Oracle Service Parts Planning Release Notes, Release 12.1.3.9

2. Documentation

This section provides information on the following topics:

2.1 Online Help and PDF Documentation
2.2 Technical Documentation
2.3 Integration Repository
2.4 Release Content Document
2.5 White Papers

2.1 Online Help and PDF Documentation

The consolidated documentation patch for Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1.3 is Patch 9239095. For the product families that are included in Release 12.1.3, the consolidated documentation patches are listed below:

Patch	Product Family
Patch 9400185	Applications Technology (ATG_PF)
Patch 9403775	Customer Relationship Management (CC_PF)
Patch 9403767	Financials (FIN_PF)
Patch 9401789	Human Resources (HR_PF)
Patch 9403759	Procurement (PRC_PF)
Patch 9403770	Projects (PJ_PF)
Patch 9403704	Supply Chain Management (SCM_PF)
Patch 9403751	Value Chain Planning (SCP_PF)

Oracle strongly recommend the installation of these patches.

In addition, the following Oracle Service Parts Planning documentation is available as part of the Online Documentation Library on My Oracle Support (formerly MetaLink) and Oracle Technology Network for this release:

Oracle Service Parts Planning Implementation and User Guide,
Part No. E13338-06, November 2010
HTML | PDF
Oracle Service Parts Planning Implementation and User Guide Supplement,
Part No. E35593-02, July 2013

Documentation patches and Adobe Acrobat PDFs are cumulative; they include updated documentation for all Oracle Service Parts Planning 12.1.3 changes.

2.2 Technical Documentation

The following technical documentation is available:

2.2.1 Data Model Comparison Report

The EBS data model comparison report provides the database object definition changes between two EBS releases to help users to preview the database object definition changes before upgrading their instances from one release to another and understand the impact of the database object changes that may affect the customization or business flows.

For more information about the EBS Data Model Comparison report, see Document 1290886.1, EBS Data Model Comparison Report Overview.

2.2.2 EBS ATG Seed Data Comparison Report

The EBS ATG Seed Data Comparison Report provides the differences between two EBS releases by documenting the seed data changes delivered by the product data loader files (.ldt extension) based on the EBS ATG loader control files (.lct extension). This report enables advanced users to review changes prior to an upgrade.

For more information about the EBS ATG Seed Data Comparison Report, see Document 1327399.1, EBS ATG Seed Data Comparison Report.

2.2.3 EBS File Comparison Report

The EBS File Comparison Report provides a comprehensive comparison of file system artifacts between different Oracle E-Business Suite releases for important file types. As part of Oracle E-Business Suite upgrade planning, this report helps customers to get a clear idea of what is different in a new release (additions, removals and modifications for Oracle E-Business Suite delivered files). The report also covers some special artifacts that span the file system and database (for example, Oracle E-Business Suite delivered Oracle Application Framework (OAF) personalizations, Oracle Application Framework (OAF) based pages, Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher reports and so on).

For more information about the EBS File Comparison Report, see Document 1446430.1, EBS File Comparison Report Overview.

2.3 Integration Repository

The Oracle Integration Repository is a compilation of information about the service endpoints displayed by the Oracle E-Business Suite of applications. It provides a complete catalog of Oracle E-Business Suite's business service interfaces. The tool lets users easily discover and deploy the appropriate business service interface for integration with any system, application, or business partner.

The Oracle Integration Repository is shipped as part of the E-Business Suite. As your instance is patched, the repository is automatically updated with content appropriate for the precise revisions of interfaces in your environment.

You can navigate to the Oracle Integration Repository through Oracle E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway.

2.4 Release Content Document

Refer to Document 561580.1, Release Content Document for information about the features and enhancements for Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1.3.

2.5 White Papers

There are no relevant white papers for this product in this release.

3. New and Changed Features

Use this section to access the following delta information for each feature:

New, Changed, Obsolete Components
Implementation Considerations
Customizations and Extensions
Minimum Level Requirements
Technology Stack Incompatibilities
Technology Architecture Considerations
Troubleshooting Tips

This release provides the following new features and enhancements:

3.1 Re-order Point-based Parts Planning
3.2 Import Capability in the Simulation Set
3.3 Integration with Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning
3.4 Integration with APCC - Service Parts Planner Dashboard
3.5 Safety Stock Reservations
3.6 Sourcing Priorities for Inventory Rebalancing
3.7 Avoidance of Circular Rebalancing

3.1 Re-order Point-based Parts Planning

Description

Reorder point based planning is a widely adopted method of planning replenishments for service parts. It uses demand forecasts and item lead times to decide when to place a new order in order to avoid dipping into safety stock. Orders are usually created for the economic order quantity, in order to strike a balance between purchasing and carrying costs.

Oracle Service Parts Planning 12.1.3 has been enhanced to support Re-order point based planning. SPP computes the safety stock target for a part based on mean absolute deviation (for parts with regular demand) or assuming a Poisson distribution (for parts with intermittent demand), or reads in safety stock targets from other sources (like Inventory Optimization). It then dynamically determines when to place an order, depending on this safety stock target and future demand.

SPP also computes the Economic Order Quantity using the standard formula, so that new orders are placed for this quantity. The user also has the option to over-ride the system computed values. The values of safety stock and EOQ can be re-calculated during a planning run; or can be retained at their existing values.

