PeopleSoft Enterprise Inventory Policy Planning 9.1 PeopleBook

Publishing Inventory Policies

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

Create specifications for publishing inventory policies.
Publish policies to internal and external systems.
Update inventory policies.
Review published policies.

Understanding Inventory Policy Publishing

Use the Publish Inventory Policy process (DP_IPPUBLISH) to send approved and ready-to-use policy data to PeopleSoft Inventory, Supply Planning, and external systems. For example, you can publish forecasted inventory item replenishment needs for the next month to PeopleSoft Inventory. There, analysts can determine the required item quantities and the time period in which they are required. Using weights, they can also take actions to meet item transfer, purchase, or production requirements down to the daily level.

Inventory data that is published to external systems, such as Microsoft Excel or legacy software programs, provides a complete range of policy data. With more than 100 unique fields of data, including numerous user-data fields, you can publish, analyze, and adjust the data to meet most supply and demand requirements.

To publish policies, the system uses specifications that define what data to publish and where to publish it. These specifications determine the policy set and parameters that you want to associate with each specification.

You can publish polices to:

PeopleSoft Supply Chain Management (PeopleSoft SCM) records.
Flat files that are sent to external systems.

Common Elements Used in This Chapter

Publish Name

A label to identify the publish activity for use by other applications. It's a logical name that you can use to publish a policy again and again. When you publish the policy, you can select which name you want to associate with the published data. The system uses this field, along with a publish date, to create a unique publish instance that other applications use to retrieve the published data. This field is required.

Publish Specification

The name for the template that contains a set of parameters for publishing policies to internal PeopleSoft SCM applications or to external systems. You can reuse the template to consistently publish the same information on a timely basis.

Creating Specifications for Publishing Inventory Policies

This section provides an overview of publish specifications and discusses how to:

Define policy publish specifications.
Define data fields to publish.
Select records to publish.
Define external publish options.

Understanding Publish Specifications

A specification is a template that contains a set of processing parameters that you use and reuse to automatically update files that you publish. Specification parameters determine the data to be published, the target of the publish activity, and the definition for how to publish the data.

When you publish the policy, the system uses the specification parameters to send inventory policy recommendations to internal PeopleSoft SCM applications and external sources, such as Microsoft Access and Excel.

You define specifications for selected policy sets. The specification determines which data is to be published, its format, target, and the record selection of data to be published. You can change the details of a publish specification at any time and reuse it on a regular basis to publish policy data.

To create specifications and publish policy set data:

Use the Define Publish Specification page to define a specification for the policy set.

This is the policy set from which you want to extract data for publishing.

You can also use this page to:
- Define the periods to publish, UOMs and alternate UOMs to publish, and publish targets.
- Define publish targets.
  
  If you select Internal as a target, you must indicate which internal options to publish, and the field names to publish.
  
  If you select External, you must specify the field names to publish and the external file parameters.
Use the Fields to Publish page to limit which fields of data you include in the published policy.
Use the Record Selection page to apply filters to create data subsets that limit the range of information for a field.
Use the External Options page to define parameters for publishing policies to external systems. This page is valid for external targets.

Pages Used to Create Specifications for Publishing Inventory Policies

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Define Publish Specification	DP_IPPUBSPC_HDR	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification	Define policy publish specifications.
Fields to Publish	DP_IPPUBSPC_LNS	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification, Fields to Publish	Define data fields to publish from inventory policies.
Record Selection	DP_IPPUBSPC_FLT	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification, Record Selection	Select records to publish to external or PeopleSoft applications.
External Options	DP_IPPUBSPC_EXT	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification, External Options	Define external publish options, such as output formats and modes, for publishing policies to external applications.

Defining Policy Publish Specifications

Access the Define Publish Specification page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification).

