the pop-up.
Fill in all mandatory fields (name, description, priority, and owner) and save.
5. Once your chosen alert has been added to a new case, a suitcase icon is shown in the alerts list of the monitor to indicate it is an alert that is connected to a case
for processing.
A new tab called Case also appears in the monitor for that alert. Under Case, you can see all the information about the case such as the owner, the assignees,
and a link to the case itself in the Manage Cases app.
6. Click the link to the case.
The Manage Cases app is opened and more details about the case are shown. You can add comments, alert snapshots, view the alerts that are attached or edit
case information such as the status. note that an alert snapshot is automatically added upon case creation.
Categorizing Cases
The Category field is optional but allows you to group cases in a meaningful way.
You have the case name, description, and priority with which you can group your cases. But there is also this optional attribute to sort and filter.
Dependencies
Categories are defined in the Manage Categories app. The category must be assigned to Cases to be able to assign new cases to a category.
Example
Examples of categories could be Inventory Shortage Cases and Marketing Forecasting Cases.
Related Information
Manage Categories
Changing an Existing Case

Cases can be edited to change case information.
Editing Information
Authorization to make changes to cases depends on your role in case management:
An assignee can change the status, monetary impact, and assignees.
As a case owner or creator, you can change any information about the case except the administrative information.
Change History
On the History tab, any user can view the history of changes that have been made to a case. You can see the following information:
Which change was made to the case (the exact field in which something was changed)
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What the previous information or value was prior to the change being made
What the updated information or new value is after the change
Who made the change
When the change was made
The following fields' changes are recorded in the case history:
Case name, description, status, assignees, priority, category, owner, monetary impact, and due date
If an alert has been added or deleted
If a snapshot has been deleted
Adding Snapshots
When you create a case from an alert in the alert monitor, a snapshot of the alert data at the point in time is automatically added to the case. Once an alert has been
added to a case, you can start to add snapshots over time in either the Monitor Custom Alerts app or the Manage Cases app.
For more information, see Adding Snapshots to a Case.
Adding Comments
Any participants in a case, including the creator, the owner, and assignees, can view the comments made.
None of the comments can be edited or deleted once they have been added to the case.
They are displayed in chronological order with the most recent first.
To add a comment, type in the free text box and click Submit.
Adding Snapshots to a Case

A snapshot represents the values of the alert key figures at a certain point in time. Over time, the metrics for the live alert may change.
To capture the pertinent data belonging to the alert (even if the current alert is gone or the metrics have changed), you can take a snapshot. Even if the alert is gone,
the snapshot remains with its data.
Adding Snapshots from the Manage Cases App

1. Launch the Manage Cases app.
2. Select a case from the list view.
3. To be able to add snapshots of alert data to a case, at least one alert has to be assigned to the case already. In the case details UI, you can see whether an alert
has already been assigned to the case or not.
If alerts have already been assigned, you can see the number in the tab header, for example, 6 Alerts. If you still need to assign an alert or alerts, you will see 0
Alerts.
If no alert is assigned, go to the Monitor Custom Alerts app and select an alert that you want to assign to the case.
A snapshot of the alert metrics is added automatically under Snapshots in the case.
If an alert or alerts have already been added to the case, go to the Alerts tab in the case details UI, and select the alert for which you want to add a
snapshot of the metrics.
Click Add Snapshot.
A new snapshot is added to the Snapshots tab. You can add as many snapshots as you like.
Snapshots are organized by subscription name and sorted by the date they were taken.
4. Click any snapshot to view the details.
The value of the main key figure, the calculation level, the status, and the version of the data
A snapshot information section where pertinent metadata of the custom alert definition are displayed such as planning area, metrics, and filters
The main chart which represents the alert data
5. From the case details screen, you can go to the previous or the next snapshot without having to go back to the whole snapshot list and selecting them one by
one. Use the arrow up and arrow down buttons in the header to click through all the snapshots. You can see from the header of the UI which number in the
chronological sequence of snapshots you are currently viewing. For example, the UI header is Snapshot 10 of 20. You can use the arrow down to go to snapshot
number 9 or use the arrow up button to go forward to snapshot number 11.
Removing Snapshots from the Case

You can delete snapshots that are no longer relevant. If you delete all the snapshots, then the alert won't be linked to the case anymore.
1. Go to the Snapshots tab in the case details UI.
2. Select one or more snapshots you want to delete from the case.
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3. Click Delete.
Adding Snapshots from the Monitor Custom Alerts App

If alert data is changing, you can take snapshots right away in the monitor on the alert itself.
1. Launch the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
2. Select an alert that is assigned to a case from the Custom Alerts list.
3. Click Add Snapshot.
4. In the Case tab, click the name of the case which is the link to navigate directly to the case.
In the case details under Snapshots, you can see the snapshot of the alert data that was just added.
Assigning Users to a Case

You can assign users and user groups to cases in various ways.
In the case details of an individual case, click Assign at the bottom of the screen
While editing the Information tab of an individual case, enter new users and user groups and delete existing entries under the fields Assigned Users and
Assigned User Groups
In the case list view, click Assign at the top of the list and fill in the fields in the pop-up.
You can assign users and remove assignments at any stage in the process of managing cases. The assignments are very flexible: you can assign one or more users in
combination with one or more user groups. Or you may need to assign just individual users and no user groups. It depends entirely on how your organization has
users set up in the system.
You can assign users when you create the case initially. But if you’re not sure yet who to assign, you can also come back to the case to make changes at a later date
and assign the people then. Or if you’ve assigned people who are no longer responsible for handling that particular case, you can just go into the edit screen for that
case and remove the colleagues who aren’t working on it anymore.
To speed up the whole process, you have the option of sending automated e-mails to the assignees to notify them that they are to work on a particular case. Just select
the relevant case from the list and click Assign. In the pop-up that appears, there is a checkbox Send an email to assignees. Once you click Add in the pop-up, an
email notification is sent to their inbox.
Changing the Status

To allow assigned users and owners to monitor the progress of resolving supply chain issues, you can assign statuses to the cases.
1. Select a case and choose Information.
2. Click Edit.
3. Select a new status for the case.
The statuses available depend on which status the case is in currently. For more information on possible status changes, see the table below.
Note
Only the case creator can confirm the case.
Possible Status Changes

Current Status of Case Possible Status Changes
New In Process
On Hold
Closed
Closed with Partial OK
In Process On Hold
Closed
On Hold In Process
Closed
Closed In Process
Confirmed
Closed with Partial OK In Process
Confirmed
Confirmed No further status changes are possible

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Close One or More Cases from the List View

You can also close a case or a number of cases simultaneously in the list view without having to go into the case details one by one to edit the status.
1. Select the case or cases and click Close.
2. In the pop-up, choose one of the following options:
Close
Close with Partial OK
3. As long as the case or cases don't already have the status Closed or Confirmed, they will have been successfully closed.

Add alerts to a new or an existing case to help resolve supply chain issues.
The Case section allows you to view basic information about that case and how close it is to being resolved. You can navigate to the Manage Cases app to work on
resolving the issues.
Follow these steps to add alerts to a case:
1. Open the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
2. Select one or more alerts from the list and choose Case Add to Case .
Note
To add an alert to a case, it must not have been already added to a case. If you select alerts to add to a case, and one or more already belong to a case, you will
receive an error.
3. If you choose to add the alert to a new case, fill the mandatory fields by providing a name, description, priority, and owner. Optionally, assign the case to a user
or user group and save your changes.
4. Launch the Manage Cases app by either selecting the link to the case itself in the Case tab of the alert details, or by opening the app from the Fiori launchpad.
If you choose to navigate from the case, it is automatically displayed in the app.
If you launch the app, you can select the case from the list.
5. From the Alerts tab, you can see all the current alerts that have been added to the case in the alert monitor.
You can view the alert subscription name, the calculation level, the date on which the alert was added to the case, and the value of the main key figure.
Note
If you can't see any value for the main key figure, check your permission filter settings. You can use the permission filters to select which users or user groups
are allowed to view specific information.
6. The Comments tab allows you to submit comments that you have about the case. You can also view comments made by other users.
7. The Snapshots tab lets you view a snapshot of the alert data that is taken and saved from the Monitor Custom Alerts app.
8. The History tab provides you with more information about the case including what changes were made and when the changes occurred.
9. Optionally, select an alert from the Alerts tab to return to the Monitor Custom Alerts app where you can return to viewing that alert. From here, you can save
snapshots.
Related Information
Manage Cases
Manage Categories
You can use the Manage Categories app to create your own classification system.
Purpose
You can use the app in the following areas of IBP:
Analytics charts
Dashboards
Cases
Custom alerts
Procedure playbooks
Once you have defined categories and the IBP application areas where they should be available, you can then use the categories in the respective apps.
Activities
View Existing Categories
1. Click the tile Manage Categories in the SAP Fiori Launchpad.
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2. Click Go to view any existing categories that have already been created in the system.
3. Click Personalize to do the following:
Change which columns are displayed in the table
Sort the categories
Filter the categories
Group the categories
4. Click the arrow down button beside the total number of categories to change the selection of categories that you want to view.
Change a Category
1. Select the category you want to change by clicking the relevant row in the table.
2. Click Edit.
3. Change the entries you need and click Save.
Create a New Category
1. Click Add.
2. Enter the category name, and description, and select in which apps the category should be available. Then click Save.
Delete a Category
1. Select the category you want to delete by clicking the relevant row in the table.
2. Click Delete.
Note
Delete is only available when you select a category that is not in use anywhere. You can see this in the Applied column where it will say No if the category isn't
applied in the areas to which it was assigned for use.