New, Changed, Obsolete Components

This section lists the components that were added, changed, or made obsolete for this feature in Oracle Service Parts Planning in Release 12.1.3. These components may include the following: forms, windows, reports, C programs, SQL*Loader programs, workflows, alerts, tables, or APIs.

New Windows or Pages

There are no new windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

Changed Windows or Pages

This table lists the windows and pages that are changed.

Changed Window or Page Name	Technical Name	Description
Item Attributes Mass Maintenance	MSC_ITEM_MAINTENANCE	New attributes "Compute Safety Stock", "Safety Stock Value","Compute EOQ", and "Order Cost" added for simulation.
Supply/Demand Analysis	SDANALYSIS	Added ability to Save/Reset item attribute changes To/From simulation set.

Obsolete Windows or Pages

There are no obsolete windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

New Reports

There are no new reports that are associated with this feature.

Changed Reports

There are no changed reports that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Reports

There are no obsolete reports that are associated with this feature.

New Workflows

There are no new workflows that are associated with this feature.

Changed Workflows

There are no changed workflows that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Workflows

There are no obsolete workflows that are associated with this feature.

New Alerts

There are no new alerts that are associated with this feature.

Changed Alerts

There are no changed alerts that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Alerts

There are no obsolete alerts that are associated with this feature.

New Public APIs

There are no new public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Public APIs

There are no changed public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Public APIs

There are no obsolete public APIs that are associated with this feature.

New Programs

This table lists the changed programs.

Changed Programs

Program Name	Feature Area
Launch Service Supply Chain Planning Process	Added new parameter to indicate if the values of safety stock and EOQ can be re-calculated during a planning run.

Obsolete Programs

There are no obsolete programs that are associated with this feature.

New Tables

There are no new tables that are associated with this feature.

Changed Tables

This table lists the changed tables.

Table Name	Description
MSC_PLANS	Added new column COMPUTE_SS_EOQ.
MSC_ITEM_ATTRIBUTES	Added new columns COMPUTE_EOQ, COMPUTE_SS, ROP_SAFETY_STOCK, and ORDER_COST.

Obsolete Tables

There are no obsolete tables that are associated with this feature.

New Views

There are no new views that are associated with this feature.

Changed Views

This table lists the changed views.

View Name	Feature Area	Description
MSC_SYSTEM_ITEMS_SC_V	Transactions	New columns ROP_SAFETY_STOCK, COMPUTE_SS, COMPUTE_EOQ, ORDER_COST.
MSC_ITEM_ATTRIBUTES_V	Transactions	New columns ROP_SAFETY_STOCK, COMPUTE_SS, COMPUTE_EOQ, and ORDER_COST.

Obsolete Views

There are no obsolete views that are associated with this feature.

New Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no new Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

New SQL Loader Files

There are no new SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Changed SQL Loader Files

There are no changed SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete SQL Loader Files

There are no obsolete SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

New Flexfields

There are no new flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Changed Flexfields

There are no changed flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Flexfields

There are no obsolete flexfields that are associated with this feature.

New Profile Options

There are no new profile options that are associated with this feature.

Changed Profile Options

There are no changed profile options that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Profile Options

There are no obsolete profile options that are associated with this feature.

Implementation Considerations

New and Changed Setup Steps

Perform the following:

Verify that the Plan Launch Option "Compute SS & EOQ Values" is set to Yes if these values are to be re-computed.
Verify that the item attributes "Compute Safety Stock Value" and "Compute EOQ" are set to Yes if these are to be re-computed for an item.

Upgrade Considerations

There are no upgrade considerations for this feature.

Sizing

There are no sizing considerations for this feature.

Table Space Considerations

There are no table space considerations for this feature.

Performance Considerations

There are no performance considerations for this feature.

XMLDB Usage

There are no XMLDB usages for this feature.

Load Balancing

There is no load balancing information for this feature.

New Bulk Interfaces

There are no new bulk interfaces for this feature.

Customizations and Extensions

Customizations and extensions are not possible for this feature.

Minimum Level Requirements

There are no minimum level requirements for this feature.

Technology Stack Incompatibilities

There are no technology stack incompatibilities for this feature.

Technical Architecture Considerations

There are no technology architecture considerations for this feature.

Troubleshooting Tips

Verify that the Plan Launch Option "Compute SS & EOQ Values" is set to Yes if these values are to be re-computed.
Verify that the item attributes "Compute Safety Stock Value" and "Compute EOQ" are set to Yes if these are to be re-computed for an item.
If the safety stock value is not calculated correctly, verify that the attribute intermittent_demand is set correctly for item.
Ensure that the service levels are specified for the items.
Remember that only local forecasts are considered in computing SS & EOQ.
Remember that EOQ applies only to new buy recommendations.
Make sure that the order cost, carrying cost and lead times required for computing the EOQ are specified.

3.2 Import Capability in the Simulation Set

Description

The Simulation Set in SPP is used by planners for mass maintenance of data. This is however difficult to use when the planner has to manually enter /edit values for each attribute in the forms UI.

SPP 12.1.3 has been enhanced to support a mass upload of item attribute values into the simulation set. A standard format excel template is provided as part of the OA template. The planner can use this template to enter / edit / delete attribute values, and then upload the excel file to mass-update the values for the respective attributes on the items.

The Planner's workbench (Supply Demand Analysis) screen has also been enhanced to enable update of item attributes that will then be considered in the online re-plan.

New, Changed, Obsolete Components

New Windows or Pages

There are no new windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

Changed Windows or Pages

This table lists the windows and pages that are changed.

