Creating and Maintaining Policy Sets

This chapter provides an overview of inventory policy sets, lists prerequisites and common elements, and discusses how to:

Create and maintain policy sets.
Delete policy sets.

Understanding Inventory Policy Sets

A policy set defines a group of items for which the system calculates inventory policies. This set includes basic control data for generating a policy for each item in the set. When you create a policy set, you design the format that the system uses to generate the actual inventory policy. You add items to the set when you generate, populate, or maintain the policy item master record.

For example, to create a policy set from a forecast, you define how to extract data from the forecast view, including how item codes are mapped to forecast elements and what forecast items to include from the view. Based on the shell that you create and the selection criteria, the system can create policy master items during the generation of the policy.

You can create and maintain multiple policy sets as well as associate an item with more than one policy set. Placing the same item in multiple policies enables you to manage the item differently for different locations.

Only one policy set is required to use PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning, but using multiple sets has advantages. For example, if you want to assign certain items to a selected planner, you can create a policy set with just those items for the planner, adding security and flexibility to item planning. Also through policy generation, you can use multiple policy sets to create what-if scenarios for groups of items, rather than for a single item.

Important! If you use only one set, remember that it's the live production set, and you shouldn't experiment with live data.

You can create inventory policies from:

PeopleSoft Demand Planning forecasts.

Use forecasts to design a policy set that extracts data based on items in a forecast view. You must map fields between the two applications. This also includes third-party system data for which forecasts have been generated.
PeopleSoft Inventory items.

Define the basic parameters for the policy set which then uses items from PeopleSoft Inventory that are defined for Inventory Policy Planning. Designate a policy set as in use in PeopleSoft Inventory.

Prerequisites

Before creating an inventory policy set, you should:

Analyze the inventories that you maintain.

Classify each inventory by division, owner and administrator, and required demand planning periods.
Collect item and location data, classifications, and other attributes.
If you are using PeopleSoft Demand Planning, ensure that each policy item has an available forecast in that application.
Decide which policy sets to use.

Establish a policy set for each operational combination of inventory. For example, you might have separate sets for inventory, division, owner, and forecast period.
Establish criteria to identify which forecast items the system automatically loads into the policy set.
Determine the relationship between the forecast item and the policy item.
Determine if you must store any additional policy set data.

Common Elements Used in This Chapter

Apply

Click to update the policy set with the new information that you entered. This button is available on several policy set pages.

Forecast Level

Select the portion of the forecast from which you want to extract demand data. This level should contain sufficient data to construct an item code field. The lowest level for the item is the default value for the field and can be overridden. Only information from the level that you select is available to include in the policy set.

Note. Forecast levels and views are available only if you use PeopleSoft Demand Planning.

Forecast View

Define which multilevel definition of forecast data to use. You create policy sets and associate them with forecast views. You can assign only items within the associated view to a policy set.

Creating and Maintaining Policy Sets

To create policy sets, use the Policy Sets Maintenance component.

This section provides an overview for creating policy sets and discusses how to:

Define basic data for policy sets.
Define forecast data to use with policy sets.
Select forecast items to include in policy sets.
Map PeopleSoft Demand Planning fields for use in policy sets.

Understanding Policy Set Creation

When you create policy sets, you can use default values from either PeopleSoft Inventory or Demand Planning. For policy sets that use Inventory, policy items are created with default information from the Inventory Item Master record. For policy sets that do not use PeopleSoft Inventory, the system loads all default information for a policy item from the forecast item to which it is mapped. For either type of policy set, you define basic data such as time periods, calendars, and control groups. Data from PeopleSoft Inventory does not include user-defined data.

To indicate for the system to use PeopleSoft Inventory default values, select the Uses Inventory check box on the Policy Sets page.

Before you create a policy set:

Use the Calendar feature to define a valid calendar and calendar periods.
Establish a valid working forecast view and level in that application.

