Demantra Demand Management to EBS Service Parts Planning Integration

This chapter describes the integration between Oracle Demantra Demand Management and EBS Service Parts Planning.

This chapter covers the following topics:

Introduction

Service supply chains often have millions of parts that are planned for, and therefore an even higher number of planned orders. As a result, manually releasing planned orders to execution is often not an option. At the same time, automatically releasing all planned orders within the release timefence is not a good idea, since the planner may want to be alerted in specific scenarios (for example, when a single order is for a very large value) before the order is released. A planner may want to halt the auto-release of planned orders on an item in case of deviations in the forecast for the item. Some examples would be when the forecast has a very high error or the Leading Indicator forecast is tracking better than the statistical forecast. In such cases, the planner would want to review the forecast, make changes if required, and release planned orders only after incorporating these changes.

Demantra Demand Management is capable of providing the metrics that a planner can use to determine if any unusual scenarios may warrant their attention. SPP is integrated with Demantra Demand Management so that service parts planning information can be sent to Demantra for forecast generation and fine-tuning.

Three Service Parts Forecasting worksheets have been created specifically to support the modification and fine-tuning of the forecast. They include:

  1. SPF: Analyze Forecast Organization Latest Revision

  2. SPF: Analyze Forecast Latest Revision

  3. SPF: Analyze Organization Base Model Spare

After fine-tuning the worksheets, new forecasts can be generated or simulated until a more acceptable forecast is arrived at using engine profiles that specifically support the service parts forecasting function. Then, the planner can return the Demantra service parts forecast and metrics to SPP for planning, analysis or to drive the stopping of the auto-release process. The metrics returned include:

SPP supports query-based auto-release, wherein, the planner can define queries and release/not release records returned by the query. Examples:

The integration between SPP and Demantra Demand Management provides improved information upon which planners can base release decisions, thereby potentially eliminating costly errors.

Integration Points

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For more background information about the integration between Demantra Demand Management and the E-Business Suite, please see Demantra Demand Management to EBS Integration.

Business Process

  1. Starting in Service Parts Planning (SPP) in the E-Business Suite, planner collects history data for Demantra Demand Planning. The data is loaded into the Demantra staging tables by the import workflows.

    If the planner has history data in a legacy application, this can be collected for forecasting in Demantra Demand Planning in the same way.

  2. Within Demantra Demand Management, planner can open three SPF worksheets. These include:

    • SPF: Analyze Forecast Organization Latest Revision

    • SPF: Analyze Forecast Latest Revision

    • SPF: Analyze Organization Base Model Spare

  3. Planner makes modifications to these worksheets to fine-tune the forecast. Once an acceptable forecast has been arrived at using the engine profiles that support service parts forecasting, the new forecast and metrics can be published to Service Parts Planning on EBS.

  4. In SPP, the planner includes the published Demantra forecast as a Demand Schedule in the SPP plan options. This is used for parts planning.

Service Parts Planning Navigator Menus

From the Service Supply Chain Planner, Standard responsibility, the Service Parts Forecasting (Demantra) menu is available for the integration between Service Parts Planning and Demantra. The options are as follows:

Menu Sub Menu Description
Service Parts Forecasting (Demantra) Service Parts Forecasting Demantra Workbench Launches the Demantra Collaborator Workbench.
  Demantra Workflow Manager Launches the Demantra Workflow Manager.
  Usage History - Self Service Launches legacy collections of historical usage data.
  Shipment History - Self Service Launches legacy collections of the historical shipment data.
  Forecasting Data - EBS Launches the collection of forecasting data from EBS to Demantra.

Integration Considerations

Determining the Zone of an Install Base Item

The Oracle Install Base has information on the install location where the item-instance is installed. Based on the zipcode of the install base item, the region that it falls under and the zone that it belongs to can be determined. Sourcing rules then specify the organization from which each zone is serviced, and Demantra generates a forecast at that organization. See Determining the Organization to Service an Install Base Item for more information.

Determining the Install Base Under Contracts

The install base covered by contracts is computed as part of the collection process. The install base and contracts information is read and evaluated. The contracts data is then overlaid on the install base to determine which of the install base is covered by contracts and pass that information on to Demantra.

Based on the time-phased install base, and the contracts that are effective at various points of time, the install base that is under contract at any point of time is determined and collected.

Determining the Organization to Service an Install Base Item

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Typically in the service supply chain, a metropolitan distribution center (DC) services each zone. The planner therefore likes to see the install base (under contract) serviced by a DC to view the forecast for parts required at that DC.

The specification of which DC services which zone is performed through sourcing rules in SPP. This helps determine the organization that each install base item will be serviced from.