Changed Window or Page Name	Technical Name	Description
Collect Flat File Data - Self Service	MSCUPLOADMAINREGION	Setup window used to Collect flat file data, will now supports new data file IMM.dat.

Obsolete Windows or Pages

There are no obsolete windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

New Reports

There are no new reports that are associated with this feature.

Changed Reports

There are no changed reports that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Reports

There are no obsolete reports that are associated with this feature.

New Workflows

There are no new workflows that are associated with this feature.

Changed Workflows

There are no changed workflows that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Workflows

There are no obsolete workflows that are associated with this feature.

New Alerts

There are no new alerts that are associated with this feature.

Changed Alerts

There are no changed alerts that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Alerts

There are no obsolete alerts that are associated with this feature.

New Public APIs

There are no new public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Public APIs

There are no changed public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Public APIs

There are no obsolete public APIs that are associated with this feature.

New Programs

There are no new programs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Programs

There are no changed programs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Programs

There are no obsolete programs that are associated with this feature.

New Tables

This table lists the new tables.

Table Name	Description
MSC_ST_ITEM_ATTRIBUTES	This table is used for the temporary storage data from the IMM.dat file. The data gets populated during flat file upload process and is transferred to the MSC_ITEM_ATTRIBUTES table after proper validation. The data in this table is purged after the transfer completes successfully.

Changed Tables

There are no changed tables that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Tables

There are no obsolete tables that are associated with this feature.

New Views

There are no new views that are associated with this feature.

Changed Views

There are no changed views that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Views

There are no obsolete views that are associated with this feature.

New Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no new Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

New SQL Loader Files

There are no new SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Changed SQL Loader Files

There are no changed SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete SQL Loader Files

There are no obsolete SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

New Flexfields

There are no new flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Changed Flexfields

There are no changed flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Flexfields

There are no obsolete flexfields that are associated with this feature.

New Profile Options

There are no new profile options that are associated with this feature.

Changed Profile Options

There are no changed profile options that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Profile Options

There are no obsolete profile options that are associated with this feature.

Implementation Considerations

New and Changed Setup Steps

This section lists the setup steps that were added or changed for Oracle Service Parts Planning in Release 12.1.3. For additional details about performing the setup steps listed below, refer to the documentation described in the 2.1 Online Help and PDF Documentation section.

To mass upload data to a simulation set, download the flat file format (from the OATemplate), update the attributes and upload it.

Upgrade Considerations

There are no upgrade considerations for this feature.

Sizing

There are no sizing considerations for this feature.

Table Space Considerations

There are no table space considerations for this feature.

Performance Considerations

There are no performance considerations for this feature.

XMLDB Usage

There are no XMLDB usages for this feature.

Load Balancing

There is no load balancing information for this feature.

New Bulk Interfaces

There are no new bulk interfaces for this feature.

Customizations and Extensions

Customizations and extensions are not possible for this feature.

Minimum Level Requirements

There are no minimum level requirements for this feature.

Technology Stack Incompatibilities

There are no technology stack incompatibilities for this feature.

Technical Architecture Considerations

There are no technology architecture considerations for this feature.

Troubleshooting Tips

Ensure that the format of the flat file used for mass-upload is correct. The template is included with the OATemplate.exe.
If you wish to delete an attribute value from the simulation set, explicitly set the value to NULL. Leaving it blank will just retain the existing value.

3.3 Integration with Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning

Description

An OEM manufacturing products often manufactures spare parts for them too. Typically the OEM would have a distinct service supply chain, where defective products are returned and repaired. In case there is not sufficient supply of defective parts (that can be repaired) in the service supply chain, new parts may have to be manufactured. Thus the manufacturing facility that manufactures the parts will have two sets of demands - one coming from the manufacturing supply chain, and the second coming from the service supply chain.

Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning (ASCP) plans for the manufacturing supply chain and currently handles the first stream of demand. ASCP is now integrated with Oracle Service Parts Planning (SPP) which plans for the service supply chain. Thus SPP would take in demand from the Service supply chain and try to meet these demands through repair of defective parts. In case all demands cannot be met in this manner, SPP can source parts from the manufacturing supply chain. This demand for spare parts from SPP would be read in by ASCP, and ASCP would plan the manufacture.

New, Changed, Obsolete Components

New Windows or Pages

There are no new windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

Changed Windows or Pages

This table lists the windows and pages that are changed.

Changed Window or Page Name	Technical Name	Description
Plan Options	MRP_PLANS	Setup window used to define ASCP plan options now allows users to specify a Service Parts Plan as a demand schedule.

Obsolete Windows or Pages

There are no obsolete windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

New Reports

There are no new reports that are associated with this feature.

Changed Reports

There are no changed reports that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Reports

There are no obsolete reports that are associated with this feature.

New Workflows

There are no new workflows that are associated with this feature.

Changed Workflows

There are no changed workflows that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Workflows

There are no obsolete workflows that are associated with this feature.

New Alerts

There are no new alerts that are associated with this feature.

Changed Alerts

There are no changed alerts that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Alerts

There are no obsolete alerts that are associated with this feature.

New Public APIs

There are no new public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Public APIs

There are no changed public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Public APIs

There are no obsolete public APIs that are associated with this feature.

New Programs

There are no new programs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Programs

This table lists the changed programs.

