Configuring Demand Management

This chapter covers the following topics:

Overview of the Configuration Process

Demand Management works with supply chain planning data from external systems. Ultimately, those systems own most of the data; and Demand Management is responsible only for producing unconstrained forecasts for future demand and for generating tactical, operational, and strategic business plans.

Demand Management is designed for minimum amount of configuration, and comes with pre-seeded worksheets, users and groups, and workflows. To configure Demand Management, the general steps are as follows:

  1. Demand Management utilizes users and user groups to facilitate the forecast review process. Pre-seeded users are provided in the Business Modeler. The Administrator should modify these users to reflect the names of the analysts, forecast approver and administrator. Forecasts from each analyst require approval from the final approver.

    In deployments using multiple lines of business, the Administrator should also assign product lines, families, and so on to analysts using Demantra User Security settings in the Demantra Business Modeler.

    For more information, see Configuring Demand Management Users.

  2. Demand Management uses the Archive Forecast, Demand Forecast, and Planning Group workflows to facilitate approval process. These workflows must be configured to include the user names of your Demand Analysts, Demand Manager, and Demand Administrators.

    For more information, see Configuring Approval Workflows.

  3. By default, Demand Management uses a weekly base time resolution with a 4-4-5 weekly fiscal calendar hierarchy. This time resolution is fully configurable and may be changed to either days or months. As well, you can configure forecast start day, which is set to Monday by default.

    For more information, see Configuring the Base Time Unit and Time Bucket Start Day.

  4. You can optionally configure the Demand Management worksheets to display item short names and descriptions.

    For more information, see Configuring the Item Short Name and Description.

  5. You can configure how Demantra handles future data using the MaxSalesGen parameter. This parameter determines how data after the end of history is populated. Demand Management uses a configurable MaxSalesGen parameter to control how the EP_LOAD process loads future data.

    For more information, see Controlling System and Engine Maximum Sales Dates.

  6. Demand Management uses automated workflows to import sales and other referenced data from external corporate systems. These workflows provide integration to external systems such as Oracle EnterpriseOne and EBusiness Suite. The actual workflows used depend on your ERP system configuration, and must be modified. As well, you may be required to make certain changes within your ERP environment.

Configuring Demand Management Users

During installation, Demand Management adds pre-seeded users and user groups that are required by the application and used for the approval process. During the configuration process, administrators should modify these users and groups to reflect the analysts and approvers who will be performing approval tasks. The Administrator also edits a pre-seeded Planning Group Workflow to specify the ID of the Final Approver who will be notified when the Analysts forecasts are ready for review. For more information on modifying user details, see Creating or Modifying a User in the Oracle Demantra Implementation Guide.

Demand Management adds the users Analyst 1-5, to the system; these users belong to the new user group Demand Analyst. Admin1 and Manager1 are also added. These users are used within the Demand Management workflows. For more information on configuring these workflows, see Configuring Approval Workflows.

Filtering User Data

Note: Predefined users come with the ability to see all the data loaded into the system. If there is a requirement to limit this, a data filter can be applied to the users. For more information on filtering user data, see “Creating or Modifying a User” in the Oracle Demantra Implementation Guide.

  1. Log on to the Business Modeler.

  2. From the Security menu, choose Create/Modify User.

    The Create/Modify User dialog box appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  3. Double-click the user icon for which you want to filter user data.

  4. The User wizard appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  5. Click the Next button until the Select User Filters dialog box appears. This dialog box lets you filter the data that the user can see; specifically, you control which levels and members the user can see.

    the picture is described in the document text

  6. Filter the data that the user can see, as follows:

    • Click a level in the left side of the dialog box and drag it to the box on the right. Or double-click a level in the left side.

    • Now specify which members of this level the user can see. To do so, click a member in the list, and then click the right arrow button. Or double-click the member you want to filter out.

    The system moves the selected members to the box on the lower right side.

    the picture is described in the document text

  7. Repeat the preceding steps for each filter you want to add. Each filter automatically limits the choices available in subsequent filters.

  8. When you have appropriately filtered data for the user, click Finish.

Configuring Approval Workflows

Oracle Demand Management uses the Archive Forecast, Demand Forecast and Planning Group workflows to automate the approval process. These workflows are pre-seeded to manage batch forecasting and facilitate the forecast approval process.

The workflows should be scheduled to run regularly by the Administrator. Specifically, the workflows:

Although these workflows do not generally require customization, the Administrator must ensure the Demand Analyst group contains the user names of the users who modify the forecast and the Manager1 and Admin1 users have also been specified.

Note: Before configuring your approval workflows, you should configure the users you plan to use for approvals.

Configuring the Demand Forecast Workflow

The Demand Forecast workflow runs when the EP_LOAD process has completed, and resets the forecast approval status, generates a new forecast, and initiates the approval process.