This process takes in an assignment set as a parameter. This assignment set has global sourcing rules that specify the organizations from which demands in each zone would source spares. The program inspects the sourcing for each zone and determines the DC that will service the install base under that zone.

Usage History

Usage History collects information regarding the repair work order product that the part is used for.

Note: This collection process is provided for forecasting in Demantra, and is separate from the collection of Usage History for SPP Inline forecasting.

Determining Failure Rates

The product-part combinations (based on the manufacturing BOM, serviceable items’ category set and usage history) required to generate a forecast in Demantra is derived from the SPP collection process. If usage history is available, Demantra considers the usage history and install base under contract for items belonging to the category set specified by the MSC: Category Set for Serviceable Items profile option, and based on these factors, determines the failure rate of each part. The MSC: History Basis for Failure Rate profile option specifies whether the usage history is depot or field service.

It should be noted that the failure rate is at a product part level, across organizations and zones. The failure rate is then aggregated on the usage history and install base under contracts across organizations.

For products that are newly introduced, where there is no usage history, the planner manually inserts the failure rate in the Demantra worksheet.

Initial Demantra Setup

A number of engine and non-engine parameters need to be configured to support Service Parts Forecasting.

Non-Engine Parameters

See Non-Engine Parameters for more details.

Engine Parameters

See Engine Parameters for more details.

Initial SPP/EBS Setup

Some setup is required in SPP to integration Service Parts Planning with Demantra including:

Configuring SPP Profile Options

The following profile options must be set:

For information about setting profile options, see Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator's Guide - Maintenance.

MSC: Category Set for Serviceable Items Profile

This profile specifies the category of items that are enabled for maintenance, to be forecast and planned for. This profile option provides support for legacy collections. This profile specifies the category of items that are enabled for maintenance, to be forecast and planned for. This profile option provides support for legacy collections.

MSC: Collection Time Window for Install Base Under Contracts

This profile specifies the timeframe defined for the install base under contracts history collection. This should not be equal to the default value (12 months).

MSC: History Basis for Failure Rate

This profile option determines which history basis needs to be sent to Demantra. This information is used as the basis for the computation of failure rates. This profile can be set to “Depot Usage History” or “Field Service History.”

Demantra considers the usage history for items that are enabled for service maintenance/replacement (belonging to the category set defined in the MSC:Category Set for Serviceable Items profile option) and generates a forecast for them.

MSD_SPF: History Basis for Failure Rate Computation

This profile option specifies which historical data is used to determine the failure rate. The options are Field Service or Depot Repair & Field Service.

MSD_SPF: Organization Containing Generic BOM for Service Parts Forecasting

This profile option specifies the organization from which the BOM for Service Parts Forecasting is derived.

Setting Up Instances

An instance is a database and a set of applications. Setup Instances is run before running Standard Collections to specify the Instances from which Standard Collections obtains data.

Oracle Advanced Planning can plan a single instance or multiple instances. For information about setting up instances, see "Instances" in the Cross-Instance Planning chapter of the Oracle Service Parts Planning Implementation and User's Guide.

Running Standard Collections

"Standard" Collections refers to the Service Supply Chain Planner concurrent program for collecting new or changed information from the E-Business Suite to the Oracle Data Store (ODS). For information about collections, see "Starting Planning Data Pull and Planning ODS Load" in the "Collecting Source Data" chapter of the Oracle Service Parts Planning Implementation and User's Guide.

Important: You must set a variety of profile options before proceeding with the collection. See Configuring SPP Profile Options for more information.

  1. Sign on using the Service Supply Chain Planner.

  2. Navigate to the Planning Data Collection window by selecting Collections: Oracle Systems > Standard Collection.

    The Planning Data Collection window appears.

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  3. This window shows that the collections process consists of two sequentially executed concurrent programs. The first program, Planning Data Pull, copies information from the source instance into the APS staging tables on the planning server. The second program, Planning ODS Load, copies information from the APS staging tables into the operation data store on the planning server.

  4. To select the Data Pull Parameters to use during Standard Collections, select the Parameters field for the Planning Data Pull program.

    The Planning Data Pull Parameters window appears.