Program Name	Feature Area
Snapshot	The SQL of Interplant Demands in ASCP has been enhanced so that it will now also consider SPP plans as demands.

Obsolete Programs

There are no obsolete programs that are associated with this feature.

New Tables

There are no new tables that are associated with this feature.

Changed Tables

There are no changed tables that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Tables

There are no obsolete tables that are associated with this feature.

New Views

There are no new views that are associated with this feature.

Changed Views

There are no changed views that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Views

There are no obsolete views that are associated with this feature.

New Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no new Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

New SQL Loader Files

There are no new SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Changed SQL Loader Files

There are no changed SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete SQL Loader Files

There are no obsolete SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

New Flexfields

There are no new flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Changed Flexfields

There are no changed flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Flexfields

There are no obsolete flexfields that are associated with this feature.

New Profile Options

There are no new profile options that are associated with this feature.

Changed Profile Options

There are no changed profile options that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Profile Options

There are no obsolete profile options that are associated with this feature.

Implementation Considerations

New and Changed Setup Steps

The planner has to make sure that the sourcing rule in SPP includes the Manufacturing Plant as a "Transfer from" source.

The planner has to include the SPP plan as a demand schedule in the ASCP plan.

Upgrade Considerations

There are no upgrade considerations for this feature.

Sizing

There are no sizing considerations for this feature.

Table Space Considerations

There are no table space considerations for this feature.

Performance Considerations

There are no performance considerations for this feature.

XMLDB Usage

There are no XMLDB usages for this feature.

Load Balancing

There is no load balancing information for this feature.

New Bulk Interfaces

There are no new bulk interfaces for this feature.

Customizations and Extensions

Customizations and extensions are not possible for this feature.

Minimum Level Requirements

There are no minimum level requirements for this feature.

Technology Stack Incompatibilities

There are no technology stack incompatibilities for this feature.

Technical Architecture Considerations

There are no technology architecture considerations for this feature.

Troubleshooting Tips

Ensure that the SPP plan is always run before the ASCP plan after collections.
Do not include the manufacturing plant in the SPP plan options.
The interplant check box must be checked in the ASCP plan options for the SPP plan included as a Demand Schedule.
The profile option MSC: Consolidate Interplant Demands must be set appropriately.

3.4 Integration with APCC - Service Parts Planner Dashboard

Description

A new Service Parts Planner dashboard is being introduced in Oracle Advance Planning Command Center 12.1.3. Service Parts Plans can be archived and published to Advanced Planning Command Center. The archived versions can then be viewed in reports and dashboards.

The Service Parts Planner dashboard is structured to address the typical questions that a parts planner would have and includes several measures and KPIs like repairs vs. new buys, internal vs. external repairs, service contracts performance etc that are typical in the service business.

The SPP dashboard has five pages: the first, a Plan Health summary has key reports from various areas of the service supply chain, highlighting the demand and supply, exceptions, service agreements etc.

The Demand & Supply page focuses primarily on the Demand & Supply picture and enables the planner to start with an overall view of demand satisfaction in the service supply chain, and drill down all the way to the application.

The Exceptions page of the Service Parts Planner dashboard highlights key exceptions in the service parts plan and enables the planner to investigate the cause for them.

The SLA Analysis page is meant for evaluating service contracts. The planner can compare his compliance on various service contracts that he has, review his costs, revenues, profitability and safety stock targets on this page. This gives him a good idea of his performance on contracts. The reports on this page are based on Inventory Optimization plans.

Finally the Historical Performance page gives the planner a picture of how his plan is tracking against actuals. He can compare how the actuals for various measures like shipments and returns, compare with what he had planned in the past.

In addition, the dashboard also includes a glossary that has a description of the various reports and measures available in the dashboard.

New, Changed, Obsolete Components

New Windows or Pages

This table lists windows and pages that are new.

New Window or Page Name	Technical Name	Description
Service Supply Chain Analyst Dashboard	MSC_SRP_DASHBOARD	Service Supply Chain Analyst Dashboard

Changed Windows or Pages

This table lists the windows and pages that are changed.

Changed Window or Page Name	Technical Name	Description
Launch SRP Plan	MSC_FNDRSRUN_LAUNCH_SRP_PLAN	Added "Archive Current Version of Plan Summary" parameter.

Obsolete Windows or Pages

There are no obsolete windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

New Reports

There are no new reports that are associated with this feature.

Changed Reports

There are no changed reports that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Reports

There are no obsolete reports that are associated with this feature.

New Workflows

There are no new workflows that are associated with this feature.

Changed Workflows

There are no changed workflows that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Workflows

There are no obsolete workflows that are associated with this feature.

New Alerts

There are no new alerts that are associated with this feature.

Changed Alerts

There are no changed alerts that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Alerts

There are no obsolete alerts that are associated with this feature.

New Public APIs

There are no new public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Public APIs

There are no changed public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Public APIs

There are no obsolete public APIs that are associated with this feature.

New Programs

There are no new programs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Programs

There are no changed programs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Programs

There are no obsolete programs that are associated with this feature.

New Tables

There are no new tables that are associated with this feature.

Changed Tables

This table lists the changed tables.

Table Name	Description
MSC_DEMANDS_F	Added Part Condition dimension reference.
MSC_SUPPLIES_F	Added Part Condition dimension reference.
MSC_ITEM_ORDERS_F	Added SPP measures like usable and defective supplies.
MSC_ST_DEMANDS_F	Added Part Condition dimension reference.
MSC_ST_SUPPLIES_F	Added Part Condition dimension reference.
MSC_ST_ITEM_ORDERS_F	Added SPP measures like usable and defective supplies.