You can change information that is associated with policy sets at any time; however, the system doesn't incorporate changes to the set until the next time it generates the inventory policy. To use an existing policy set as a model for a new set, use the Copy Policy Sets feature.

Deletion of a policy set removes data associated with that set, including policy items, control groups, messages, and specifications.

Pages Used to Create and Maintain Policy Sets

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Define Policy Sets	DP_POLICYSETS	Inventory Policy Planning, Define Policy Elements, Policy Sets, Define Policy Sets	Define basic data—including policy control, calendar, variance law periods, and user data code information—for policy sets.
DP Interface (demand planning interface)	DP_POLICYSETS_2	Inventory Policy Planning, Define Policy Elements, Policy Sets, Define Policy Sets, DP Interface	Define forecast data—including the forecast view and level, which forecast series to use, and location information—to use with policy sets.
Select Forecast Items	DP_POLSETFILTER	Click the Select Forecast Items link on the DP Interface page.	Select forecast items to include in policy sets.
Selection Criteria	DP_IPPSETSEL_SEC	Click in the selection criteria grid to filter data on the Select Forecast Items page.	Select criteria for forecast items in a policy set.
Map User Defined Fields	DP_POLSETUFLDS	Click the Map User Defined Fields link on the DP Interface page.	Map user-defined fields to define relationships between PeopleSoft Demand Planning and Inventory Policy Planning fields.
Copy Policy Sets	DP_COPYPOLSETS	Inventory Policy Planning, Define Policy Elements, Policy Sets, Copy Policy Sets	Create a new policy set by copying information from an existing set.

Defining Basic Data for Policy Sets

Access the Define Policy Sets page.

Role Security Built	Indicates if role security has been built for the policy set.
Uses Inventory	Select to create policy master items with item data from PeopleSoft Inventory as opposed to using PeopleSoft Demand Planning items. After you populate or refresh the master items, you can generate an inventory policy and then publish the new policy for use in Inventory. When you select the Create Missing IP Master (create missing inventory policy master) check box during policy generation, it determines where default information is loaded from for the new items. After you select Uses Inventory and save the policy set, you cannot change the selection. During its processing, the system determines which items are available from PeopleSoft Inventory by checking whether or not that application is using forecasts on the Planning tab in the Define Business Unit Item feature. If PeopleSoft Inventory uses forecasts, then PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning includes the item in populate and refresh tasks. The system also uses the setting to determine whether to create missing items during policy generation, and when exploding bills of material (BOMs) for dependent demand. Review specifying planning information, modifying item attributes for the business unit, and how to define an item in the PeopleSoft Managing Items PeopleBook.
Use Yield by Operation	Select if you want the inventory policy to include yield by operation calculations. If you select this check box, the system uses the cumulative yield from the primary routing in PeopleSoft Manufacturing to determine a yield factor for each assembly item. The system uses this yield factor to adjust period demand for these assembly items prior to calculating component demand. Note. You must select the Uses Inventory check box before you can select the Use Yield by Operation check box. You must integrate PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning with PeopleSoft Supply Chain Management 8.8 (or a later release) to use yield by operation.
Calendar ID	Select the calendar that contains daily attributes that the system applies to policy data. This field is required.
Period Code	Select a code on which the system computes time-phased policy parameters, such as safety stock. This field is required.
Maximum Periods	Enter a value that represents the maximum number of periods to cover when developing the inventory policy. The periods are taken from the Policy Start Period and Start Year fields and moved forward into the future until the maximum number of periods is reached. This field is required.
Policy Start Period and Start Year	Enter the period number and year of the starting point for the inventory policy. You can enter up to three numbers for the period. The year format is four characters. These fields are required and the system overrides the value with the forecast start date when PeopleSoft Demand Planning data is brought in.
Variance Law Periods	Enter the number of periods of demand data that will trigger the variance law to go into effect. For periods with low demand history, the PeopleSoft Demand Planning standard error calculation that the system uses to determine policy values in PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning may not be valid. In this case, the system uses variance law to calculate the forecasting error. If the number of periods of available demand data is less than this number, the system calculates the forecasting error by using the variance law rather than standard error calculations.
User Data Code	Enter the code that represents the set of user-defined fields that you want to include in the policy set. This field is required, but if you use PeopleSoft Inventory data, the system ignores this value. User-defined fields are fields that you define by mapping them to existing planning fields. The purpose of these fields is to provide a means of naming fields so that the data that is contained in the field is more meaningful to you. After defining the fields, you group them by user data code.
Rounding Decimals	Enter the number of decimal places to which you want to round calculated quantities in PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning. The maximum value is 12, and the default value is 0.
Policy Control	If you are updating the policy, select the control group that contains default reorder and stocking policies that you want to use with this policy set. A control group is a set of rules that controls inventory item replenishment policies, and the available controls are those that already exist for this policy set. The control group is used as a default for all new items created for this policy set. If you are adding a new policy, use the Control Group field to enter a new default control group for the policy. Use the From Policy Set field to select a policy set. All existing control groups that are associated with the policy set appear in the From Policy Control field. Select the control group to use as a template for creating the new policy control. The system automatically adds the control group by copying it and storing it with the policy set when you save the new policy set.