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Related Information
Categorizing Cases
Planning UIs
Web-Based Planning
Planners can use this app to work with planning views for different business needs. These planning views support their planning activities by allowing them to view
key figure data, change it, and simulate the effects of changes before saving the data.
Purpose
With this app you can create, copy, edit, and delete planning views. Using these planning views, you can view and compare key figure data from different versions
and scenarios, change this key figure data, and save your changes back to the database.
Note
You cannot view time-independent key figure data.
Key Features
Create, copy, edit, and delete planning views

View and compare key figure data from different versions and scenarios on desktop and tablet
Change key figure data
Simulate the effect of key figure changes to the planning view
Create, copy, edit, promote, reset, and delete scenarios
Note
Scenarios for planning areas with external master data types must not be created from the Web-Based Planning app. Use the Manage Versions and Scenarios
app instead.
Share planning views with other users or user groups

Share scenarios with other users or user groups
See fixing information for key figure data
Fix and unfix key figure data
View, create, edit, and delete planning notes for key figure data
Select reason codes and write comments for key figure changes that are captured in change history
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Select reason codes and write comments for key figure changes that can be shared in a SAP Jam group
Show order information for some external key figures from order-based planning and navigate to corresponding order-based planning apps and other systems
to get more details
Creating a Planning View

When creating a planning view, you can define it to suit a specific business need. For example, if you want to perform capacity planning, you can define a planning
view that allows you to compare the capacity load, required capacity, and available capacity in particular locations on a monthly or quarterly basis. You can specify
the planning level and the key figures for the planning view, the versions for which you want to display key figure data, the time horizon for which to show key figure
data, and a filter.
Note
The planning views you create in this app are not available as favorites in the IBP Excel add-in and vice versa.
Preview of the Planning View

After you have defined what the planning view should contain, you can either save the planning view or preview it. The preview is useful if you first want to check
that it shows all the data that you want to work with. When you’re in preview mode, you can save your planning view from there. This saves you from going back to
the screen where you specified the settings for your planning view. You can also open the preview if you only want to view and change key figure data without saving
the planning view. In this case, you can simply discard the planning view after you’ve updated the key figure data.
Filtering
When you create the planning view, you can restrict the data set you want to view by using an existing planning filter or by specifying an ad hoc filter. You can also
change the filter on-the-fly when you’re in display mode.
Caution
To avoid loading a data set that is too big, which can impact system performance, you need to specify a filter.
Sharing
You can share the planning views you created with other users or with user groups. This helps you if you need to collaborate with your colleagues on a specific set of
data.
The other users you shared the planning view with can change the key figure data in the planning view. However, other users cannot change the settings of your
planning view or delete it.
Note
Once another user has shared a planning view with you, you cannot opt out of this planning view.
Editable Cells
Editable and non-editable cells have different background colors. This makes it easier for you to see which values you can change.
Time Zone
The Web-Based Planning app uses the time zone that has been set for the system by the administrator to determine which period is the current period. In this app, the
current period is relevant for the time interval that you set in the planning view settings. For key figures that are defined as editable in the current or a future period, it
determines the period as of which you can edit these key figures in the planning view. Similarly, for key figures that are defined as editable in the past, it determines
the period up to which you can edit these key figures.
Simulating the Effects of Changes

If you change any key figure values manually in the planning view, you can simulate what effect your changes will have on dependent key figures before you save
the data. The simulation does not affect the operational data until you decide to save your changes. Note that only simulations for dependent key figures are
supported.
Working with Scenarios

If you want to play with the data to see what an alternative plan could look like, you can create your own private scenario. The changes you make in this scenario
don’t affect the operational data until you decide to promote them to the version the scenario is based on.
If you want to compare key figure data from different scenarios, you can add multiple scenarios to your planning view. By default, the baseline scenario is selected.
Key Figure Fixing

To protect key figure values from unintentional changes during disaggregation or by other planners, you can fix them in the planning view. You can fix values one at
a time or several at once. You can also unfix these values. A fixed value in a cell is indicated by a filled padlock sign. A partially-fixed value is indicated by a padlock
sign that is filled diagonally.
For more information, see Fixing of Key Figure Values.
Planning Notes
If you want planning notes to be shown, you can specify this in the planning view settings. If you want them to be shown, you can specify for which planning levels
you want them to be shown (all planning levels or the planning level you have set for the planning view). The planning level is the combination of attributes set for
the planning view. For more information about creating, editing, and deleting planning notes, see Working with Planning Notes.
For general information about planning notes, see Planning Notes.

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Order Information for Order-Based Planning

For some external key figures used in order-based planning, you can show information about the orders that make up a key figure value. This can help you
understand the results of a planning run. Because you can view the information for any combination of attributes that the definition of the key figure allows, you can
access the information on different levels of detail. If the planning view contains attributes that don't belong to the key figure definition, you cannot show order
information for the key figure.
If the [Order Information Available] icon is shown next to a key figure in the planning view, this tells you that detailed order information is available for the key
figure. You can display the most important order information in a separate table by selecting one or more key figure values and choosing the corresponding option
from the context menu.
If the order number in the table is displayed as a link, you can select it to navigate to the relevant app if you want to get even more information (Analyze Supply
Usage app or View Confirmations app, depending on the order type). You can also navigate to a different system to get more details for an order if a navigation has
been enabled by your administrator. For more information, see Showing Order Information in Web-Based Planning.
Note
You can view up to 1000 orders in the table for order information.
This feature needs to be enabled for you by your system administrator. For more information, see Setting Up Web-Based Planning
Use on Tablet
In some cases, you may want to use this app on a tablet, for example, if you’re a sales representative and you’re visiting a customer at their location. When you work
on a tablet, please remember the following:
If you want to enter or change key figure values for a range of periods, you need to do this separately for every period. You can’t drag and drop a key figure
value to multiple cells. Similarly, you cannot copy and paste a key figure value.
Because opening the context menu by touching and holding a cell is not possible, you cannot do the following:
Show all planning notes for a cell
Show order information for a cell
Create a planning note
Fix or unfix a key figure value
If you want to use any of these functions, you need to use the app on a desktop.

Desktop
Tablet
Setting Up Web-Based Planning

Information for administrators who set up the Web-Based Planning app for business users.
Enabling Users to Work with Scenarios

You enable business users to work with scenarios with their business role. To grant users access, you need to select the SCENARIO checkbox in the Administration
Functions restriction area for the SAP_IBP_BC_WBP_PC business catalog.
Enabling Users to See Planning Notes

You enable business users to see planning notes in the Web-Based Planning app with their business role. For more information, see Setting Up and Managing
Planning Notes.
Enabling Users to See Order Information

You enable business users to see order information in the Web-Based Planning app with their business role. In the business catalog SAP_IBP_BC_WBP_PC for the
Web-Based Planning app, you can define which planning areas and key figures business users can view order information for by using the Order Details restriction
type.
Enabling Users to Navigate to Other Systems

Business users can navigate from the table for order information to another system for further information or action. You need to configure the navigation in the
Manage Navigation to Other Systems app. For more information about the steps you need to carry out, see Creating Generic Navigations to Other Systems.
Controlling Dynamic Selection of Attribute Values for the Ad Hoc Filter

By default, 100,000 attribute values are displayed in the value help. If there are more than 100,000 values for a master data attribute, then users can search for the
attribute value they’re looking for and the system will read those values dynamically from the database. You have the option to restrict the number of attribute values
that are read. This can decrease the loading time and can therefore help improve performance. You can define how many attribute values the system reads using the
MAX_DIM_MEMBERS global configuration parameter in the PLAN_VIEW parameter group.
For more information, see Dynamic Selection of Values of Master Data Attributes.
Related Information
4/19/2022
Available Restrictions
Global Configuration Parameters
Showing Order Information in Web-Based Planning

Show information about the orders that make up a key figure value to understand the results of a planning run.
Prerequisites
Your system administrator has enabled this feature for your business user.
The key figure is supported for this feature.
For more information, see Supported External Key Figures.
Your system administrator has configured options for navigating to external systems.
Context
The Web-Based Planning app enables you to work with key figure data in planning views. This is an alternative to using SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in
for Microsoft Excel, with an added advantage: The external key figure values displayed in the app are aggregated amounts, and for certain external key figures you
can display information about the individual orders behind these values to get a better insight into your planning results.
Example
If you're looking at a distribution receipt key figure, you can show its detailed order information to see which locations fulfill the demand. Or, if you need to deal with
unexpected demand, you can navigate to the View Confirmations app to check your sales orders and see which customers have confirmed demand. You can also
navigate to an external system and use the information you've found to solve the issue (for example, change the priority of a customer demand so that you can meet
the unexpected demand).
Procedure
1. In the Web-Based Planning app, open a planning view.
2. Check whether the (Order Information Available) icon is displayed next to a key figure in the planning view. If so, this means that detailed order information
is available.
3. Select one or more values for this key figure in the same row and choose Show Order Information from the context menu.
A table containing the relevant information is displayed on the same screen as the planning view. This information varies depending on the order type, so you
see different columns for sales orders than for production orders, for example. For sales orders, each entry in the table corresponds to a schedule line in an
order.
Note
4. To show the order information on different levels of detail, change the attributes in the planning view.
You can view order information for any combination of attributes that the definition of the key figure allows.
5. To go to the relevant app in order-based planning for more information (Analyze Supply Usage or View Confirmations, depending on the order type), choose
the order number in the table.
For example, if you want to check the confirmation status of a sales order after a planning run, just choose the order number to view the orders in the View
Confirmations app for order-based planning.
Note
This option is not available for demand key figures for planned orders or production orders.
Tip
If the order isn't loaded automatically when the app (for example, View Confirmations) opens, choose Go. You can also adjust your settings in the app that
you've navigated to, to ensure that the order is always loaded automatically: Under My Views, choose Manage, then make sure that the Apply Automatically
checkbox is selected.
6. To go to an external system for more information related to the order or to take action to solve issues, select an order and choose Navigate To.
A list of the configured options is displayed and you can select the one you want to use. Depending on which ones your system administrator has configured,
these could include the following:
SAP GUI transactions
Web GUI transactions
External documents such as an SAP S/4HANA Sales Order Fact Sheet
Planner Workspaces
With this app, you can create and manage Planner Workspaces.
Purpose
A Planner Workspace is a configurable work environment where you can plan, analyze issues in your plans, and solve these issues with the help of custom alerts and
simulations. You can flexibly add components to your Planner Workspace, such as a custom alerts overview, analytics charts, and planning views. This allows you to
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adapt the UI to the needs of your specific business scenario. You can define which data you want to show for each component separately. This allows you to show
different sets of data on one screen without having to switch apps.
Workspace components can interact with each other. Key figures that match a custom alert can be highlighted in planning views, which helps you to find those key
figures and solve the underlying issues.
Key Features
Create, configure, and manage Planner Workspaces by doing the following:
Create, edit, copy, and delete Planner Workspaces
Share Planner Workspaces with other users or user groups
Configure your Planner Workspace by dragging and dropping the workspace components you need for your specific business process
Add existing custom alerts overviews, planning views, and analytics charts or create custom alerts overviews and planning views from scratch
Note
The planning views you create as components in this app aren’t available as favorites in the SAP Integrated Business Planning, add in for Microsoft
Excel and vice versa. However, you can use these planning views in the Web-Based Planning app.
You can also view the custom alerts overviews that you create as components in this app in the Analytics - Advanced app.
Flexibly organize your Planner Workspace according to your preferences by changing the column layout and how components are displayed, or by
moving components around
Create, edit, copy, and delete appearance settings for planning views in a Planner Workspace
Share appearance settings for planning views with others by making them public
Use different filter modes for filtering the data in the components and decide for each component which filter should be applied
See which filters you applied to a workspace component
Investigate and solve issues in your plans using the following functions:
Find key figures that match a custom alert highlighted in a planning view
Change key figure data from different versions and scenarios of a planning area
Simulate the effect of changes on custom alerts and key figure data and save your data
Create, copy, edit, promote, reset, and delete scenarios
Share scenarios with other users or user groups
Show order information for some external key figures from order-based planning in the planning view and navigate to the corresponding order-based
planning apps and other systems to get more details
Schedule and run application jobs and check their status
See fixing information for key figure data
Fix and unfix key figure values
View, create, edit, and delete planning notes for key figure data