Obsolete Tables

There are no obsolete tables that are associated with this feature.

New Views

There are no new views that are associated with this feature.

Changed Views

There are no changed views that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Views

There are no obsolete views that are associated with this feature.

New Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no new Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

New SQL Loader Files

There are no new SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Changed SQL Loader Files

This table lists the changed SQL Loader Files.

SQL Loader File Name	Description
MSC_ST_DEMANDS_F.ctl	Added Part Condition dimension reference.
MSC_ST_SUPPLIES_F.ctl	Added Part Condition dimension reference.
MSC_ST_ITEM_ORDERS_F.ctl	Added SPP measures like usable and defective supplies.

Obsolete SQL Loader Files

There are no obsolete SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

New Flexfields

There are no new flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Changed Flexfields

There are no changed flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Flexfields

There are no obsolete flexfields that are associated with this feature.

New Profile Options

There are no new profile options that are associated with this feature.

Changed Profile Options

There are no changed profile options that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Profile Options

There are no obsolete profile options that are associated with this feature.

Implementation Considerations

New and Changed Setup Steps

Perform the following set up operations:

Set up OBIEE, RPD, and webcat, same as 12.1.
Set up translated messages, please follow the steps in the readme of translation patch 8629912:R12.MSC.B to get all RPD strings loaded into DB.

Upgrade Considerations

Please apply RDBMS Patch 7330434 to avoid ORA-600 errors while refreshing materialized views.

Sizing

Each APCC plan archival requires roughly same data size as corresponding ASCP plan data.

Each APCC data transfer process (export or import) requires roughly same data size as plan archival data in application table space during transfer process. Those data are purged after transfer completion.

Table Space Considerations

There are no table space considerations for this feature.

Performance Considerations

There are no performance space considerations for this feature.

XMLDB Usage

There are no XMLDB usages for this feature.

Load Balancing

There is no load balancing information for this feature.

New Bulk Interfaces

There are no new bulk interfaces for this feature.

Customizations and Extensions

Customer generating APCC fact table files using third party tools, please perform the following:

Refer to file templates is available in Load Fact Data page for file format.
Refer to APCC BI data repository (AdvancedPlanning.rpd) for usage of physical tables and columns.
Prepare APCC dimension data in APS operational data store by running collection.

Minimum Level Requirements

Oracle 10g database (same as APCC 12.1.2).
XML Development Kit.
OBIEE 10.1.3.4 (same as APCC 12.1.2).

Technology Stack Incompatibilities

There are no technology stack incompatibilities for this feature.

Technical Architecture Considerations

There are no technology architecture considerations for this feature.

Troubleshooting Tips

If user can't see data in APCC Dashboards, please check whether OBIEE is setup correctly.
If user encounters APCC concurrent programs failures, please check concurrent program logs for details.
If user encounters errors when importing csv files into APCC, please check csv files formatting.

3.5 Safety Stock Reservations

Description

In release 12.1.3.8, Service Parts Planning provides the ability to define and reserve safety stock at tiers or locations in the supply chain.

In a multi-tiered service supply chain, there could be demand for parts at each tier; it is therefore imperative to stock the right quantity of parts at each level. Stocking parts at the most downstream locations (referred to as Tier 3 or T3 locations) has the advantage that it is closest to the customers being serviced from that location; on the other hand, the more upstream locations (referred to as Tier1/2 or T1/T2 locations) are likely to be bigger cities from where a greater number of customers can be serviced in a shorter period of time. Coming up with the right inventory holding strategy is therefore a balance between these two. Oracle Inventory Optimization considers the demand and supply variability, lead times, lead time variability etc and recommends optimal safety stock levels at each of these locations.

However, not all demand in the service supply chain can be predicted; and if there were an unexpected critical demand in the supply chain at the T2 location, the required parts may have already been shipped to the downstream locations to meet other demands (since safety stock targets at the T2 locations typically have a lower priority); whereas holding them at the upstream (T1/T2) location would have permitted responding more quickly in meeting the unexpected demand.

In release 12.1.3.8, the safety stock reservation feature allows a portion of the safety stock at the T1/T2 locations to be defined as always "reserved" for such unexpected demand at these locations and only the remaining supply there is available for shipping to T3 locations. This ensures that there is always some supply available at the T1/T2 locations to meet unexpected demand.

New, Changed, Obsolete Components

Changed Windows or Pages

This table lists the windows and pages that are changed.