  5. Complete the Parameters information as follows:

    Parameter Value
    Approved Supplier Lists (Supplier Capacities) Yes, replace all values
    ATP Rules Yes
    Bill of Materials/Routings/Resources Yes
    Bills of Resources Yes
    Calendars Yes
    Demand Classes Yes
    End Item Substitution Yes
    Forecasts Yes
    Items Yes
    Key Performance Indicator Targets Yes
    Master Demand Schedules Yes
    Master Production Schedules No
    On Hand Yes
    Planning Parameters Yes
    Planners Yes
    PO Receipts No
    Projects/Tasks Yes
    Purchase Orders/Purchase Requisitions Yes
    Reservations Yes
    Resources Availability Regenerate and collect data
    Safety Stock Yes
    Sales Orders Yes
    Sourcing History No
    Sourcing Rules Yes
    Subinventories Yes
    Supplier Responses Yes
    Suppliers/Customers/Orgs Yes
    Transportation Details Yes
    Unit Numbers Yes
    Units of Measure Yes
    User Company Association Create Users and Enable Users
    User Supplies and Demands Yes
    Work in Process Yes
    Sales Channel No
    Fiscal Calendar No
    Internal Repair Orders No
    External Repair Orders No
    Payback Demand/Supply Yes
    Currency Conversion Yes
    Delivery Details No
    Install Base under Contracts (months) Yes -- Install Base under Contract information is collected and used by Demantra to create forecasts.
  6. Click OK

  7. On the Request form, click Submit.

For more information about each of the parameters, please see the Service Parts Planning User Guide.

Importing SPP Data into Demantra

There are two sources of data when importing SPP data into Demantra. They are:

EBS

  1. From the Service Supply Chain Planner responsibility, run Forecasting Data-EBS.

    The Collection Utility: Parameters form appears.

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  2. From the Parameters screen, enter the following information:

    Parameter Description
    Source Instance Enter or select the source (target) instance from which the data stream is to be collected.
    Collection Group Enter or select the appropriate collection group for the data to be sent to Demantra. Select All to transit data for all enabled organizations You can run collections for a named group of organizations. The default value is all enabled organizations.
    Date Range Type Select Absolute or Rolling from the LOV menu. When this parameter is set to Absolute, the Date From and Date To fields define the time period for which history data is collected. When this parameter is set to Rolling, the History Collection Window field value defines the number of days for which history data is collected.
    Collection Window: (optional) Define the collection window for the data or set the From Date and Used Date fields to.
    • From Date (Date From): (optional) Enter the start date of collected data history stream. This field and the Used Date fields are set only when the Collection Window field is not defined.

    • Used Date (Date To): (optional) Enter the end date for the collected data. This field and the From Date fields are set only when the Collection Window field is not defined.

    Shipment History Collects the shipment history data and sends it to Demantra for forecasting.
    Usage History Collects the Usage History with details of the product that the part is being used for, and sends it to Demantra for forecasting.
    Install Base under Contracts Takes the Install Base under contract that has been collected as specified above, and sends it to Demantra for forecasting.
    Sales Forecast Although sales forecast information is already available in Demand Management, if selected, this option will transfer the sales forecast from Supply Chain Management to Demantra for use in spare parts forecasting.
    Launch Download Indicates whether the download is launched. Available options:
    • Yes to enable the launch of the SPF Full Download work flow in Demantra

    • No to disable download launch

  3. Once all parameters are set, click OK to start importing SPP data into Demantra.

    If you have chosen to launch the download, the SPF Full Download workflow begins within Demantra to:

    • Purge any previous download data

    • Load Item Master and Location Master into the Demantra staging tables.

    • Launch the SPF GL Data Download workflow that loads Item Master, Location Master, Spares BOM, Spares BOM and Spares Usage data into the Demantra data table.

    If you chose to not launch the download and want to run the SPF Full Download workflow manually, see Launching the Import Workflows from the Demantra Workflow Manager.

  4. Launch the Service Parts Forecasting Demantra Workbench from the Service Supply Chain Planner responsibility, or launch the Demantra Collaborator Workbench independently. When the SPF Full Download workflow is complete, a message appears to indicate that the import was successful in the Collaborator Workbench. Then you can access the three preseeded worksheets to finetune the service parts forecast until you are satisfied with the results.

Legacy Data

Legacy collections are supported for Usage and Shipment History for Demantra. Legacy collections of Install Base under Contracts are not currently supported.

  1. From the Service Supply Chain Planner responsibility, run Service Parts Forecasting (Demantra): Usage History – Self Service (or Shipment History—Self Service).

    The Load SRP Streams form appears.

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  2. File Name: Specify the legacy data file. In case of multiple files, the planner can upload a zip file with the individual .dat files.

    Note: You can download templates for individual .dat files from this page.

  3. Launch: Check this option if you would like to begin the download. If you are collecting usage history, the SPF Full Download workflow is launched. If you are collecting shipment history, the GL Data Download workflow is launched.

    If you chose to not launch the import workflows from this form, you can launch them manually. See Launching the Import Workflows from the Demantra Workflow Manager for more information.