  1. Log into the Workflow Manager.

  2. Locate the Demand Forecast workflow, and click the corresponding Edit button.

    The Edit Schema window opens, showing the Demand Forecast definition.

    the picture is described in the document text

  3. Double-click the NotifyForecastFinalApproved user step.

    The User Step’s Properties dialog box appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  4. In the User drop-down list box, choose the Demand Management Administrator account that you want to notify when the forecast has been approved. The default is Admin1.

  5. Click OK.

  6. In the Workflow Editor, click the Save button.

Configuring the Planning Group Workflow

The Planning Group workflow is responsible for sending notifications to Demand Analysts and Demand Managers when forecasts have been approved or a set time-out condition is met.

  1. Log into the Workflow Manager.

  2. Locate the Planning Group workflow, and click the corresponding Edit button.

    The Edit Schema window opens, showing the Planning Group definition.

    the picture is described in the document text

  3. Double-click the NotifyForecastComplete group step.

    The User Step’s Properties dialog box appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  4. Do one of the following:

    • From the Users list, select the users that you want to notify when the forecast is generated. To select more than one user, press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking users.

    • From the Groups list, select the user group that you want to notify when the forecast is generated. To select more than one user, press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking groups.

  5. Click the Time tab.

  6. The Group Step’s Properties dialog box appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  7. In the Manager field, specify the user to notify if analysts’ reviews are not completed on time. The default user is Manager1.

    By default, the workflow’s timeout is set to five days and the alert is set to four days. Depending on your planning cycle, you may want to increase or decrease this value.

  8. In the Timer section, enter a value (in days) at which point the workflow expires. When this time is reached, the user specified in the NotifyForecastAnalysisNotComplete step is initiated and the manager is notified that some of the Analysts have not reviewed their forecasts.

  9. In the Alert Time section, enter a value (in days) at which point the workflow should send a reminder.

  10. Click OK.

  11. Double-click the NotifyForecastAnalysisComplete User Step.

    The User Step’s Properties dialog box appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  12. In the User drop-down list box, choose the user that you want to notify when all approvals are completed; the default is Manager1.

  13. Click OK.

  14. Double-click the NotifyForecastAnalysisNotComplete User step.

    The User Step’s Properties dialog box appears.

  15. In the User drop-down list box, choose the user that is to be notified that the Analysts’ reviews are complete before the specified timeout. The default value is Manager1.

  16. Click OK.

  17. In the Workflow Editor, click the Save button.

Configuring the Approve Forecast Workflow

The Approve Forecast workflow rolls forecast data, based on the engine profiles configured and activated in the Business Modeler.

  1. Log in to the Workflow Manager.

  2. Locate the Approve Forecast workflow, and click the corresponding Edit button.

    The Edit Schema window opens, showing the Approve Forecast definition.

  3. Double-click the User step.

  4. In the User drop-down list box, enter the user name for the Demand Administrator that you want to notify when the forecast is rolled; the default is Admin1.

  5. Click OK.

  6. In the Workflow Editor, click the Save button.

Configuring Approval Workflows for Multiple User Groups

If there is more than one group of Analysts and Managers (Final Approver) that review and modify the forecast, then the Administrator must change the pre-seeded workflows to handle the additional groups. Specifically, you must:

  1. Duplicate Planning Group workflow with the following modifications for each additional group:

    1. Log in to the Workflow Manager.

    2. Edit the Planning Group workflow.

    3. In the Planning Group workflow's Group Step dialog box, add the additional group and users that are part of the approval process.

    4. Click the Time tab.

    5. Check the Manager check box and select the Manager’s ID from the list of values.

    6. Modify Timeout settings, if required.

    7. Click OK.

  2. Modify the Demand Forecast workflow to add additional ApproveForecast steps:

    1. Log in the Workflow Manager.

    2. Edit the Demand Forecast workflow.

    3. Double click the Custom Step icon to add an additional custom step.

    4. In the Class Name field, enter the class name. This should be the same as in the original step. (For example, com.demantra.workflow.step.WorkflowLauncherStep).

    5. In the Parameters section, click Add.

    6. Add the schema_id parameter, and assign it the same value as the schema_id parameter in the duplicate Planning Group workflow created in step 1.

    7. Add the user_id parameter, and assign it the same value as the user_id parameter in the duplicate Planning Group workflow created in step 1.

    8. Add the sync parameter, and assign it the same value as the sync parameter in the duplicate Planning Group workflow created in step 1.

    9. Click OK.

Configuring the Base Time Unit and Time Bucket Start Day

The default Demand Management time hierarchy is a 4-4-5 (week) fiscal calendar. You can change this configuration to suit your business needs. If you change the base time unit from Week to either Day or Month, then all worksheets and integration profiles need to be re-configured. The data model must be upgraded for the changes to take effect.

The base time bucket start day is Mondays by default, with the week ending Sunday. The Demand Administrator may change this base time unit after initial installation using the Business Modeler’s Data Model wizard.

Note: This change will affect all users in the system and should be coordinated through the Demantra system administrator. In addition, changing this setting will clear all time dependant information in the system and require a full historical refresh.