Desktop
Related Information
Creating and Personalizing Your Planner Workspace
Setting Up the Planner Workspaces App

Information for administrators who set up the Planner Workspaces app for business users.
Setting Up the Planner Workspaces App for Business Users

To make the app available to business users, you need to add the Planner Workspaces (SAP_IBP_BC_PWS_PC) and the Basic Functions
(SAP_IBP_BC_BASIC_PC) business catalogs to their business role.
Enabling Users to See Order Information

If you enable viewing of order information (Enabling the Different Functions for the Planner Workspaces App) and you want to allow business users to navigate to
the Analyze Supply Usage or View Confirmations apps, you also need to add the Supply Usage (SAP_IBP_BC_SUPPLYUSAGE_PC) and the Sales Order
(SAP_IBP_BC_SALESORDER_PC) business catalogs for these apps.
Business users can navigate from the table for order information to another system for further information or action. You need to configure the navigation in the
Manage Navigation to Other Systems app. For more information about the steps you need to carry out, see Creating Order-Based Navigations to Other Systems.
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Enabling Users to Work with Application Jobs

To enable users to work with application jobs, you need to add the Application Jobs (SAP_IBP_BC_APPLICATIONJOB_PC) and Application Job Template
(SAP_IBP_BC_APPJOBTEMPLATE_PC) business catalogs to their business role. In addition, you need to maintain the corresponding value in the Planner
Workspaces Functions restriction field as shown below.
Enabling the Different Functions for the Planner Workspaces App

You need to grant users specific authorizations in their business role so they can use certain functions. You can control what a user can do in the app using the
following restrictions in the Planner Workspaces ( SAP_IBP_BC_PWS_PC) business catalog:
Restriction Area/Restriction Field Value to Be Selected Read Access Write Access
Administration Functions VERSION Not applicable. Work with version data.
SCENARIO Not applicable. Create, copy, edit, promote, reset, and
delete scenarios.
NOTES View planning notes created by all users. Create planning notes.
ADM_NOTES View planning notes of all users, any Edit and delete planning notes of all
planning area, and any key figure. users, any age, any planning area, and
any key figure, either manually or using
the Delete Planning Notes application
job template.
Planner Workspaces Functions PWS_CUD Not applicable. Create, edit, and delete Planner
Workspaces.
Add or remove components in the

Planner Workspace, move or save them
and change how they're displayed.
COMP_CUD Not applicable. Create, edit, and remove components.
Copy an existing component.
COMP_EDIT View the settings of Workspace Edit the settings of Workspace
components. components (in the side panel).
FILTERING View the Workspace filters and their Add Workspace filters to the filter bar
values in the filter bar. and remove them. Select and deselect
filter values.
SHARING View the sharing information for a Share and unshare Planner Workspaces
Planner Workspace. with users or user groups.
APP_JOB View the status of application jobs. Run and schedule application jobs.
THEMING View the appearance settings for Create, edit, copy, and delete the
planning views. appearance settings for planning views.
Order Details N/A (you need to specify the planning View order information for selected key Not applicable.
areas and key figures a user should be figures in selected planning areas
able to see) (planning view).
Settings for Planning Views

Limiting the Number of Cells with Data
To help prevent users from creating or using planning views that show too much data, you can limit the number of cells with data using the global configuration
parameter WBP_MAX_RESULT_CELL_SIZE. This parameter is particularly useful if users don’t apply enough filters in the Planner Workspace to limit the amount
of data to be shown, which can impact performance. Users are notified if the maximum number of cells is reached for a planning view.
Making Filters Mandatory
To make sure that users set filters for their Workspace and the planning views in it, you can remind them to do so by setting up a system message using the global
configuration parameter FORCE_PLANNING_VIEW_FILTER. This can help prevent a large amount of data from being retrieved from the database if users don't set
any filters. You can either decide to show a warning that asks users to set up a filter before they proceed, or you can show an error. In the latter case, users are only
able to proceed after they've set up filters.
Enforcing Reason Codes
If you want users to provide a reason code when they save changes to a planning view, you can use the ENFORCE_REASON_CODE global configuration parameter.
Suppressing Comments
If you don't want users to be asked to provide a reason code or comment when saving changes to a planning view, and when sharing the changes in the collaboration
tool, you can use the SUPPRESS_RC_COMMENT global configuration parameter with any value. If you want users to be asked to provide a reason code or
comment, set the value of the parameter to empty.
Settings for Custom Alerts

Limiting the Number of Custom Alerts per Subscription
You can limit the number of custom alerts that are shown for a subscription in the custom alerts overview using the global configuration parameter
MAX_ALERTS_PER_SUBSCRIPTION. This helps users focus on a certain number of custom alerts. It can also help prevent performance issues if planners have
added alert subscriptions for which a lot of alerts exist.
If there are more custom alerts for an alert subscription than can be shown as per the parameter setting, this is indicated to users by a (Subscription Is Restricted)
icon. For more information, see Viewing Custom Alert Values in a Planning View.
Settings for Analytics Charts

Making Analytics Charts Public
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To make all analytics charts public, you can use the CHARTS_PUBLIC global configuration parameter.
Limiting the Maximum Number of Records
You can limit the number of records that are retrieved from the SAP HANA database using the MAX_RECORDS global configuration parameter.
Updating the Data in Analytics Charts
You can use the BUFFERING global configuration parameter to buffer the chart data. By default, the data in analytics charts is updated only when charts are
refreshed manually. Otherwise, the data is read from the cache if it's available. To improve performance, we recommend that you use the default value and buffer the
chart data.
In addition, you can use the BUFFERING_NB_SECS global configuration parameter to define a threshold for retrieving the data for analytics charts from the
database or from the buffer. If the last rendering of an analytics chart took less time than the threshold, when an analytics chart is refreshed manually, the data is
retrieved from the database, otherwise it's retrieved from the buffer.
Related Information
Business Catalogs
Global Configuration Parameters
Creating and Personalizing Your Planner Workspace