Changed Window or Page Name	Technical Name	Description
Supply Allocation Rule	-	The following fields have been added to the Supply Allocation Rule form: Reserved Safety Stock Quantity - The quantity of safety stock that must be reserved. This would be a fixed quantity, constant for the entire plan horizon (or effectivity of the Supply Allocation Rule). Reserved Safety Stock Percent - The percentage of safety stock that must be reserved at a T1/T2 location to meet demands there. The percentage here would be fixed, but since the safety stock target can be time varying, particularly if it is computed in Oracle Inventory Optimization, the value of the safety stock that must be reserved (as defined by the Reserved Safety Stock Percent) would be time-varying.
Plan Options	-	The following option has been added to the top the Main tab of the Plan options form: Enable Safety Stock Reservation - A plan level switch to turn the safety stock reservation functionality on/off. This option is checked by default. When this is checked, the engine enforces the safety stock reservation as specified in the relevant Supply Allocation Rule form. If the planner deselects this option while launching the plan, safety stock reservations would be disabled, and current functionality (no safety stock reservation, T3 demand having higher priority over T1/T2 safety stock) would be restored.
Supply/Demand Analysis	SDANALYSIS	The Supply/Demand Analysis form contains the following changes: New row, Reserved Safety Stock, shows the quantity of safety stock that the engine has calculated to reserve in each period. New row, Net Safety Stock, which is calculated as follows: (Net Safety Stock Target = Calculated Safety Stock Target - Quantity Reserved by Engine) The Exception region of the form provides a new exception, Item Reservation not Met. This exception appears when reservation exception occurs.
Exception Details	-	The Exception Details form supports the new exception, Item Reservation not Met.
Exceptions Summary	-	The Exceptions Summary form supports the new exception, Item Reservation not Met, under the group Shortages and Excess.

New Alerts

The Exception Details and Exception Summary forms now support the Item Reservation not Met exception.

Changed Profile Options

This table lists the changed profile options.

Profile Option Name	Feature Area	Description
MSC: (Service Planning) Item safety stock level value	-	Planning for safety stock reservations will be guided by this profile. This profile can take on a value of Item or Prime. If this is set to Item, the reserved quantity has to be computed for each individual item, and planning must reserve supplies of that item to meet this target. If the profile is set to Prime, planning must aggregate the reserved quantity across the prime, and ensure there are supplies across the prime to meet that. The default (and recommended setting) for this profile is Prime.

Implementation Considerations

New and Changed Setup Steps

In order to use this feature, you first have to specify the portion of the safety stock that needs to be reserved at the source location. This is performed on the Supply Allocation Rules form. The Supply Allocation Rules form defines how supplies at a location are allocated to other organizations. This form has two new fields, Reserved Safety Stock Quantity and Reserved Safety Stock Percent. The planner can specify one or both of these fields. These determine the amount of safety stock that is reserved at the organization that the Supply Allocation Rule is assigned to. The behavior of the rest of this form remains unchanged.

Define the Supply Allocation Rule and specify Reserved Safety Stock Quantity and Reserved Safety Stock Percent for the org that the rule is assigned to.
Assign the Supply Allocation Rule at the 'Instance-Org', 'Category-Instance-Org' or 'Item-Instance-Org' level.
On the Plan Options page, select the Enable Safety Stock Reservation option.

Upgrade Considerations

There are no upgrade considerations for this feature.

If you do not want to enable this feature, deselect the Enable Safety Stock Reservation option on the Plan option page.

Sizing

There are no sizing considerations for this feature.

Table Space Considerations

There are no table space considerations for this feature.

Performance Considerations

There are no performance considerations for this feature.

XMLDB Usage

There are no XMLDB usages for this feature.

Load Balancing

There is no load balancing information for this feature.

New Bulk Interfaces

There are no new bulk interfaces for this feature.

Customizations and Extensions

Customizations and extensions are not possible for this feature.

Minimum Level Requirements

There are no minimum level requirements for this feature.

Technology Stack Incompatibilities

There are no technology stack incompatibilities for this feature.

Technical Architecture Considerations

There are no technology architecture considerations for this feature.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you notice that the Reserved Safety Stock is not computed in a plan, check if the Enable Safety Stock Reservation option is selected on the Plan Options page. This has to be checked for this feature to be function. Also confirm that there is a Supply Allocation Rule with the parameters correctly set up, applicable for the item-organization being considered. It is possible that the Reserved Safety Stock shown on the Supply Demand Analysis screen is different from the value specified in the Supply Allocation Rule since there is some processing (picking the higher of the quantity and percent, rounding up, ensuring it does not exceed total safety stock etc) that is done while determining the quantity to be reserved. Finally, if the reserved quantity seems incorrect, check the calculations (refer to the Oracle Service Parts Planning Implementation and User Guide Supplement). Also check if the profile "MSC: (Service Planning) Item safety stock level value" is set to Prime. While the calculations may seem wrong at an individual item level, they might make sense when rolled up to the prime.

3.6 Sourcing Priorities for Inventory Rebalancing

Description

Service supply chains usually hold some inventory at regional warehouses in order to quickly service customer requests. However varying demand patterns may warrant rebalancing inventory between these regional warehouses when there is inventory excess in one and a shortage at another.

In release 12.1.3.9, the inventory rebalancing capability of Oracle Service Parts Planning (SPP) has been enhanced to support the specification of rankings on the rebalancing sources for an organization. This allows SPP's rebalancing logic to prefer rebalancing between organizations close to each other. SPP reads in priorities of the various rebalancing sources and tries to rebalance with sources in rank order. This functionality can lead to significant savings in transportation costs.

New, Changed, Obsolete Components

This section lists the components that were added, changed, or made obsolete for this feature in Oracle Service Parts Planning. These components may include the following: forms, windows, reports, C programs, SQL*Loader programs, workflows, alerts, tables, or APIs.

New Windows or Pages

There are no new windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

Changed Windows or Pages

This table lists the changed windows and pages.

Changed Window or Page Name	Technical Name	Description
Sourcing Rule	-	Added a column "Inventory Rebalance Rank" to specify the priorities for rebalancing sources.

Obsolete Windows or Pages

There are no obsolete windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

New Reports

There are no new reports that are associated with this feature.