If the time bucket is changed from weekly to either daily or monthly, then the corresponding series has to be created for the lagged forecast series used in the Waterfall Analysis worksheets. For example, it may no longer be appropriate to use the last 13 lagged forecast cycles as a base for the worksheet.

Changing the Base Time Unit and Time Bucket Start Day

  1. Log into the Business Modeler. If you do not have access to this, contact your Demantra system administrator.

  2. From the Data Model menu, choose Open Data Model.

    The Open Existing Data Model/Template dialog appears

  3. Double-click the Demand Management model icon.

    The Data Wizard appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  4. Click the Next button twice.

    The Select Time Bucket dialog box appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  5. In the Time Bucket field, choose the level at which you want your time buckets.

  6. In the First Day of Week field, choose the day of the week on which you want to start the time bucket.

  7. Click the Next button until you reach the Finish Wizard dialog box.

    the picture is described in the document text

  8. Click the Build Model button.

    The Build/Upgrade Model dialog box appears.

    the picture is described in the document text

  9. Now you can select whether to completely replace the existing data model or just modify it:

    • If you want to completely replace the existing data model, choose Build New Model and select one of the, following options:

      • Replace Series: Click this to completely replace the existing series definitions.

      • Keep Series: Click this if you do not want to make any changes to the existing series. This option is suitable if you are in the process of working on the data model but do not want to spend the time updating the series definitions right now.

        Note: This option will delete all worksheets, integrations and other aspects of the Demand Management application.

    • Alternatively, if you are just modifying an existing data model, select Upgrade Existing Model. In this case, if you have made changes to the base time unit, select Run Time Bucket.

  10. Click OK.

    The process of building the data model begins. This may take a few minutes.

Configuring the Item Short Name and Description

Use the following procedure to configure your worksheets to display item short names (for example, AS63311) and descriptions (for example, Vision Pad Gold Item 1).

  1. Log on to the Collaborator Workbench.

  2. In My Tasks, click the worksheet to which you want to add item short names and descriptions.

    Or if a worksheet is currently open, click File > Open. Click the worksheet to which you want to add item short names and descriptions, and then click Open.

  3. From the Worksheets menu, choose Layout Designer.

    The Worksheet Designer appears.

  4. Click the Aggregation button.

    the picture is described in the document text

  5. Do one or more of the following to add item short names and descriptions to the worksheet:

    • To display the item short name, select Item.

    • To display the item description, select Item Description.

  6. Click the Filters button.

  7. Do one or more of the following to add item short names and descriptions to the worksheet:

    • To display the item short name, select Item.

    • To display the item description, select Item Description.

  8. Click OK.

  9. From the Data menu, choose Rerun.

Controlling System and Engine Maximum Sales Dates

Traditionally, only historical information was loaded into Demantra using the EP_LOAD process. All future information (that is, forecast data) is loaded using integration profiles or other loading mechanisms. This mechanism controlled the dates marked as end of history for the Forecasting Engine and the Collaborator Workbench.

With the addition of the MaxSalesGen parameter, you can now use the EP_LOAD process to load future dates into Demantra. This parameter determines how data after the end of history is populated.

Note: When populating the MaxSalesGen parameter, its important to enter all dates in the MM-DD-YYYY 00:00:00 format.

Populating the MaxSalesGen Parameter

  1. Log into the Demantra Business Modeler.

  2. From the Parameters menu, choose System Parameters.

    The System Parameters dialog box appears.

  3. Click the System tab.

    the picture is described in the document text

  4. In the MaxSalesGen field, enter one of the following values:

    • Null: If you leave this parameter blank, Demantra compares the last date loaded into the system to the current last system date. The latest of the two dates is set to the last date of history.

      Use this setting when only historical dates are being loaded.

    • Sysdate: Use this value to base the last date of history on the period containing today’s date. For example, in a weekly system with weeks beginning Monday, if run on Feb 16th 2007 the last date of history would be set to the previous Monday 2/12/2007. For a monthly system run on the same date the end of history would be set to 2/1/2007.

      Use this value where the system date should match current date while allowing future information to be loaded.

    • 01-01-1900 00:00:00: Use this date to set the end of history to the last date in the sales_data table where the actual_quantity column>0.

      Use this value in production environments where future information is being loaded but there is a lag in historical information availability. It is critical that the data used to drive the engine be stored in the actual_quantity column. Note that using this setting can potentially increase loading times for large deployments.

    • Any date other than 01-01-1900 00:00:00: Any other date will cause the last date of history to be based on the entered date. In a weekly system with weeks beginning Monday, if date entered is Jan 16th 2007 the last date of history would be set to the previous Monday 1/15/2007. For a monthly system run with the same parameter setting the end of history would be set to 1/1/2007.

      Use this value to test systems where the desired end of history date does not match executed date. Allows users full control on dates assigned as end of history and beginning of forecast.

  5. Click the Save button.

Purging Historical Sales Data

When purging historical sales data, Demantra uses the following operators to select date ranges:

Note: When choosing date ranges to purge, the collection date range should align with the time unit start date.