Create your own Planner Workspace from scratch and configure it for your specific business needs.
Prerequisites
If you want to add an existing custom alerts overview, you've created it or it has been shared with you in the Analytics - Advanced, Define Custom Alerts
Overview, or Planner Workspaces app.
If you use an existing custom alerts overview, note the following:
You can only use existing custom alerts overviews that are defined by subscription. Custom alerts overviews that are defined by other criteria aren’t
supported.
The custom alerts overview is shown with the name from its basic settings, not with the view name. It's not shown as chart.
Attribute filters set in an existing custom alerts overview aren't considered in the Planner Workspaces app.
If you want to create a custom alerts overview from scratch, you've created at least one alert subscription or at least one custom alert subscription has been
shared with you in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app.
If you want to add an existing planning view, you've created it or it has been shared with you in the Web-Based Planning or Planner Workspace app.
If you want to add an existing analytics chart, you've created it or it has been shared with you in the Analytics - Advanced app.
Note
Only charts of type Analytics Chart can be added to the Analytics Chart component. Charts of types Supply Chain Network and Custom Alerts Overview aren't
supported.
If you want to analyze the data in an analytics chart at a more granular level, drilldowns have been created for it in the Analytics - Advanced app.
If you want to use a planning filter, you've created it or it has been shared with you in the Planning Filters app.
Note
It depends on your authorizations whether you can use certain functions in the Planner Workspace. For example, you can only share a Planner Workspace or edit the
settings of a Workspace component if your administrator has granted you the authorization to use these functions.
Procedure
1. Open the Planner Workspaces app.
2. Choose Create.
3. Enter a name and description for your Planner Workspace and specify a planning area for it.
You can now start configuring your empty Planner Workspace by defining filters for the Workspace, adding the components that you need for your business
case, and configuring them. You can follow steps 4 to 11 in any order you wish before you save your Workspace.
4. In the filter bar above the Workspace, select the criteria by which you want to filter the Workspace components.
These filters are optional. However, we recommend that you select filters for your Workspace to focus on the data you want to work with. By default, they're
applied to the data in all the components of your Workspace. If you don’t want to apply the filters to a specific component, you can change the filter mode in
the settings of the corresponding component as described in step 8.
5. In the Column Layout section, choose the number of columns for your Planner Workspace. You can later distribute the Workspace components to those
columns.
6. In the Workspace Components section, choose the Workspace components that you need and drag and drop them to one of the columns.
You can add a maximum of six components to a Planner Workspace: one custom alerts overview and up to five planning views or analytics charts. Keep in
mind that each component has a minimum size and it may not be possible to fit all of them on a desktop screen with a smaller resolution.
7. Choose an existing custom alerts overview, planning view, or analytics chart that you've created or that has been shared with you or create a new custom alerts
overview or planning view from scratch.
8. Configure the components you added to show the data you need by choosing the (Customize Component) icon for the corresponding component. You can
then customize the settings in the side panel that opens.
You can also specify the filter mode for each component.
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Note
You can use the filter mode to define how the data in the corresponding component should be filtered. You can choose to apply the Workspace filters or ignore
them as follows:
Choose Apply Workspace Filters to combine the Workspace filters and the component filters. If the filters have the same filter criteria but different
values, the criteria from the Workspace filter are applied.
Choose Ignore Workspace Filters to ignore the Workspace filters and apply only the component filters.
For information about how the Workspace filters and the filter for the individual components work together, see Filters in a Planner Workspace.
9. Create a Workspace component by copying an existing one. To do this, choose the (Customize Component) icon for the corresponding component, and from
the (More) menu, choose Copy.
Note
If you copy a component, make sure to save the Planner Workspace. Although the new component gets created, it won’t be part of the Planner Workspace if
you don't save the Workspace. If you forget to save, you can just add the component to the Workspace later like you normally would.
10. Check that your components are where you want them and move them if necessary.
You can move the components around by doing the following:
Hover over the component until the cursor changes to a hand and then drag and drop the component.
Choose the (Move) icon and move the component using the arrow icons that appear above the column.
You can change the way components are displayed in a column using the (Switch to Tab View/Switch to Stacked View) toggle button above the column. You
can show them either in tabs or stacked.
You can also resize the components by moving the resize divider between the components.
11. Change the Workspace settings.
In the Workspace section, you can make the following settings:
To change the name and description of a Planner Workspace, choose Settings General .
To define the display settings to be used in all components in a Planner Workspace, choose Settings Description Attributes . You can select the
display option for all attributes that are linked to their corresponding ID attributes. For example, select to display only the ID or the description, or both
the ID and the description.
To share the Planner Workspace with other users or user groups, choose Settings Sharing .
Note
If you share your Planner Workspace, everything that belongs to the Planner Workspace and that you've created yourself is shared along with it. This can
be the following objects:
Planning views
Custom alerts overviews
Custom alert subscriptions and their definitions
Analytics charts
Planning filters
For any objects that were created by another user, you need to ask that user to share those objects with the users with whom you want to share the
Planner Workspace. Otherwise, those objects won't be available to them.
If later you unshare a Planner Workspace, all the objects that belong to the Planner Workspace and that are shared with users and user groups remain
shared with them and have to be unshared separately in the corresponding apps.
To create or apply different appearance settings for your planning views, choose Appearance. For more information, see Appearance Settings for
Planning Views.
12. When you've finished configuring your Workspace and its components, save your Workspace.
Results
Your configuration has been saved and you can now start working in your Planner Workspace.
If you've created a new custom alerts overview or a new planning view, you can view them in the Analytics - Advanced app or in the Web-Based Planning app
respectively.
Filters in a Planner Workspace

You can filter the data in the Workspace components using different filters: the Workspace filters that allow you to apply the same filter criteria to all components,
and the filters in each of the Workspace components. For each component, you can choose how the data is filtered.
By default, the Workspace filters that you select are applied to the data shown in all components. The Workspace filters allow you to apply additional planning filter,
time period, and attribute filter criteria on top of the filter criteria of a component. However, you can also choose to have only the filters of the component applied. To
define how you want the data in the corresponding component to be filtered, you can use the filter mode in the component settings. You have the following options:
Apply the Workspace filters
The Workspace filters and the component filters are combined. If the filters have the same filter criteria but different values, the criteria from the Workspace
filter are applied. Therefore, to ensure the consistency of the data that is displayed, in the Workspace filters you must select planning filter, time period, and
attribute filters carefully.
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Ignore the Workspace filters
The Workspace filters are ignored and only the component filters are applied.
Example
You've chosen to apply the Workspace filters for a planning view. You've selected Product A and Location FA1 in the Workspace filters. In the planning view filter,
you've selected Product B and Customer X. Both the Workspace filters and the planning view filters contain the Product attribute. Because the Workspace filters have
precedence over the component filters in the option you chose, the planning view is filtered for Product A, Location FA1, and Customer X.
However, if you've chosen to ignore the Workspace filters for the planning view, the planning view is filtered for the selected Product B and Customer X, because
only the filters of the planning view are considered.
To see which filters are applied to a specific component and which filter mode is used, choose the Show Applied Filters icon for the corresponding component.
Time Period Filters

By default, the time period Workspace filter that you select is applied to the data shown in all components. When you define a time period filter, first you select a
time period, for example, monthly. Then you select a time horizon, for example, from 1 month before the current period (current month) to 3 months after the current
period. If you don't select the Rolling checkbox, every time you access the Planner Workspace, the data for the components will be shown for the specific months
you’ve selected. However, if you select the Rolling checkbox, every time you access the Planner Workspace, the data for the components will be dynamically shifted
to 1 month before and 3 months after the current month.
If you choose to ignore the Workspace filter for one or more components, the time period and rolling settings defined for these components, if any, will be applied.
For custom alerts overviews, the time period and rolling settings of the custom alert subscription defined in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app are
applied. For analytics charts, the time period and rolling settings of the analytics chart defined in the Analytics - Advanced app are applied.
Note that the time period you select in the Workspace filters must be the same or longer than the time period of the custom alerts overview component. For example,
if the time period in the custom alerts overview component is weekly, the time period in the Workspace filters must be weekly, monthly, or longer.
Appearance Settings for Planning Views

Appearance settings allow you to create and apply your own color and formatting settings for the data in the planning views in your Planner Workspaces.
Purpose
You can change the default appearance of the planning views in your Planner Workspaces. You can choose to apply different colors, fonts, and other formatting, for
example, to the attribute or period header, attribute value cells, data value cells, and first and last row of a combination.
The following graphic illustrates an example of a planning view to help you understand the different sections and cells to which you can apply different colors and
formatting:
You can create and apply your own appearance settings and share them with other users by making them public. You can apply appearance settings that were created
and made public by other users. You can create appearance settings from scratch or copy existing appearance settings created by you or by other users who have
made them public. You do this in the Workspace section by choosing Settings Appearance . You can create appearance settings that include basic rules, key figure
rules, and period rules.
Basic Rules
You can choose if you want to show the repeating attribute values in your planning views or hide them to simplify the views. In the graphic above, the repeating
attribute values aren't shown. You can also choose if you want to show relative period names in the period header instead of the default absolute period names.
You can define the following basic rule types:
Attribute value
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You can define color and formatting settings for the attribute header and the attribute value cells.
Repeating attribute values
You can define color and formatting settings for the repeating attribute value cells. However, if you've chosen not to show the repeating attribute values, the
color and formatting options you define won't be visible.
Data value
You can define color and formatting settings for the period header and the data value cells.
Read-only data
You can define color and formatting options for read-only data value cells. This rule applies to the data value cells for key figures that have been defined as not
editable, editable in the current or future period, or editable in the past in the Planning Areas app.
Changed data
You can define color and formatting settings to be applied to the changed data value cells until you run a simulation or save the changes.
First row of combination
You can define color and formatting settings for the attribute value cells and the data value cells in the first row of a combination.
Last row of combination
You can define color and formatting settings for the attribute value cells and the data value cells in the last row of a combination.
Outside of data set
You can define color and formatting settings for the period header, attribute value cells, and data value cells that are outside of the set that contains data.
Key Figure Rules
You can define rules for key figures that fulfill certain conditions as follows:
Key figure
You can define color and formatting settings for specific key figures.
Hashtag
You can define color and formatting settings for all key figures for which specific hashtags have been assigned in the Planning Areas app.
Property
You can define color and formatting settings for all key figures that have a specific property, for example, calculated, percentage, or fixable.
For all key figure rules, you can define the color and formatting settings for the attribute value cells and the data value cells. You can choose to apply the settings for
the attribute value cells to the whole attribute value row. For the data value cells, you can choose to override the decimal precision settings defined for the key figures
in the Planning Areas app and choose the number of decimals to display for the key figures in your planning view. You can also choose if the full decimal precision is
always shown.
Period Rules
You can define rules for specific periods by first selecting a period level and then selecting the specific relative or absolute periods you want. You can then define
color and formatting settings for the period header and the data value cells for the selected periods.
Note
The order of the rules in the corresponding rule list is important and you can change it. If there are conflicting rules, the rules at the bottom of the lists are applied
with priority.
Viewing Custom Alert Values in a Planning View

Key figure values that match a custom alert are highlighted in a planning view in the Planner Workspace if certain requirements are fulfilled. This helps you to
quickly find the key figure values you need to work on.
Prerequisites
You have a custom alerts overview and at least one planning view in your Planner Workspace.
The attributes of the selected alert’s calculation level are a subset of the planning view’s attributes.
The time level of the alert and the planning view are identical.
Context
The custom alerts overview component displays custom alerts, it doesn't display any key figure alerts. If the prerequisites are fulfilled, key figure values that match a
custom alert are highlighted in the planning view.
Procedure
2. Open a Planner Workspace.
3. In the custom alerts overview, select one of the following:
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If the underlying custom alert definition doesn't aggregate the alerts over the time horizon selected in the definition, select one or more specific custom
alerts in which you’re interested.
If the underlying custom alert definition aggregates the alerts over the time horizon selected in the definition, the custom alerts that have been calculated
are combined in a single entry in the custom alerts overview. You can see the number of alerts that are aggregated for each entry. You can select one or
more of the aggregated alert entries.
In the planning view, the key figure values that match the custom alerts are highlighted. If you have multiple planning views in your Planner Workspace, the
key figures are highlighted in all of them.
The color of the highlighting corresponds to the severity of the custom alerts. If you have a planning view with a lot of data, you may need to scroll to find the
highlighted cells.
Note
If you see a (Subscription Is Restricted) icon next to the subscription, this indicates that there are more custom alerts for the subscription than are shown.
This is because of a limit that has been configured by your system administrator using a global setting to help you focus on a certain number of alerts.
To see the remaining custom alerts, you first need to solve the alerts that are shown and refresh the Workspace. To identify the root cause of the high number of
alerts, you or the owner of the alert definition can also review and adapt the definition.
Next Steps
You can now solve the underlying issues of the custom alerts, for example, by simulating key figure changes. For more information, see Changing Data and
Simulating in a Planner Workspace.
Working with Key Figure Data in Planning Views