  4. Instance: Choose from the available instances.

  5. Click Start Load Now to load the legacy data file(s) now.

Launching the Import Workflows from the Demantra Workflow Manager

If you did not choose to launch the download through the Parameter form, you can start the import workflows manually.

To launch the import workflows from the Demantra Workflow Manager:

  1. From the Service Supply Chain Planner responsibility, run Demantra Workflow Manager. The Demantra Workflow Management form appears.

  2. From the View according to Schema Groups field, choose Spare Forecasting. All the workflows associated with the SPP to Demantra integration are displayed.

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    There are two import workflows associated with the SPP to Demantra integration:

    • SPF Full Download – if data to be collected includes item, location or install base information.

    • SPF GL Data Download – if data to be collected includes only spares BOM, spare usage and shipment history.

  3. Select the applicable download workflow and click the Start button to import the SPP data into Demantra. A message appears in the Collaborator Workbench when the import is complete.

Service Parts Forecasting in Demantra

Use the SPF worksheets provided in the Demantra Collaborator Workbench to review and fine-tune the service parts forecast.

Service parts forecasts can be run either in batch mode or simulated. The following engine profiles are specifically configured for service parts forecasting:

Batch Engine Profile Simulation Engine Profile Description
Forecast Install Base Simulation Install Base This engine profile supports the forecasting of install base under contract.
Forecast Spares Demand Simulation Spares Demand This engine profile supports forecasting of spares at an organization.

In batch mode, the engine profile can be specified through the Engine Administrator application, workflow, or URL. When running a simulation in a worksheet, the engine profile can be specified in the Simulation dialog box.

For more information about SPF Forecasting, see the Demantra Demand Management User Guide.

Exporting SPF Data from Demantra to Service Parts Planning in EBS

Exporting SPF data from Demantra can be accomplished either by running a full upload or exporting only changes that planners make in Demantra worksheets.

Running Full Upload

The Demantra SPF data can be fully uploaded to SPP, typically once per planning cycle. The SPF Upload Data workflow, which uploads forecast and metrics to SPP, can be scheduled or run directly from the Workflow Manager.

Running Interim Uploads

After you have fine-tuned and simulated a service parts forecast and you are satisfied with the results, you can export the changes to the forecast and metrics to SPP.

  1. From each of the preseeded SPF worksheets, you can run the Publish SPF Changes method. Access the method from each SPF worksheet by right-clicking on a level (SPF, SPF Base Model, SPF Child, SPF Latest Revision or SPF Parent Item), then choosing Methods. This method checks the last export date and compares it to the last update date. It then does the following:

    • If it is the first time data is been exported, the method then runs the SPF Upload Data.

    • If data has been updated since the last export, the method runs SPF Incremental Upload, exporting only modified data.

    These workflows upload the forecast and metrics to the Demantra staging tables.

  2. In SPP, the planner includes the published Demantra forecast as a Demand Schedule in the SPP plan options.

Integration Workflows and Integration Profiles

Multiple workflows and integration profiles facilitate the integration between SPP and Demantra Demand Management.

Workflows can be launched in multiple ways. Workflows can be are started by a method, scheduled, started by another workflow, or launched directly from the Demantra Workflow Manager.

For the integration between SPP and Demantra Demand Management, workflows include transfer steps that execute integration interface profiles. These integration interface profiles define the data, levels and intermediary tables involved with the integrations. Some workflows include multiple transfer steps that are run in a specific order. Although these workflows and integration interface profiles are preconfigured, both the workflows and integration interfaces can be modified to better suit your integration requirements.

SPF Workflows

The following workflows are used with SPP to Demantra Demand Management integration:

Workflow Description
Calculate Spares Forecast Recalculates Failure Rate % for each Spare across all Base Models and Orgs.
Calculate Spares Forecast for LOB Recalculates Failure Rate % for each Spare across all Base Models and Orgs in a line of business.
Export Consensus Forecast for SPF Exports forecast and metrics to Demantra staging tables. This workflow is used to export the sales forecast to SPP to help predict the future install base.
Import SPF Base Model Imports the level IMPORT_SPF_BASE_MODEL. This workflow is called by the SPF GL Data Download workflow.
Import SPF Child Imports the level IMPORT_SPF_CHILD. This workflow is called by the SPF GL Data Download workflow.
Import SPF Data Imports the usage information and then configures and runs proport. This workflow is called by the SPF GL Data Download workflow.
Import SPF Latest Revision Imports the level IMPORT_SPF_LATEST_REVISION. This workflow is called by the SPF GL Data Download workflow.
Import SPF Level Imports the level IMPORT_SPF_LEVEL. This workflow is called by the SPF GL Data download workflow.
Run Forecast Install Base Checks whether the engine is configured to run on Linux or Windows and executes the engine appropriately with the Forecast Install Base engine profile.
Run Forecast Spares Demand Checks whether the engine is configured to run on Linux or Windows and executes the engine appropriately with the Forecast Spares Demand engine profile.
SPF Calc Forecast Accuracy The seeded workflow is used to calculate the error and variability associated with Service Parts Forecasting by running the APPPROC_CALC_ACCURACY procedure. This workflow can be called ad-hoc when accuracy measures should be generated. The seeded workflow is configured to aggregate information at levels Organization and Latest revision for the last four periods of history. The first three series pairs generate an accuracy measure for the final, analytical and calculated forecast streams by comparing the latest archived forecast with actual usage values. The last series pairs compare the last two archived versions of the final forecast with each other to determine forecast variability. If additional error calculation processes are required, it is recommended that additional steps be added to this workflow or separate workflows be created to call the APPPROC_CALC_ACCURACY stored procedure.
SPF Full Download This workflow first purges the previous download data, then loads Item Master, Location Master, configures and runs proport, launches the SPF GL Data Download workflow. It then collects data from staging tables, and loads Item Master, Location Master, Spares BOM, Spares Usage at the Base Model/Spare/Org level into the Demantra data tables.
SPF Generate Forecast This workflow does the following:
  • Generates analytical forecast for future install base.

  • Triggers the recalculation of forecasts based on revised install base values.

  • Generates an analytical forecast for spares, and reviews analytical forecast values.


It launches the following workflows in order: Run Forecast Install Base, Calculate Spares Forecast, Run Forecast Spares Demand.
SPF GL Data Download This workflow imports the following levels into Demantra from SPP: SPF Base Model, SPF Child, SPF Latest Revision, SPF Level, SPF Usage Data. It then configures and runs the proport, imports SPF Shipment History and SPF Sales Forecast Data.
SPF Incremental Upload This workflow exports forecast and metrics to external tables for combinations that have changed since the last full or incremental upload.
SPF Upload Data This workflow exports forecast and metrics to external tables for all forecasted combinations.
SPF-Archive Forecast This workflow archives the various forecast series and makes them available for MAPE and Bias metrics calculations.

Service Parts Forecasting Integration Import Profiles

The following import integration profiles support Service Parts Forecasting:

Tip: The integration interface dimensional levels can be modified. See Creating or Modifying an Integration Interface for more details.

SPF

Description: Retrieves SPP data and loads it into the Demantra tables.

Workflow: SPF GL Data Download

Data Profiles

Data Profiles Series/Levels
IMPORT_SPF_DATA Series:
  • SPF Engineering Estimated Failure

  • SPF Item Shipments

  • SPF Item Usage


Output Levels: SPF/Item/Demand Class/Organization/Site/Sales Channel
IMPORT_SPF_SALES_FORECAST_DATA Series: SPF Consensus Forecast
Output Levels: Item
IMPORT_SPF_SHIPMENT_HISTORY Series: SPF Item Shipments
Output Levels: Item/Organization

Level Profiles

Level Profiles Series/Levels
IMPORT_SPF_BASE MODEL Level Profile Parameter: SPF Base Model
IMPORT_SPF_CHILD Level Profile Parameter: SPF Child
IMPORT_SPF_LATEST_REVISION Level Profile Parameter: SPF Latest Revision
IMPORT_SPF_LEVEL Level Profile Parameter: SPF

Purge SPF HIstory Data

Description: Purges SPF historical data.

Workflow: SPF-Archive Forecast

Data Profiles Series/Levels/Filters
Purge Install Base History Series: SPF Install Base Under Contract
Output Level: Organization
Purge Spare History Data
Purges spare usage and shipment history data
Series:
  • SPF Item Shipments

  • SPF Item Usage


Output Level: SPF Base Model
Filtered by Organization: Default Organization

Service Parts Forecasting Integration Export Profiles

The following integration export profiles support Service Parts Forecasting:

SPF Upload Forecast Data & Metrics

Description: Uploads SPF final forecast at item, org levels.

Workflow: SPF Upload Data

Data Profiles Series/Levels/Filters
SPF Upload Final Forecast Series: SPF Final Forecast
Output Levels: Item/Org
Filtered by Organization Type: Spares Forecasting
SPF Upload Metrics Series:
  • SPF Average Demand

  • SPF Forecast MAPE (In Sample)

  • SPF Forecast MAPE (Out of Sample)

  • SPF Forecast Volatility


Output levels: Item/Org
Filtered by Organization Type: Spares Forecasting