Defining Forecast Data to Use with Policy Sets

Access the DP Interface page.

To use a forecast view as a basis for designing a policy set:

Select a forecast view and level.
Select a forecast on which to base the policy.
Select the PeopleSoft Demand Planning fields that map to the location for the items in this policy set.

Available fields include those that you defined in the user data code for the view.
Select the PeopleSoft Demand Planning fields that map to the item code for the policy set.

You can form the item code structure by using any value that you defined for the user data code. When the system generates the policy, it uses only those items that match the item code structure. The field length cannot exceed 18 characters.
Click the Select Forecast Items link to further define which items are included in the generated policy.

Use this link to limit which forecast items are included in the policy generation based on fields of data for the item. When you establish a range of information that is contained in a field, item fields that do not have information in that range do not transfer forecasts during the policy generation. This, in conjunction with deleting missing items enables you to minimize policy items to only a small set of the forecast view for a policy set.
Click the Map User Defined Fields link to indicate which forecast view fields are placed in which inventory policy fields.

Except for the Item Code and Location fields, you must map any field that you want extracted from the forecast and placed in an inventory policy. To do so, use Define User Defined Fields.

Forecast to Use	Select which forecast data the policy set uses when you generate the inventory policy. Values include: Statistical Forecast: A system-produced forecast that contains the statistical forecast for the time-period horizon. To calculate the forecast, the system uses statistical methods that attempt to predict the demand for an item in future periods. Prorated Forecast: A system-produced forecast that contains the prorated forecast for the time-period horizon. To develop the forecast, the system factors the group forecast down one level at a time to make the sum of the item forecasts at the lower level equal to the aggregate forecast. Adjusted Forecast: A system-produced forecast that contains the prorated forecast for the time-period horizon. The adjusted forecast is a statistical forecast of the effects of any management overrides, events, proration, or summarization. Numeric User Period Data: Fields (UD01 through UD07) that you define to group data and create the design for review and analysis. For them to appear in the drop-down list, first you must create the forecast view using maintenance in PeopleSoft Demand Planning. Numeric User Adjusted Forecasts: Forecasts that you define to group data and create the design for review and analysis. For them to appear in the drop-down list, first you must create the forecast view using maintenance in PeopleSoft Demand Planning. Note. When you generate an inventory policy interactively with a forecast, the system displays a warning message that forecast data must exist to transfer forecast items into an inventory policy. The system excludes any item that doesn't contain data in the specified Forecast to Use field from the policy.
Define Location	Select the location of forecast items that are in the policy set. A location can be a physical or logical place where you store inventory. It might be a warehouse, distribution center, factory, or any other site where the organization keeps independent records of inventory. If the location data came from PeopleSoft Inventory, the location is the PeopleSoft Inventory business unit. Location information consists of default rules and parameters that are specific to planning inventory for that location. You can import these values from third-party systems. If you select a location with a field that contains more than five characters, the system provides a warning message that the field will be truncated during policy generation.
Field Name	Displays user data fields that are in use for the forecast view and level associated with this policy set. The system uses this set of field names to define the item code in PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning. To define item code fields, enter rows in the grid with the fields to include in creating the item code. For example, if the item code within PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning equals the item code in Demand Planning, only the item code should be in the Field Name column. If you use the PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning item code as a summarization of the user-defined Item Type and Region fields in Demand Planning, then both the Item Type and Region fields should appear in the Field Name column. Note. When you select a field that exceeds the maximum field length for the item code, the system truncates the value when creating a new item during policy generation. A message appears when you exceed the field length.
Select Forecast Items	Select to access the Define Selection Criteria page and further define which items to include in the inventory policy. Selection criteria helps you build subsets of data.
Map User Defined Fields	Select to access a mapping page and define the relationships between PeopleSoft Demand Planning and Inventory Policy Planning user-defined fields.