In the Planner Workspaces app, you can change key figure values in your planning views, protect key figure values by fixing them, create planning notes for key
figure values, and provide reason codes and comments for changes to key figure values.
Context
If you want to change key figure data in multiple planning views, you can only make changes in one planning view at a time. Before you can move to the next
planning view, you first have to simulate, save, or refresh the key figure data.
Freezing, Filtering, and Sorting Columns
To find the data you need in your planning view more easily, you can freeze, filter, and sort columns. You can open a dialog with column functions by choosing the
(down arrow) icon in the column header.
The following functions are available:
To keep columns visible while you scroll horizontally through your planning view, you can freeze them. You can also unfreeze columns.
To focus on specific data, you can filter the columns by condition and/or by one or multiple values.
To sort the columns, select the value in the column header and choose the small arrows pointing up or down.
Fixing and Unfixing Key Figure Values
To protect key figure values from unintentional changes during disaggregation or by other planners, you can fix them in a planning view. To fix key figure values,
select one cell at a time or several at once, and then select the corresponding option from the context menu. A fixed value in a cell is indicated by a filled padlock
sign. A partially fixed value is indicated by a padlock sign that is filled diagonally. Fixed portions of partially fixed key figure values are shown in a tooltip when you
hover over a cell. To unfix key figure values in the planning view, select one cell at a time or several at once, and select the corresponding option from the context
menu. For more information about key figure fixing, see Fixing of Key Figure Values.
Creating Planning Notes for Key Figure Values
You can also create, view, edit, and delete planning notes in the planning view. This allows you to capture information about the key figure directly in the system and
share this information with other planners. To create a planning note, select a key figure value, and then select the corresponding option from the context menu. The
planning note is saved when you save the data in the planning view and becomes visible to other users. It's saved with the key figure value that is displayed in the cell
or that is calculated by the system at the moment when you save the data. For more information, see Planning Notes and Working with Planning Notes.
Adding Reason Codes and Comments for Changed Key Figure Values
Change history allows you to track changes that have been made to key figure values in your planning views. It provides you with information about the changes that
can support you in your planning process such as previous and new values of the changed key figures, reason codes and comments for the changes, and so on. For
information about enabling change history, see How to Enable the Change History?. For information about setting up reason codes and comments for your planning
views, see Setting Up the Planner Workspaces App and Reason Codes.
If change history and reason codes and comments have been enabled, when you change key figure values and save them, you'll be asked to provide reason codes and
comments for these changes. The reason codes and comments can then be viewed in the Change History Analysis app. For more information, see Change History for
Key Figures. In addition, if your organization has integrated a collaboration tool with the SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain solution, the reason
codes and comments will be available when you share your changes in the collaboration tool.
Personal Data
If you've selected master data attributes in your planning view that are defined as personal data, this data is indicated by the (Personal Data) icon.
For security reasons, any personal data in the planning views in your Workspace is loaded directly from the database when you open the Planner Workspace.
If your planning views contain a lot of personal data, it takes longer to load the data. If loading takes too long, try removing attributes that contain personal data from
your planning views.
Note
Personal data is only indicated in planning views. It's not indicated in custom alerts overviews.
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Changing Data and Simulating in a Planner Workspace

After you've identified issues in your key figures, you can change their values and simulate the effect that your changes will have on the planning views, custom
alerts, and analytics charts in your Planner Workspace.
Prerequisites
You have at least one planning view in your Planner Workspace.
Context
A simulation recalculates the planning views, custom alerts, and analytics charts in your Planner Workspace and shows you what your data would look like with the
changes applied.
Procedure
3. Find a key figure value that you want to change.
If you have a custom alerts overview in your Planner Workspace, you can also look for a key figure value that matches a custom alert. For more information,
see Viewing Custom Alert Values in a Planning View.
4. Change the key figure value in the planning view.

5. Choose Simulate.
The data in all Workspace components is now shown in simulation mode (indicated in the top-right corner). The key figure values, custom alerts, and analytics
charts are shown based on the simulated data. A simulation status is displayed for the custom alerts in your custom alerts overview. It’s possible that as a result
of the simulation, new custom alerts have been calculated, others have changed, remained unchanged, or have been solved. Note that custom alerts, which have
been snoozed in the Monitor Custom Alerts app until the data changes, and whose simulation status is Changed or Solved, will be displayed as active. If you
save the changes you made, these custom alerts will become active or disappear respectively.
6. If you want to change key figure data in multiple planning views, remember that you can change key figure data in only one planning view at a time. Before
you can move to the next planning view to make changes, you first have to simulate, save, or refresh the key figure data.
7. After you've finished your simulations, you have the following options:
Discard your changes: If you’re not satisfied with the results of the simulations, you can discard your changes by refreshing the data.
Save your changes: If you’re happy with the results of your simulated changes, you can save your data back to the database.
Create a scenario: If you want to save the simulation because you need more time to apply the changes to the operational plan, or if you want to share the
simulation with others, you can save it as a scenario. For more information, see Creating and Managing Scenarios in a Planner Workspace.
Related Information
Simulations
Creating and Managing Scenarios in a Planner Workspace

If you need more time to work on a simulation or you want to share it with others, you can save it as a scenario. You can also create a scenario before changing key
figure data or doing a simulation for the changes. When you're done, you can promote, reset, or delete the scenario.
Context
If you made any changes to key figure data and did a simulation, you can save those changes as a scenario. In a scenario, you can play with the data for as long as
you need without affecting the operational data and you can also share it and discuss it with colleagues. You can also create an empty scenario without changing the
data first. This empty scenario uses the baseline values as default.
Procedure
3. In the Planner Workspace for which you want to create a scenario, either before or after simulating or saving changes to key figure data in a planning view,
choose Scenarios Create Scenario .
4. Select one or more versions that you want to use for your scenario.
If you made any changes to key figure data and did a simulation, the version is already selected.
5. Enter a scenario name and description.

6. Select the users and user groups with whom you want to share your scenario.
The users with whom you share a scenario will be able to change key figure data, copy, promote, and reset the scenario.
7. Choose Create.
A new column showing the scenario name is added to the planning view. If you selected a version different from the base version, a new column showing the
version is added to the planning view as well. If you want to compare data from your new scenario with the data from any other scenarios in the same planning
view, you can add the scenarios to the planning view in the component settings. You'll also be able to use the scenarios you create as Workspace filters.
8. To make changes to your scenarios, choose Scenarios Manage Scenarios .

9. If you're satisfied with a scenario and want to copy the data changes from the scenario to the version on which it's based, select the scenario and choose
Promote.
The changes are included in the baseline of the versions on which the scenario is based and are discarded from the scenario.
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10. If you've changed any data in the scenario and you want to undo those changes, you can reset the scenario to the baseline by selecting the scenario and
choosing Reset.
If there are changes to the baseline after the reset, your scenario is updated with these changes for as long as it remains unchanged. Once you start making new
changes to your scenario, changes to the baseline are no longer reflected.
11. If you're no longer working with a scenario, to prevent an accumulation of unused scenarios in the system, select the scenario and choose Delete.
Related Information
What-If Analyses
Scenarios
Showing Order Information in a Planner Workspace

Show information about the orders that make up a key figure value to understand the results of a planning run.
Prerequisites
Your system administrator has enabled this feature for your business user. For more information, see Setting Up the Planner Workspaces App.
Your system administrator has configured options for navigating to external systems. For more information, see Creating Order-Based Navigations to Other
Systems.
The key figure is supported for this feature. For more information, see Supported External Key Figures.
You have at least one planning view in your Planner Workspace.
Context
The Planner Workspaces app enables you to work with key figure data in planning views. This is an alternative to using SAP Integrated Business Planning, add-in for
Microsoft Excel, with an added advantage: The external key figure values displayed in the app are aggregated amounts, and for certain external key figures you can
display information about the individual orders behind these values to get a better insight into your planning results.
Example
If you're looking at a distribution receipt key figure, you can show its detailed order information to see which locations fulfill the demand. Or, if you need to deal with
unexpected demand, you can navigate to the View Confirmations app to check your sales orders and see which customers have confirmed demand. You can also
navigate to an external system and use the information you've found to solve the issue (for example, change the priority of a customer demand so that you can meet
the unexpected demand).
Procedure
3. In a planning view in the Workspace, check whether the (Order Information Available) icon is displayed next to a key figure. If so, this means that detailed
order information is available.
4. Select one or more values for this key figure in the same row and choose Show Order Information from the context menu.
A table containing the relevant information is displayed underneath the planning view. This information varies depending on the order type, so you see
different columns for sales orders than for production orders, for example. For sales orders, each entry in the table corresponds to a schedule line in an order.
Note
5. To show the order information on different levels of detail, change the attributes in the planning view.
You can view order information for any combination of attributes that the definition of the key figure allows.
6. To go to the relevant app in order-based planning for more information (Analyze Supply Usage or View Confirmations, depending on the order type), choose
the order number in the table.
For example, if you want to check the confirmation status of a sales order after a planning run, just choose the order number to view the orders in the View
Confirmations app for order-based planning.
Note
This option isn't available for demand key figures for planned orders or production orders.
Tip
If the order isn't loaded automatically when the app (for example, View Confirmations) opens, choose Go. You can also adjust your settings in the app that
you've navigated to, to ensure that the order is always loaded automatically: Under My Views, choose Manage, then make sure that the Apply Automatically
checkbox is selected.
7. To go to an external system for more information related to the order or to take action to solve issues, select an order and choose Navigate To.
A list of the configured options is displayed and you can select the one you want to use. Depending on which ones your system administrator has configured,
these could include the following:
SAP GUI transactions
Web GUI transactions
External documents such as an SAP S/4HANA Sales Order Fact Sheet
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Working with Application Jobs in a Planner Workspace