Changed Reports

There are no changed reports that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Reports

There are no obsolete reports that are associated with this feature.

New Workflows

There are no new workflows that are associated with this feature.

Changed Workflows

There are no changed workflows that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Workflows

There are no obsolete workflows that are associated with this feature.

New Alerts

There are no new alerts that are associated with this feature.

Changed Alerts

There are no changed alerts that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Alerts

There are no obsolete alerts that are associated with this feature.

New Public APIs

There are no new public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Public APIs

There are no changed public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Public APIs

There are no obsolete public APIs that are associated with this feature.

New Programs

There are no new programs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Programs

This table lists the changed programs.

Program Name	Feature Area
SPP ENGINE	Considers the "Inventory Re-balance rank" specified in the sourcing rule while checking for excess at sources with which re-balancing is enabled.

Obsolete Programs

There are no obsolete programs that are associated with this feature.

New Tables

There are no new tables that are associated with this feature.

Changed Tables

There are no changed tables that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Tables

There are no obsolete tables that are associated with this feature.

New Views

There are no new views that are associated with this feature.

Changed Views

There are no changed views that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Views

There are no obsolete views that are associated with this feature.

New Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no new Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

New SQL Loader Files

There are no new SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Changed SQL Loader Files

There are no changed SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete SQL Loader Files

There are no obsolete SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

New Flexfields

There are no new flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Changed Flexfields

There are no changed flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Flexfields

There are no obsolete flexfields that are associated with this feature.

New Profile Options

There are no new profiles that are associated with this feature.

Changed Profile Options

There are no changed profile options that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Profile Options

There are no obsolete profile options that are associated with this feature.

Implementation Considerations

New and Changed Setup Steps

When there are multiple re-balancing sources, specify the "Inventory re-balance rank". This determines the engine sequence, while looking for excess at various sources.

Upgrade Considerations

If you are upgrading from a previous release, you can now specify the Inventory Re-balance rank on the sourcing rule form. This provides greater control for the re-balance source selection.

Sizing

There are no sizing considerations for this feature.

Table Space Considerations

There are no table space considerations for this feature.

Performance Considerations

There are no performance considerations for this feature.

XMLDB Usage

There are no XMLDB usages for this feature.

Load Balancing

There is no load balancing information for this feature.

New Bulk Interfaces

There are no new bulk interfaces for this feature.

Customizations and Extensions

Customizations and extensions are not possible for this feature.

Minimum Level Requirements

There are no minimum level requirements for this feature.

Technology Stack Incompatibilities

There are no technology stack incompatibilities for this feature.

Technical Architecture Considerations

There are no technology architecture considerations for this feature.

Troubleshooting Tips

There are no troubleshooting tips for this feature.

3.7 Avoidance of Unnecessary Circular Rebalancing

Description

Circular rebalancing occurs when excess inventory is moved out of a warehouse to fulfill a shortage at another warehouse. The concurrent back-fill via rebalancing from a third warehouse was an issue in previous releases, but this issue is resolved in release.With release 12.1.3.9, SPP has been enhanced to avoid unnecessary circular rebalancing and the associated excess transportation costs.

New, Changed, Obsolete Components

New Windows or Pages

There are no new windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

Changed Windows or Pages

There are no changed windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Windows or Pages

There are no obsolete windows or pages that are associated with this feature.

New Reports

There are no new reports that are associated with this feature.

Changed Reports

There are no changed reports that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Reports

There are no obsolete reports that are associated with this feature.

New Workflows

There are no new workflows that are associated with this feature.

Changed Workflows

There are no changed workflows that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Workflows

There are no obsolete workflows that are associated with this feature.

New Alerts

There are no new alerts that are associated with this feature.

Changed Alerts

There are no changed alerts that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Alerts

There are no obsolete alerts that are associated with this feature.

New Public APIs

There are no new public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Public APIs

There are no changed public APIs that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Public APIs

There are no obsolete public APIs that are associated with this feature.

New Programs

There are no new programs that are associated with this feature.

Changed Programs

This table lists the changed programs.

Program Name	Feature Area
SPP ENGINE	The engine logic has been enhanced to avoid unnecessary circular rebalancing.

Obsolete Programs

There are no obsolete programs that are associated with this feature.

New Tables

There are no new tables that are associated with this feature.

Changed Tables

There are no changed tables that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Tables

There are no obsolete tables that are associated with this feature.

New Views

There are no new views that are associated with this feature.

Changed Views

There are no changed views that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Views

There are no obsolete views that are associated with this feature.

New Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no new Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no changed Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components

There are no obsolete Business Intelligence Publisher Components that are associated with this feature.

New SQL Loader Files

There are no new SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Changed SQL Loader Files

There are no changed SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete SQL Loader Files

There are no obsolete SQL loader files that are associated with this feature.

New Flexfields

There are no new flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Changed Flexfields

There are no changed flexfields that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Flexfields

There are no obsolete flexfields that are associated with this feature.

New Profile Options

There are no new profiles that are associated with this feature.

Changed Profile Options

There are no changed profile options that are associated with this feature.

Obsolete Profile Options

There are no obsolete profile options that are associated with this feature.

Implementation Considerations

New and Changed Setup Steps

There are no new or changed setup steps for this feature.

Upgrade Considerations

There are no upgrade considerations for this feature.

Sizing

There are no sizing considerations for this feature.

