4 Setting Up Drivers

This chapter contains the following topics:

4.1 Understanding Drivers

A driver is a measure of demand on activities or resources that influence costs or revenue. An activity driver is a measure of the frequency and intensity of the demands that are placed on activities by cost objects. An example of an activity driver is the total number of customer sales orders. A resource driver is a measure of resources that are consumed in an activity. An example of a resource driver is the number of hours directed to activities.

Two kinds of drivers exist in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Advanced Cost Accounting: automatic drivers and manual drivers. Automatic drivers are extracted from data that already exists in the system, such as number of lines on a sales order, purchase order, or work order. Manual drivers are entered manually with the volumes that are associated with them, such as the man-hours required to paint a bicycle or the square footage in a building that is used to paint bicycles.

For example, if a company that manufactures bicycles knows that its two-tone bicycles cost more than its solid color bicycles, it could begin to analyze the real cost that is associated with the bicycles. The company could create a driver that measures man-hours used to paint both types of bicycles, as well as the square footage in the building that is used to paint two-tone versus solid color bicycles. By using these resources as drivers, the company sees the actual cost that is associated with each bicycle.

You set up driver definitions to specify from which tables the system retrieves information to calculate volumes and quantities. Drivers are user defined. They vary based on the types of costs that you want to analyze. Drivers are an integral part of the assignment tool in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Advanced Cost Accounting. Because JD Edwards EnterpriseOne systems are completely integrated, drivers can access information quickly and accurately from other systems, such as the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Sales Order, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Procurement, and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Work Order systems.

4.2 Understanding Driver Setup

This section provides an overview of driver setup and lists prerequisites.

4.2.1 Driver Setup

For automatic drivers, use the Driver Definition program (P1630) to create and update driver definitions and calculation instructions. You can define how to calculate driver volumes at the summary level.

For manual drivers, use the Driver Definition program to update a definition for information that is not maintained in the system. For example, you can define drivers to identify man-hours or square footage for a particular department.

After you run update information, use driver calculations to automatically calculate the cost of driver volumes or to enter drivers manually. During allocations or reassignments, drivers logically reassign costs to activities, processes, and cost objects.

4.3 Prerequisite

Before you complete the tasks in this section, review the processing option in the Driver Volume Revisions program (P1632) to determine whether the default for the driver definition is automatic or manual.

4.4 Defining Automatic Drivers

The system calculates automatic driver volumes by searching a specific table, such as the Sales Order Detail File table (F4211) or the Work Order Master File table (F4801), counting the number of records that meet certain criteria or summarizing the value in a specific field. Most drivers that are used in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Advanced Cost Accounting are calculated automatically because the required information is usually available in these tables.

This section discusses how to define automatic drivers.

4.4.1 Form Used to Define Automatic Drivers

Form Name FormID Navigation Usage
Work with Drivers W1630A Drivers (G1614), Driver Definition Locate and delete automatic drivers.
Enter/Change Driver Definitions W1630B Click Add on the Work with Drivers form. Add automatic drivers.

4.4.2 Defining Automatic Drivers

Access the Enter/Change Driver Definitions form.

Driver Code

Enter a code that identifies JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Advanced Cost Accounting drivers.

Driver Calculation Method

Enter a user defined code (16/CM) that specifies whether this driver is calculated automatically by the Driver

Calculations program (R1632) or entered manually by the user. Values are:

1: The driver is calculated automatically.

2: The driver is entered manually.

Result Type

Enter a user defined code (16/RT) used to classify the driver volume that the system calculates. Values are:

1: Amounts

2: Number of transactions

3: Units

4: Percent

5: Duration


Note:

Depending on the result type, the system may display additional fields.

Based on Table

Enter the number of a table used in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Advanced Cost Accounting when adding a driver on the Driver Definition program (P1630). The table forms the basis for driver calculations through JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Advanced Cost Accounting, including determining which fields are available to use when doing driver calculations.

Determines what the automatic driver calculations will be based on.

To enable table options, select Tables by Function from the Form menu.

Data Item

Enter a code that identifies and defines a unit of information. It is an alphanumeric code up to 8 characters long that does not allow blanks or special characters such as %,&, or +. You create new data items using system codes 55-59. You cannot change the alias.

Enter a data item that exists in the based on table in this field.

Calculation Function

Enter an operator that defines how to calculate drivers in the Cost Management system. Values are:

COUNT: Determine the number of records found in the based-on file.

ADD: Sum the contents of the data item that is specified in the driver rule.

Date Data Item

Enter the name of a data item. In driver calculations, the field must be completed with a data item that represents a date.

Related Table 1

Enter the name of a table. In driver calculations, this is the name of a table that is used to define the contents of a cost object.


Note:

If the related table is the same as the table that is specified on the Calculation Details tab, leave this field blank. If the related table is Address Book Master (F0101), you must enter a value for the address book data item.

Field 1

Enter the generic name of a data item. In driver calculations, the Data Item 1 field refers to the values that the system loads into the cost object fields.

Type 1

Enter a code that specifies the type of cost object and the type of editing. Types are stored in the Cost Object Types table (F1620) and can be added or modified using the Cost Object Types program (P1620).

4.5 Defining Manual Drivers

You must separately enter constant and variable information for each manual driver calculation. Manual drivers are those calculations that are based on information that is not found in any of the database tables in the system. For example, if the resource driver is square feet by department, you must enter this specific information.

This section gives an overview of manual drivers and discusses how to define manual drivers.

4.5.1 Form Used to Define Manual Drivers

Form Name FormID Navigation Usage
Enter/Change Driver Definitions W1630B Drivers (G1614), Driver Definition

Click Add on the Work with Drivers form.

Define manual drivers.

4.5.2 Defining Manual Drivers

Access the Enter/Change Driver Definitions form.

To define manual drivers:

  1. Complete the Driver Code, Description, Driver Calculation Method, and Result Type fields on the Enter/Change Driver Definitions form.

    The calculation method must be manual.

    Depending on the result type, the system might display additional fields.

    The system does not allow you to enter calculation details.

  2. Complete the Item Number, Activity, Subledger Type, and Subledger fields to indicate the level of summarization on the Cost Objects tab.

  3. Complete the Type 1,Type 2,Type 3, and Type 4 fields to indicate the level of summarization (optional).

  4. Select the Category Codes tab and complete the Value 1,Value 2,Value 3,Value 4, and Value 5 fields to identify category codes.

  5. Click OK.