Run or schedule application jobs in the Planner Workspace to accomplish your planning tasks and view the status of your application jobs.
Prerequisites
Your system administrator has enabled application jobs for your user.
You've created an application job template or you have access to shared application job templates.
The following types of application job templates can be used in the Planner Workspaces app:
Application job templates that have all mandatory parameters defined. When you schedule an application job, the parameters of the application job
template and their values will only be listed for your information.
Application job templates that don't have all mandatory parameters defined. When you schedule an application job, you have to enter the values for the
parameters that aren't defined.
For more information, see Creating Application Job Templates for Planning UIs.
The application job templates must have been set up for the planning area that you use in your Planner Workspace. If the application job template consists of
several steps, at least one of the steps must contain the planning area as one of its parameters.
Context
In a Planner Workspace, application jobs are run on the saved data, even if you’re in simulation mode. You can run an application job immediately or you can
schedule an application job by defining a start date and time for the job. Note that the jobs you run in the Planner Workspace are run only once, even if a recurrence is
set in the application job template. To change any settings or schedule the job to run regularly, you need to go to the Application Jobs app and make your changes
there.
Procedure
3. Choose Application Jobs Schedule Job .
4. In the dialog that opens, choose the job template you want to use and enter a description for the job.
5. If the application job template you selected doesn't have all mandatory parameters defined, choose Ad Hoc Parameters, select the scenarios, versions, and
planning filter you want to use, and choose Continue.
6. Choose Schedule Single Run and then choose one of the following options for the start of the job:
Option Description
Start the job immediately This is the default option, the Start Immediately checkbox is selected.
Schedule the start of the job for a later point in time Deselect the Start Immediately checkbox and select a time zone and a start
date and time.
7. Choose Schedule.
8. If the application job template you selected doesn't have all mandatory parameters defined, make sure the ad hoc parameters you entered are correct, and
choose Continue.
9. To check the status of the job, choose Application Jobs Check Job Status .
You can see the jobs that you've run in the last 7 days and that are scheduled for the current date for the planning area that is used in your Workspace. The
status of your job is shown right next to it, along with other general information. If your application job has steps, the job and its steps are shown in a tree table.
10. If a job is still running, you can refresh the dialog to see when it has finished.
11. To get more information, you can navigate to the following apps for job scheduling:
Option Description
Application Logs Here you can find the details about the status of the job. If the job finishes
with an error, you can analyze the root cause using the information from the
log.
To navigate there, choose a job step and select the corresponding option from
the popup. If your application job has only one step, choose the application
job.
Application Jobs Here you can find information about the scheduled application job and its
parameters.
To navigate there, choose the application job in the list and select the
corresponding option from the popup.
Application Jobs Templates Here you can find information about the settings of the application job
template that define what the job does.
To navigate there, choose the application job in the list and select the
corresponding option from the popup.
Related Information
Job Scheduling
Application Logs
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts enable you to navigate the user interface and access functions efficiently.
The following table gives an overview of the most important keyboard shortcuts:
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UI Element Action Keyboard Shortcut
Refresh Refresh the data for all of the components in a Planner Microsoft Windows: Ctrl + Alt + R
Workspace and discard any unsaved key figure data.
Mac OS: control + R
Simulate Simulate the effect that changes to key figure values Microsoft Windows: Ctrl + Alt + M
will have on all of the components in a Planner
Workspace. Mac OS: control + M
Save Save changes you've made to key figure values. Microsoft Windows: Ctrl + Alt + S
Mac OS: control + S

Edit Edit appearance settings that you've created. Microsoft Windows: Ctrl + Alt + T
Mac OS: control + shift + T
End-to-End Visibility
Having end-to-end visibility of your supply chain network is crucial for managing your supply chain processes more efficiently. It helps you to detect and analyze
exceptions, evaluate their impact, and take actions.
The Intelligent Visibility app provides you with end-to-end visibility of your supply chain network and allows you to do the following:
Visualize exceptions on a map, drill down to the details, and take actions.
Visualize your supply chain network.
Visualize custom profiles that are shared with you, or that you've configured in the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app.
Related Information
Intelligent Visibility Profiles
An app that can be used to view and monitor internal and external supply chain processes and exceptions on a geographic map or in a table.
Purpose
The Intelligent Visibility app captures and uses data from different sources to provide real-time visibility. The app allows business users to react quickly and to make
decisions to solve supply chain issues.
Key Features
View your custom alerts, view your custom alerts details, and navigate to other apps or external S4/HANA systems.
View your customers by location on a geographic map.
View your supply chain network on a geographic map.
View your key figures on a geographic map.
View profiles that you've configuired or that are shared with you from the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app.
View 3D models of your products or locations.
View procedure playbooks that you’ve created or that are shared with you from the Procedure Playbooks app. Procedure playbooks provide more information
on how to solve alerts.
View the gating factor details related to SAP Transportation Management for your order-based alerts that were defined with an alert definition template.
View order-based information for supported external key figures that are enabled to show order details.
View document details for freight order and freight booking information from SAP Logistics Business Network

Desktop
Tablet
Related Information
Viewing Custom Alerts by Location
Viewing Supply Chain Networks by Location
Viewing Key Figures by Location
Integrating with Supported External Map Providers
Integrating with SAP Enterprise Product Development
Viewing Customers by Location

You can display alerts by location on a map or in a table to see where supply chain issues are occurring, or which locations require your attention. You can navigate to
the Monitor Custom Alerts app, View Gating Factors app, and other systems to view more information about your alerts and to handle your supply chain issues.
Prerequisites
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The Business Meaning field for the Location ID and Product ID attributes for your planning area have been maintained.
The Location master data type has GEOLONGITUDE and GEOLATITUDE attributes, and the coordinates for each location have been maintained.
You have defined and subscribed to custom alerts with the Location attribute defined in the calculation level or such custom alerts have been shared with you.
To be able to display custom alerts that are triggered for specific sales orders and to navigate to the View Gating Factors app and other systems, the custom
alerts have been defined using the corresponding alert definition templates. For more information, see Creating Custom Alert Definitions.
To be able to display a profile, you've configured a profile in the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app, or you have a profile shared with you. For more
information, see How to Create a Profile.
To be able to display a 3D model, you need to own an account with SAP Enterprise Product Development and your administrator set up the communication
arrangement with SAP IBP for Supply Chain using communication scenario SAP_COM_0658. For more information, see Integrating with SAP Enterprise
Product Development.
The communication arrangement for communication scenario SAP_COM_0661 Planning - Transportation Management Information Integration has been
configured for the corresponding logical system of the orders identified in the gating factors. For more information about setting up the communication
scenario, see Integrating SAP Transportation Management Data.
The communication arrangement for communication scenario SAP_COM_0804 Integrating SAP Logistics Business Network Data has been configured for the
corresponding logical system of the orders identified in the gating factors. Note that the communication scenario SAP_COM_0661 must be set up as a
prerequisite to setting up this scenario. For more information, see Integrating SAP Logistics Business Network Data.
Procedure
1. Open the Intelligent Visibility app.
2. In the Data Layers, make sure Alerts and Location are selected.
3. Enter a planning area filter.
4. Enter a version/scenario filter.
The supply chain network is disabled if you choose a scenario because scenarios are not supported.
5. Select your alert subscriptions.

6. Enter a time period filter.
You can view alerts that are only within the time horizon that you've defined in the alert definition. Any time filters that are outside the defined range are
ignored so that you don’t get extra alerts.
Note
If the time granularity of the filter is smaller than the time granularity of the alert definition time horizon (example, days vs weeks), then no alert is returned.
If the time granularity of the filter is higher than the time granularity of the alert definition time horizon, the periods in the filter are converted to the time
granularity of the alert time horizon and the system shall use these periods to filter the alerts.
If the alert subscription has a minimum consecutive period set and you enter multiple ranges into the time period filter, then the system converts the first date of
the first period and the last date of the periods into a range.
7. Optionally, you can filter for snoozed or active alerts by applying the Alert Status filter. By default, the alert status is set to all.
8. Enter any other filter criteria and choose Go.
9. Optionally, if you've configured a profile in the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app, or if a profile is shared with you, you can choose it from the list in Select
Profile. You can choose to save the profile view as a variant.
Locations positioned closely together are grouped in a cluster. The number of clusters is also shown inside the icon that represents the cluster.
If your selection criteria return alerts, the locations that contain alerts display the total number of alerts in that location or cluster.
Optionally, you can switch to the table view.
10. Expand the Overview section to view key figure micro charts that you’ve added to a profile in the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app. The overview also displays
more information about key performance indicators such as total number of alerts, alerts for top three locations, alerts by severity, locations with alerts, and the
percentage of snoozed alerts.
When viewing the percentage of snoozed alerts, you can see one of the following results:
If the Alert Status filter is set to Active, the: percentage of snoozed alerts is always displayed as 0%.
If the Alert Status filter is set to Snoozed, the percentage of snoozed alerts is always displayed as 100%.
If the Alert Status filter is (by default) set to All, the percentage of snoozed alerts is displayed.
11. To view the details for a location, do one of the following:

Select a location with alerts.
Choose a cluster with alerts and then select a specific location.
Note
If you have a filter on a specific location subscription, choosing to view details about a location on the map will override this filter. In this case, it is
possible to see a different number of alerts in the details.
Once a location is selected, a list of alerts for the location is displayed with information such as the main key figure and its value, the calculation level,
the alert definition template, and the subscription name. The Alert Definition Template field indicates whether the alert is or isn’t defined by a template.
You can use the search bar within the alert list to search for specific alerts. For example, you can search for a specific product ID and the alerts for that
specific product are displayed.
12. Optionally, you can choose to navigate to the Monitor Custom Alerts app to view more information about your alerts. To do so, select one or more alerts from
the list and choose Go To Monitor Custom Alerts .
A new tab opens.
You can choose to view your alerts in the chart or table view. You can also view additional master data type attribute information for your calculation level alert
attributes by selecting the attribute, for example, material number or location ID.
Optionally, you can create public or private variants. If you create a public variant, it is shared with other users in a similar role. You can also set variants
created by other users as favorites.
Note
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Only private variants can be deleted.
13. You have the option to snooze or activate any shared alerts for all users and user groups. This way, alerts are snoozed or activated once for all users who can
view them.
To snooze for all users and user groups, you can select one or multiple alerts from the alert list and then choose Alert Status. You can decide whether you want
to snooze the alerts for yourself or for all users and user groups that you share the alerts with.
You can also snooze an individual alert from the alert details. To do so, choose Snooze, and select an option: Snooze for Me or Snooze for All.
To activate for all users and user groups, you can select one or multiple snoozed alerts from the alert list and then choose Alert Status. You can decide whether
you want to activate the alerts for yourself or for all users and user groups that you share the alerts with.
You can also activate an individual alert from the alert details. To do so, choose Activate, and select an option: Activate for Me or Activate for All.
Note
If an alert is snoozed individually, it will remain snoozed for that user and will not be affected by another user who wants to snooze for all.
14. Optionally, use select the View 3D Model icon to visualize a product or location to gain insight on products or locations that are being impacted by other
components.
15. Optionally, if you've preconfigured target navigation systems for your alerts, you can choose Navigate To <Navigation Name> to view your alerts. A new
browser tab is displayed.
Note
Depending on the configuration, the navigation button may appear only for objects from the filtered planning area.
16. If you've added charts to a profile, you can see up to ten charts.
Optionally, if you’ve added charts with drill downs to a profile, you can drill down on those charts. To do so, select a data point and choose Drill Down. If there
are several paths, select a path and drill down. You can also drill up on your charts.
If you add an analytics chart to your profile that has the cascade filters option enabled, the Intelligent Visibility filter values will cascade to the next level when
you drill down on that chart.
17. If you want to view more information about an alert, select an alert from the list.
Depending on the planning area you are using, and how your alert is defined in the Define and Subscribe to Custom Alerts app, the details for the alerts will
display different information:
a. For alerts that are defined without a template, the details display the main chart that represents the key figures you have chosen to be displayed if the alert
conditions are met. If your alert has an associated case, the details are displayed (for example: the status, the monetary impact, and the assigned users and
user groups).
b. Alert time periods that are before and after an alert occurrence are displayed with a hatched pattern in bar, column, dual c-axis bar, and dual y-axis bar
charts to make it easier for you to visualize and compare data from these time periods.
c. For alerts that are defined with a template, the details display a list of sales orders (late, not confirmed in time, and unfulfilled) and the gating factors
associated with each selected sales order.
Note
Sales orders are displayed by line items. The key figures for the sales orders are calculated based on the scheduled lines. The sales order data can be
inconsistent if the sales order contains multiple scheduled lines with different requested dates.
The sales orders shown for the alerts are filtered based on material, location, and optionally days. If more attributes are added to the alert definition (for
example, customers), they won’t be passed as filters to the sales order list.
18. Optionally, if your administrator has enabled this feature for your business user, you can choose a key figure value from the chart and select Show Order
Information to see more information.
Note
This feature is only available for custom alerts that weren't defined with an alert definition template. If there are no calculation level attributes defined in the
custom alert definition, the Show Order Information option is not available.
You can use the search bar in the order information table to search for specific order numbers. You can also personalize the table settings by sorting or grouping
the columns based on the criteria you want to view.
Figures.
Make sure you've preconfigured your target navigation system in the Manage Navigation to Other Systems app. For more information, see prerequisites.
19. If you've preconfigured target navigation systems for your custom alerts, you can choose Navigate To <Navigation Name> .
20. Select the Snooze tab to view more information about the alert status including the type, snoozed by, and comments about the alert.
21. Optionally, If you’ve created procedure playbooks or have some shared with you and they have been assigned to your custom alerts, select the Procedure
Playbooks tab in the alert details. Procedure playbooks are used to provide you with more information about resolving supply chain issues detected in your
custom alerts.
The Activities can contain a link that you can use to take action by navigating to other apps within or outside of SAP IBP for Supply Chain, navigate to web
pages, send emails, and make phone calls.
For more information about creating procedure playbooks in the Procedure Playbooks app, see Creating Procedure Playbooks.
22. For alerts that were created in an order-based planning area with a template, you can view more information about the sales order, select the Sales Orders tab by
choosing Navigate To <Navigation Name> .
23. To view all the supply elements that are preventing the sales order from being fulfilled, select one of the sales orders.
Note
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You can use the search bar in the sales order table and in the gating factor table to search for specific order numbers for your order-based alerts that were
defined with an alert definition template. You can also personalize the table settings by sorting or grouping the columns based on the criteria you want to view.
24. Optionally, select the document ID number of an order element in the table to view the Document Details page to see the SAP Transportation Management
(SAP TM) document flow and to navigate to the corresponding documents in their target systems. For example, you can view order information, document
types, and material that is being transported with information about the requested and confirmed data with the corresponding quantities.
Note
The navigation to the Document Details page is only possible for the Inbound Delivery, Purchase Order, or Stock Transfer Order document types. In the case of
an Inbound Delivery, SAP IBP refers to the Purchase Order and Stock Transfer Order. In this case, the SAP TM document flow displays information related to
the reference.
25. Optionally, select Show Document Details to see freight order and freight booking information from SAP Logistics Business Network and navigate to the
corresponding documents in the Track Freight Movement or Global Track and Trace app to view details about the freight execution.
26. Optionally, you can choose to navigate to the View Gating Factors app. To do so, select the gating factor, and choose View Gating Factors.
27. Optionally, you can choose to navigate to an external system to get more information about the identified document preventing the sales order from being
fulfilled on time. To do so, select the gating factor and choose Navigate To <Navigation Name> .
Note
For documents that have been created in SAP IBP but have not been synchronized with the execution system yet, navigation is not possible.
Related Information
Assigning Attributes to a Planning Area
Creating Generic Navigations to Other Systems
How to Create a Profile

Find out which external key figure quantities you can view order information for.
The following table contains the external key figures that are supported for this feature. A few remarks about the table:
If the key figures are included in the SAP7 sample planning area, the corresponding key figure IDs and key figure descriptions are shown.
"Not applicable" in the table means that the key figure isn’t included in the SAP7 sample planning area, but the external key figure quantity can be assigned to
the specified planning level in your planning area configuration if necessary.
You can also see which SAP7 planning level the key figure quantities are assigned to, and the external data source that the planning level is linked to.

Description
OPEN_SALES_QUANTITY SALESORDERREQUEST Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Requested)
CONFIRMED_SALES_QUANTITY SALESORDERCONF Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Confirmed)
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_INTIME SALESORDERCONFINTIME Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Confirmed In Time)
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_LATE SALESORDERCONFLATE Sales Order PERPRODLOCDEMAND STD_SFC_V2
(Confirmed Late)
OPEN_SALES_QUANTITY Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
CONFIRMED_SALES_QUANTITY Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_INTIME Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SALES_ORDER_CONFIRMED_LATE Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND DISTRDEMANDPLANNED Distribution Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned)
CONFIRMED_DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND DISTRDEMANDCONFIRMED Distribution Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
DEPENDENT_DEMAND DEPDEMANDPLANNEDORDER Dependent Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned)
CONFIRMED_DEPENDENT_DEMAND DEPDEMANDPRODUCTIONORDER Dependent Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_PLANNED DISTRRECEIPTPLANNED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned)
DISTR_RECEIPT_PLANNED_GR DISTRRECEIPTPLANNEDGR Distribution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Planned; Goods
Receipt)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED DISTRRECEIPTCONFIRMED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
DISTR_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
PRODUCTION_PLANNED PRODPLANNED Production (Planned) PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
PRODUCTION_PLANNED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
PRODUCTION_CONFIRMED PRODCONFIRMED Production PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
(Confirmed)
PRODUCTION_CONFIRMED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SUBSTITUTION_DEMAND SUBSTDEMAND Substitution Demand PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
SUBSTITUTION_RECEIPT SUBSTRECEIPT Substitution Receipt PERPRODLOC STD_MALO
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND_PLANNED DISTRDEMANDLANEPLANNED Distribution Demand PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Planned)
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND_CONFIRMED DISTRDEMANDLANECONFIRMED Distribution Demand PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Confirmed)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_PLANNED DISTRRECEIPTLANEPLANNED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Planned)
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Description
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED DISTRRECEIPTLANECONFIRMED Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Confirmed)
DISTRIBUTION_DEMAND DISTRDEMANDLANE Distribution Demand PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT DISTRRECEIPTLANE Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane)
DISTRIBUTION_RECEIPT_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
DISTR_RECEIPT_PLANNED_GR DISTRRECEIPTLANEPLANNEDGR Distribution Receipt PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
(Lane; Planned;
Goods Receipt)
DISTR_RECEIPT_CONFIRMED_GR Not applicable Not applicable PERPRODLANE STD_MALAMOT
SUBSTITUTION_DEMAND SUBSTDEMANDSUBST Substitution Demand PERPRODLOCSUBST STD_LMSUBST
for Substitution
Scenario
SUBSTITUTION_RECEIPT SUBSTRECEIPTSUBST Substitution Receipt PERPRODLOCSUBST STD_LMSUBST
for Substitution
Scenario
Note
External key figures are only supported if their request-level calculation is a single sum or average aggregation from the base planning level without any further
calculation.

