Demand Planning Worklist and Price Change Events

[Former Member]

Dear Experts,

While going through demand planning help.com, to help a new client get the best out of whatever DP has to offer, I came across this thing called demand planning work list. Where in SCM7.0, ehp2, do I see this  in main menu or spro ?.

Also any tips and short explanation of using price key figure and event detection in demand planning will be much appreciated.

Thanks

BS

[emani_raghavendra · Accepted solution]

Hi Borat,

> T-code for DP Workslist  is NWBC.

> Yes, you can use price Key figures in DP> Aggergation/Disaggregation Type  " A" is generally used for Price key figures. you should also be carefull in conversions. Like if you are globally implemented the project, some users may post in Dollars and some may in EUROS .. so the accurate conversion must be maintained.

Thanks.

Regards,

Venkata Emani

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks Emani,

This is the first time I hear this t-code in DP scheme of things:-). NetWeaver Business Client.

Probably I need to attend another training class.

Thanks

BS

[satish_waghmare3]

Hello BS,

I want to share following -

Since time series(Univariate) model gets impacted due to events, forecast accuracy goes down.

Event can be handled by (judgmentally) adjusting history to remove its impact. Attempt should be made to separate the base demand from event influenced demand.  I think with help of Demand Planning Worklist SAP is trying to address that issue.

Event can be Product Promotions, Holidays, Catastrophes or anything which has possible recurrence in the future. Events have a specific time of occurrence, a duration, and an effect on the demand. Events can cause variation and outliers in the demand.

This new functionality of Demand Planning Worklist is used to configure how you want the system to detect events, and estimate future events. Also you specify the planning level on which you want the system to detect events, and assign event catalogs to planning areas.

SAP Help Link :

Demand Planning Worklist - Forecast Accuracy Improvements - SAP Library

Effect Price Change is also considered as an event. Demand might rise before a price increase, and drop after it.

SAP Help Link :

Detecting Price Change Events - Forecast Accuracy Improvements - SAP Library

Hope this will give some insight.

Thank you

Satish Waghmare

[Former Member]

Thanks Satish,

Why do you think we have this mysterious NWBC t-code for doing this? Why isn't it in some transparent menu.. in current settings or standard spro.

e.g. why not in the stat forecast view. I am privy to another software where in you could drag the curve and mark the data points to ignore or change before and after forecast... subject to the selection level of the graph meeting some conditions. Why such a thing is not there is such an expensive software like SAP ? Sounds like a big deal.

Points exhausted but I appreciate your answers as always.

Thanks

BS.

[Former Member]

BS,

Your expectations for SAP's solutions, and the actual solutions offered by SAP, seem not to be in synch.  You have asked many 'why' questions recently about the nature of the solutions that SAP has (or has not) provided.  I suggest you contact Walldorf directly with such concerns.  We here in SCN in general do not have the answers to the questions you asked.  Anything we could say would be speculative. At best....

Alternatively, you can join your local SAP user group and participate in their initiatives to change SAP software solutions so as to better meet your expectations.  One of the functions of these groups is to  gather their member's concerns about SAP and present the most prevalent ones to SAP corporation. SAP's future development projects are influenced in part by User Group initiatives.

Here in the US, the SAP user group is ASUG (ASUG.com - Home)  I suspect there is a similar group in the location where you live and work.

Best Regards,

DB49

[Former Member]

Thank you DB49 for your suggestions. I think I need to start a user group in the place where I work and live. Even then, I suspect in the end I will be the only member of such a group 🙂

Speculative answers are ok with me. That way I know that I am not he only one struggling. That saves me the discovery time and the path to developing code for things that might other exist hidden in some corner of SAP. That kind of makes me feel human and useful.

I post my questions not just for my sake but for the sake of education for everybody else who are googling for same basic 101 stuff all the time. If you think such questions are not in good taste and against the policies of this group, please let me know and I will humbly delete them all.

Having said that it would be fruitful to know in advance what issues are under consideration by SAP from among the 100's of complaints and suggestions of users. Where and how I do get to know the if SAP is doing (or not doing) something in the next release or ehp. That way I know what should I bother (or not bother) advocating my customers who I serve with all humility and humbleness. I don't waste their money and nor would I like someone else wasting their time. Incidentally that is also the expectation of the decision makers who I deal with.