Table Space Considerations

There are no table space considerations for this feature.

Performance Considerations

There are no performance considerations for this feature.

XMLDB Usage

There are no XMLDB usages for this feature.

Load Balancing

There is no load balancing information for this feature.

New Bulk Interfaces

There are no new bulk interfaces for this feature.

Customizations and Extensions

Customizations and extensions are not possible for this feature.

Minimum Level Requirements

There are no minimum level requirements for this feature.

Technology Stack Incompatibilities

There are no technology stack incompatibilities for this feature.

Technical Architecture Considerations

There are no technology architecture considerations for this feature.

Troubleshooting Tips

There are no troubleshooting tips for this feature.

Return to Diagnostics and Logging

4. Diagnostics and Logging

Oracle Service Parts Planning utilizes Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics, a tool to help standardize data gathering and troubleshooting. This tool is delivered within the maintenance pack (product code IZU) and consists of two components:

The Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics framework (ODF)

Provides a place for product-specific tests to be processed and reported
Is accessible using the 'Application Diagnostics' responsibility which is assigned through diagnostic roles within the RBAC security model

Note: If no role is assigned using RBAC, and the "Application Diagnostics" responsibility is directly assigned to users (for example, via the System Administrator Users form), then all Diagnostics tabs open for those users. However, in the Diagnose tab, tests do not appear under any application except HTML platform, and users can neither run tests nor configure inputs for any other application.

Complete RBAC setup details for diagnostics are available through My Oracle Support Document 167000.1.

Product content (referred to as 'tests')

Primarily organized by functional groups
Provides data in a structured format
May include detailed error identification followed by actions to be taken when 'bad' data is detected

It is highly recommended that following the successful installation of the Release 12.1.3 maintenance pack for Oracle Service Parts Planning, the following actions are taken:

Verify that the latest Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics patch is applied (see Document 167000.1 for latest patch information) as this will ensure that the latest tools are available.
Run the related product family pre-production test set(s) to verify existing product setups have not been compromised and all new, required setups are flagged for action.

After installation, review Document 783319.1, the diagnostic catalog, to identify other helpful tests that you can use for maintaining a healthy environment.

For questions about Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics or any issues using this tool, please consult Document 235307.1, FAQ, in My Oracle Support for the latest answers and discussion.

E-Business Suite Diagnostics Quick Reference

My Oracle Support Document	Title	Purpose
Document 167000.1	Installation Guide	Use this note to download the latest Diagnostics patch. Follow the installation instructions to eliminate common installation and usage problems. A link to how to set up RBAC security for Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics is included.
Document 235307.1	FAQ	Do you have a problem installing Diagnostics? Do you have a question about how Diagnostics works and what it can do for you? This Note is a great first-line resource to getting the information that you need.
Document 342459.1	Overview	The Overview highlights Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics, and what this tool can do for you and your E-Business Suite applications.
Document 421245.1	Overview	This Note lists all tests that are available for Release 12.
Document 368109.1	Pre-production test sets	Tests that are grouped together (known as test sets) by a product family, designed to aid in verifying that all included applications are set up correctly. Designed to detect missing or incorrect setup and prevent corruption before implementation or usage of applications.
Document 232116.1	Training	Viewlets and presentations, explaining the various aspects of Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics.
My Oracle Support Diagnosibility Community	Diagnosibility link	This is an open forum to discuss Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics, and is monitored by the Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics development team.

Oracle Service Parts Planning uses the common diagnostics features in Oracle E-Business Suite. This enables users and system administrators to use a centralized set of options to control logging level, as well as output destination. To run diagnostics, use the following profile options:

FND: Debug Log Enabled
FND: Debug Log Module
FND: Debug Log Level

Setting the log level to Statement produces detail logging of code execution. To reduce the size of the output and make it more manageable, you can use spp% as a module to restrict messages to those coming from Oracle Service Parts Planning code.

The preceding profile options can be turned on at the user, function, responsibility, or site level. It is preferable, however, to set profiles at the user level to restrict the overhead they add to the system. If issues are experienced, logging profiles should be set at the user level experiencing the issue. For authorization servlet-related issues, you must set the diagnostics profile at the user level to ANONYMOUS.

To diagnose user interface issues, you can use the filter iby%,fnd.framework%,jbo% and set the diagnostics go-to screen by clicking the Diagnostics Global button. To enable this functionality, you must set the following profile option:

FND: Diagnostics

The FND: Diagnostics profile option controls whether the Diagnostics button is rendered. It also controls the display of the About this Page link.

For system issues, such as exceptions, timeouts, or unexpected behavior, you can turn on logging, based on where you are experiencing the issues, as follows:

For a concurrent program, you can capture the log file for the program processed by turning on logging at the statement level.
For user interface, you can capture the logging shown on the screen by clicking the Diagnostics button, and full stack trace of any exceptions you see on the page.

You can also capture additional information about the system by printing the report from the About this Page link, as well as from the jsp: /OA_HTML/jsp/fnd/fndversion.jsp.

For more information on Logging, see the Oracle Applications System Administrator's Guide Documentation Set and the Oracle Applications Developer's Guide in the Release 12.1.3 Documentation Library.

5. Known Issues in Oracle Service Parts Planning Release 12.1.3.9

There are no known issues for this product.

Return to Known Issues

6. Change Record

Date	Description of Change
July 2013	Published update for release 12.1.3.9.
September 2012	Published document.