Display your supply chain network on a map and view how locations are connected and how products are moving between locations.
Prerequisites
To visualize supply chain networks, inventory planning and response and supply planning areas have to be properly configured. In addition, certain master data types
and attributes have to be defined for the planning areas. For more information, see Configuring System Administration for Supply Chain Network.
Procedure
1. Open the app by choosing the Intelligent Visibility tile in the launchpad shell bar.
2. Enter an inventory planning, unified planning, or response and supply planning area.
3. Select Supply Chain Network as a layer.
4. Optionally, you can apply another layer and filters to analyze supply chain issues by selecting Alerts or Key Figures as data layers.
5. Enter a version.
6. Enter one or more products whose supply chain network you want to view.
7. Choose Go.
Your supply chain network for the selected products is displayed on a map. Arcs between the different locations show how products are moving between the
locations. If locations are closely situated, they are shown as a location cluster.
8. Optionally, you can view products and their component dependencies by location in your supply chain network by filtering for upstream, downstream, or
upstream and downstream products. For example, you can see which locations are affected by a product due to delayed manufacturing or distribution of certain
components.
Note
Alerts are filtered based on the product and its upstream or downstream products.
9. To view the arcs to and from cluster locations, zoom in the map or use the rectangular zoom to select and zoom in on a region on the map.
10. Select a location to view more information.
A side panel opens.
11. Choose the Product Network tab to view your supply chain network.
Optionally, you can select a key figure and layout for a more detailed analysis. You can also export your supply chain network information to a spreadsheet.
Viewing Key Figures by Location

Display your key figure values on a map or in a table to view your key figure data over time.
Prerequisites
You have defined and subscribed to custom alerts with the location attribute defined in the calculation level or such custom alerts have been shared with you.
To be able to display custom alerts that are triggered for specific sales orders and to navigate to the View Gating Factors app and other systems, the custom
alerts have been defined using the corresponding alert definition templates. For more information, see Creating Custom Alert Definitions.
Optionally, you've configured a profile in the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app, or you have a profile shared with you. For more information, see How to Create
a Profile.
The communication arrangement for communication scenario SAP_COM_0661 Planning - Transportation Management Information Integration has been
configured for the corresponding logical system of the orders identified in the gating factors. For more information about setting up the communication
scenario, see Integrating SAP Transportation Management Data.
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Procedure
1. From the Fiori launchpad, open the Intelligent Visibility app.
2. Select a planning area, version and any other filter criteria you may want to apply.
3. Select Key Figures as a data layer.
The mandatory Key Figures and Time Periods fields appear in the filter bar.
You can select up to ten key figures.

Note
If the key figure you select requires a unit of measure or currency, you also need to enter this filter criteria which will appear automatically depending on the
planning area.
4. Optionally, if you've configured a profile or have one shared with you from the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app, you can choose it from the list in Select
Profile.
5. Choose Go.
6. You can choose to view your key figures on the map or in the table.
If you are viewing your key figures in the table, all key figures are shown.
If you are viewing your key figures on the map, you can select a main key figure from the dropdown list.
The main key figure values are displayed on the map to highlight smaller and larger values with different sized bubbles. Positive or equal values are
displayed in green and negative values are displayed in red by default. If you've configured your key figures with a color palette in the Intelligent
Visibility Profiles app, the key figure values are displayed according to your configuration.
Threshold range colors or a predefined color palette that you’ve added to your key figure values in the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app highlight data
that is above or below important thresholds.
7. Select one of the bubbles or the location pin on the map.
The Location Details popover is displayed. Some information about your location, number of alerts, and key figures are displayed.
To view more details, select Show Details.
A side panel opens.
The header displays the location name and description and up to three key figures. If you want to view more key figures, choose Show All.
You can choose to pin or hide the header.
8. From the Key Figures tab, you can view the values of the selected key figure over the selected time periods in a chart.
9. Optionally, you can choose a key figure value from the chart and select Show Order Information to see more information.
Figures.
Note
If there are more orders than those that are shown. Adjust your filter criteria to reduce the displayed data.
if you've preconfigured target navigation systems for your custom alerts, you can choose Navigate To <Navigation Name> .
10. Use the time-period range selector for a better visualization of your data, or to focus on specific data.
Related Information
Viewing Customers by Location

Display your customer information on a geographic map..
Prerequisites
The Customer master data type has GEOLONGITUDE and GEOLATITUDE attributes, and the coordinates for each customer has been maintained.
Procedure
Follow these steps to view customer information on a geographic map:
1. From the Fiori launchpad, open the Intelligent Visibility app.

2. Select the Customers data layer.
3. Optionally, select the Supply Chain Network data layer to include the customers in the supply chain network graph. The arcs are displayed according to the
hierarchy that's defined in your master data.
4. Optionally, select the Alerts data layer to show the alerts on the customer level. To view alerts on customer level, you need to define subscriptions that contain
Customer ID in the calculation level and include them in your filter.
5. Select a planning area, version, and enter the mandatory fields or any other filter criteria you may want to apply.
6. Choose Go.
7. On the map, select the Customer icon to see more information.
8. To view more information, select Show Details.
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9. From the details section, you can view the supply chain network or alerts that are associated with this customer.
Note
You need at least one additional data layer (Alerts, supply chain network, key figures) to view details information about the selected customer from the map
If you select a customer node from the map, the supply chain network cannot be viewed in the details section.
If an alert is aggregated on Customer ID and Location ID, it’s not counted twice, it will show only on the location node in the graph.
Intelligent Visibility Profiles

An app used to configure the content and appearance of the Intelligent Visibility app.
Purpose
The Intelligent Visibility Profiles app allows users to configure the content and appearance of the Intelligent Visibility app.
For example, users can create more than one profile to use in Intelligent Visibility. One profile can include supply charts and the other profile can include inventory
charts. Users that have these profiles shared with them can switch between both profiles to view different data.
Key Features
Add up to five key figure micro charts to your profile.
Show or hide overview widgets.
Customize the display of key figures such as the color, threshold range color, and the number formatting.
Choose to show a specific detail content layout and reorder the sections according to your preferences.
Select analytics charts that you want to include in the profile.
Share your profile with other users and user groups to view the same data.

Desktop
Tablet
Related Information

You can configure the content and appearance of the Intelligent Visibility app.
Procedure
Follow these steps to create a profile:
1. From the Fiori launchpad, select the Intelligent Visibility Profiles app.
2. Select Create.
3. Give your profile a name and choose a planning area and version.
4. In the Overview section, select up to five key figure micro charts to add to your profile.
Select which conversion attribute values such as unit of measure, data value format (number of decimal points), and currency you want to be displayed on the
chart.
Select which key figure micro chart type you want to display your data on from the following: aggregated value, line, line with min and max.
5. Choose which widgets to display by using the toggles to choose which sections to make visible and by using the sorting options to move the sections around.
6. In the Map Options section, under Key Figures, select Add.
7. Choose the key figures you want to add to your profile and choose Select.
Optionally, you can select colors from the color palette to represent the values of the key figures. For more information about viewing key figures in Intelligent
Visibility, see Viewing Key Figures by Location.
You can also choose how many decimal points to display with the Data Value Format option.
8. Select Add Range to add custom threshold range colors or a predefined color palette to your key figure values to highlight data that is above or below
important thresholds.
Note
Ranges cannot be overlapped.
9. Optionally, choose Select on Map to select a default center point and zoom level from the geographic map to display a specific region by default.
10. In the Detail Content Layout, you can use the toggle and sorting options to choose which sections to make visible and to reorder them according to your
preferences. For example, you can choose to hide the Supply Chain Network section if you don't want to see it.
11. Optionally, you can add analytics charts to your profile.
You have the option to apply product, time period, and location filters.
You have the following options available to you when selecting a location filter:
Selecting a location ID and enabling the option to only apply the selected location from the map filters the chart based on the selected location from the
map in Intelligent Visibility (one location at a time).
Selecting a location ID only applies the location filters from the filter bar in Intelligent Visibility.
Not selecting a location ID filter displays the chart as originally saved in analytics.
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12. Share your profile with other users and user groups.
13. Choose Save.
Your profile is saved in the list.
Open or refresh the Intelligent Visibility app to use your custom profile.
Watch the interactive tutorial for step-by-step instructions: Defining and Using Intelligent Visibility Profiles
All tutorials are captioned exclusively in English.
Related Information

Process Management in Sap Ibp

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4/19/2022

SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain

SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain | 2202

Original content: https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_INTEGRATED_BUSINESS_PLANNING/feae3cea3cc549aaa9d9de7d363a83e6?locale=en-

For more information, please visit the https://help.sap.com/docs/disclaimer.

Defining and Managing Planning Processes

For more information, see Social Collaboration.

Monitoring the Process and Tracking its Progress

Automating the Process

Driver-Based Planning – Overview

For a detailed example, see Example: Risks and Opportunities as Drivers.

Driver-Based Planning App

Model Entities for Driver-Based Planning

Restrictions for Driver-Based Planning

Change History for Driver-Based Planning

1. Create or edit forecast models.

The algorithms to be used for forecast calculation

For more information, see Manage Forecast Models.

2. Assign forecast models to planning objects (optional).

For more information, see step 4 below.

For more information, see Assign Forecast Models.

3. Gather historical data.

4. Create assignments for new product introduction

For more information, see New Product Introduction.

For more information, see Integrating Promotion Data in Forecasting.

6. Assign to planning objects to ABC/XYZ segments (optional).

For more information, see Manage ABC/XYZ Segmentation Rules.

7. Run time series analysis and change point detection

8. Run statistical forecasting.

For more information, see Run Statistical Forecasting.

9. Compare forecasts (optional).

For more information, see Manage Forecast Error Calculations.

10. Solve alerts

How Uncertainties Lead to Ineffective Stocking Levels

Why Optimizing Safety Stock?

Forecast error and its impact across the supply chain

Target service levels at customers

Optimal Inventory Placement

Cycle stock – inventory that is used to fulfill orders

Pipeline stock – stock on order

Inventory Replenishment and Components

Target Inventory Position

Meet current demand

Meet future demand until the next order is received

Cover demand uncertainty

Target Inventory Position

Modeling a Supply Chain

Supply Chain Network Visualization

Internal stocking nodes have internal demand streams, for example, a

Customer-facing stocking nodes have customer-facing demand streams, for

Integration with Other Applications in SAP Integrated Business Planning

Integration with other apps

The five components of DDMRP are as follows:

5. Visible and collaborative execution.

The following figure illustrates the process:

Five Components of DDMRP

Creating buffer profiles and maintaining buffer levels (buffer sizing)

Allowing for dynamic adjustments to buffer profiles (dynamic adjustments)

Creating DDMRP order recommendations and order generation (demand-driven planning)

By driving replenishment based on actual demand, rather than forecasts.

Critical operation protection

Customer tolerance time

Inventory leverage and flexibility