Thanks

BS.

[Former Member]

BS,

I think I need to start a user group in the place where I work and live. Even then, I suspect in the end I will be the only member of such a group 🙂

Doubtful. SAP has user groups all over the world.  They may not ever convene in your particular town, but most usergroups vary their meetingplaces such that many members are within driving distance of a meeting at some point.

See their link at

SAP User Groups | SAP

Having said that it would be fruitful to know in advance what issues are under consideration by SAP from among the 100's of complaints and suggestions of users. Where and how I do get to know the if SAP is doing (or not doing) something in the next release or ehp.

You can get quite a bit of this type of info from the abovementioned user groups.  Also, if you want to be on the bleeding edge of innovation, you can participate in SAPs Early Adoption program.  This is a kind of 'Beta Test' of SAP's latest software releases, and is available to early adopters prior to SAP releasing software to the general business community.

See their link at

SAP Service Marketplace - SAP Ramp-Up

That way I know what should I bother (or not bother) advocating my customers...

??? I guess your experience is different from mine.  I don't tell users what to advocate; instead they tell me what they want, and then my task is to supply their needs using SAP software solutions that are available right now.

Actually, I take it a step farther.  I don't really concern myself much with the things about SAP that I don't like.  Instead, I focus on what it can do for the users.  A lot of SAP customers have installed SAP, and the vast majority of them have found it to be useful in running their businesses.

Best Regards,

DB49

[Former Member]

DB49, you are right on the last one.

In my case I tell them, what they should be doing. ... its just another approach to achieve the same ends.

In my experience I have found that users, incl. the managers and decision makers in "top" corporations (where I was employed, among st others), generally do not know what they really need. They know at 10K ft level what they want. They will express their requirement as in statements like "I want to know what is the "best" location from where to ship product P to customer C".  Dig a bit deeper to find out what they mean by "Best" and you will get answers that no computer can ever solve. This does not mean they are dumb. After all they have the money and they paid for the licenses (most often for doing things that they never did!). This simply means (emphasis mine) they do not have the luxury of time to ruminate on each field and check box in SAP without F1 help. So in my capacity as a Supply Chain Consultant (that's my job title), it is important for me to hide complexity and only talk quality and speed of realizing those results. Towards that end I need to know what 10's of options exist within SAP to create a solution that is scientific, easy to use, least manual, easy to maintain, commercially sensible and works at least for a few years of money's worth. I do not generally copy from what others have done elsewhere but I do keep my eyes and ears open.

Since I do not know every product and alternative that exists in within SAP to create a solution, I dig a step further to know what exists and ask consultants like yours truly for free advise. In fact I go a step further to look for solutions outside of SAP too.

Most of my employers have hired me as a "Supply Chain Consultant" or some designation of that sort. Not as an "SAP Expert". My resume does not have the word SAP anywhere to begin with. That is because I being a  Supply Chain Consultant is by virtue of my education, training and experience in other areas of permanent human endeavors like Mathematics, Physics, Business Administration, Finance, Trade, Economics, Sociology and like concentrations. I have never worked for consulting firms though in my entire career. I only worked for end user companies. I may perhaps be not as broad minded as other consultants. I am learning....Towards this title and the rewards I get paid, I try to eliminate all possible processes that are unscientific and a waste of time, In fact I challenge parameters like lead times, safety stock strategy and forecast errors all the time. I do all that MUST be done to make existing systems produce a quality of output that make systems like APO more useful than a typewriter or a calculator. Hence my WHY's.

I will plan to visit one of these user groups and hope to talk to the SAP's developers and product managers.

I hope this is made into another thread so that people can share their experiences.

Thanks

BS

[Former Member]

BS,

In my experience I have found that users, incl. the managers and decision makers in "top" corporations (where I was employed, among st others), generally do not know what they really need.

<<Sigh>>  I wish I could find some of these kinds of assignments.  I must assume that my Karmic burden is too great to allow me the privilege of serving such users.....

Best Regards,

DB49

[Former Member]

Welcome to my country and I promise to assuage your karmic burdens 🙂 You will be serving some of the finest minds with deep pockets but thoroughly clueless (I think they go together usually). For me serving them is the idea of Nirvana.

Thanks and yes I do sincerely admire your indulgence and patience to read and respond

BS