Selecting Forecast Items to Include in Policy Sets

Access the Select Forecast Items page.

Select Return to DP Interface on the Demand Planning Interface page to save the entries that you make on this page and then return to the DP Interface page.

Mapping PeopleSoft Demand Planning Fields for Use in Policy Sets

Access the Map User Defined Fields page.

Fields available for mapping are those that have been defined as in use.

From Field

Select the PeopleSoft Demand Planning field that you want to include in the policy set.

Note. You can map one From field to multiple To fields; however, you cannot use a To field more than once for a policy set.

To Field

Select the PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning field in which you want to place data that is contained in the From field.

After selecting From and To fields, click Apply to save the selections and return to the DP Interface page.

Deleting Policy Sets

You can delete an entire policy set or delete certain components of the set without deleting the policy set structure itself.

This section discusses how to delete sets.

Page Used to Delete Policy Sets

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Delete Policy Sets	DP_DELETE_POLSETS	Inventory Policy Planning, Process Deletions, Policy Sets	Delete sets from the PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning system.

Deleting Sets

Access the Delete Policy Sets page.

Click Delete Entire Policy to remove the complete policy set from the system. The system removes information created and maintained by the set. When you select to delete the entire policy set, you cannot select individual policy components to delete.

Click any or all check boxes in the Delete Policy Set Components group box. This removes information for that specific type of policy set component.

This table lists the delete options available on this page and also displays the records the system clears for items related to the policy set you selected for the deletion:

Delete Option	Records Affected
Delete Entire Policy Set	DP_POLICYSETS DP_POLSETITEMS DP_POLSETUFLDS DP_POLSETFILTER DP_IPINQFORMLIN DP_IPINQFORMATS DPIP_WRKQUE_MSG DP_IPERRORLOGS DP_ROLEIPITEM DP_ROLESECPLNES DP_ROLESECPSET DP_UNSELECTFLDS DP_IPPUBSPC_HDR DP_IPPUBSPC_LNS DP_IPPUBSPC_FLT DP_POLFLD_SELS DP_PFLDSEL_LNG DP_EIPIMP_LNS DP_EIPIMP_POL DP_INT_IPMST DP_USERPOLICIES
Policy Items	DP_IPMAST_UOMS DP_IPMAST_LINES DP_IPMASTER
Control Groups	DPIP_CTLGRPWRKQ DP_POLICYCTRLS
Specifications	DP_IPWKQUE_SPEC DP_IWQSPEC_FLTR DP_IPPUBSPC_HDR DP_IPPUBSPC_LNS DP_IPPUBSPC_FLT
Cost Summary Groups	DP_CSUMGRP_FLTR DP_CSUMGRP_HDR