Publish Offset Period From	Determines the starting period to including in the publishing. The system adds the offset to the starting period to determine the starting period for publishing. You can define publishing periods either using the offset method or by indicating the year and period number. Use offsets to avoid changing period and year values as the planning horizon moves forward in time. An offset is always assumed to be n periods from the starting period. Using the Publish Offset Period From and Publish Offset Period To fields, enter the number of periods from the current period that you want to include in the processing. Enter values in both fields to define the range. If you use a single period, enter it in both fields. Zero isn't a valid offset. The system assumes that 1 is the first forecast period, with -1 being the last historical period.
Publish Offset Period To	Use this field with the Publish Offset Period From field to define a range of periods to include in the publishing.
Publish Period/Year From	Determines the first period in the planning horizon from which the system publishes policy data to PeopleSoft SCM records or external systems. Use this field in conjunction with the Publish Period/Year To field to define the complete range of periods from the policy set for publishing data. This is a required field. If you are creating a specification, you must enter a period that is valid for the policy set. The system validates the formats to prevent mixed formats or formats that are not valid. The system converts only calendar information and units of measure (UOMs) within the defined periods. Create periods by using the Periods page. To access the page, select Define Calendar, Structure, Period. During the creation of the policy set, you define which PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning calendar and period to use with the set. Note. All inventory policies within a publish set must use the same bucket period boundaries to publish time-phased data.
Publish Period/Year To	Determines the last period in the planning horizon for which the system publishes item policy data. Use the field in conjunction with the Publish Period/Year To field to define a complete range of time for publishing data. Characteristics of this field are the same as those for the Publish Period/Year From field. This field is required.
UOM Conversion Method (unit of measure conversion method)	Select a format to update published quantities. The system uses this selection along with the Publish Alternate UOM field value to write quantities to internal and external files. The default value for this field is Policy Uom (=1). The system retrieves conversion factors for all UOM conversions based on the hierarchy of conversions. The system first searches for an item-specific conversion, if one isn't found, it searches for a generic UOM conversion. Note. Missing conversion factors prevent policy items from being published. When the publish doesn't find a conversion factor, it writes an error record to the message catalog. A log file is also written. Conversion options include: Policy Uom (=1): Uses the inventory policy item base UOM to publish the quantities. A UOM conversion is not needed. Alternate (Using Conversion): Uses the PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning conversion process to convert policy quantities to a user-specified UOM. Select the UOM in which you want to publish the quantities in the Publish Alternate UOM field. Inventory Standard: Uses the base inventory UOM as the publish UOM. The base inventory UOM is on the Inventory master record for each item and location. The base inventory standard conversion factor is 1 if Inventory is set as In Use on the Policy Set, and the base UOM hasn't been changed on the policy items. Period Cost: Multiplies the policy quantities by the period cost for each item. The system uses the static standard cost for any period where the cost is zero. Note. When the publish UOM value is Cost, Price or Margin, the system doesn't write the conversion factor in the DP_PUB_INVPOL record because the conversion factor is the price, cost, or margin. PeopleSoft recommends that when using one of these conversions, the conversion field, such as cost or margin, is in the list of fields to be published and quantities to be converted. Period Price: Multiplies the quantities by the period price. The standard price is used for any period where data isn't available. Standard Cost: Multiplies the quantities by the static standard cost. PeopleSoft recommends that when using this conversion, the conversion field is in the list of fields to be published, as well as the quantities to be converted. Standard Price: Multiplies the quantities by the static period price. PeopleSoft recommends that when using one of these conversions, the conversion field, such as cost or margin, is in the list of fields to be published and quantities to be converted. Standard Margin: Subtracts the static standard cost from the static standard price and multiplies the result by the policy quantities. Volume: Uses the volume UOM for the item publish UOM. The system converts the quantities by multiplying by the volume for each item. Weight: Uses the weight UOM for the item publish UOM. The system converts the quantities by multiplying by the weight for each item.
Publish Alternate UOM (publish alternate unit of measure)	Select a unit of measure that you want to use as the publish UOM instead of the policy item base UOM. When you select the Alternate (Using Conversion) option in the UOM Conversion Method field, you must also select a value in this field. Values include all UOMs for which a specifically defined conversion exists between the UOM and the base UOM. You use the Unit of Measure Conversions page to create conversions. To access the page, select Define Policy Elements, Units of Measure, UOM Conversions.

Publish Target

Use the Publish Targets group box to indicate where you want to publish the policy.

Internal

Select to publish policy data for internal users. This data then becomes available for use by other PeopleSoft applications.

When you select this check box, you must complete selections in the Internal Options group box. The system publishes the policy information to the item, utilization type, planning attributes, stock period inventory, or order modifiers records.

When you publish policies, the system writes data for the fields that you define on the Fields to Publish page, based on the selection criteria that you define on the Record Selection page. You can use this option by itself or with the other options.

When the system publishes to internal sources, it:

Writes records to staging tables and the published policy tables in PeopleSoft SCM databases.
Loads the policy data into PeopleSoft Inventory master records when you select to update policies.

External

Select to publish the policy to external systems, such as a legacy system or for use with an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

When you select the External option, you must also define a file output name by using the External Options page. That page becomes active when you select this option.

Internal Options

Use the Internal Options group box to define which policy components you want to publish.

Business Unit Items	Select to publish policy values to the BU_ITEMS_INV record.
Utilization Type	Select to publish policy values to the BU_ITEM_UTIL_CD record.
Planning Attributes	Select to publish policy values to the PL_ITEM_ATRIB record.
Stock Period In (stock period inventory)	Select to publish policy values to the STOCK_PERIOD_IN record.
Order Modifiers	Select to publish policy values to the transfer, purchasing, and manufacturing minimum and maximum order and to order multiple values in the PL_ITEM ATRIB record where the Order Modifier value is set to Y.

Defining Data Fields to Publish

Access the Fields to Publish page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification, Fields to Publish).

Select the fields that you want to include in this publish activity to internal or external targets. Fields that you define here become available for defining filters on the Record Selection page.

PeopleSoft provides check boxes to bring groups of fields to the Selected Fields grid. To select the group of fields associated with policy master data, for example, select the Policy Master check box and click the Refresh Grid button.

Note. The system sorts the fields alphabetically each time the page is refreshed. If you have specific field sort orders, do not click the Refresh Grid button. This sorts the fields again. To maintain a sorted list, order the fields by using the Sequence field.

Policy Master	Select to make all fields in the DP_IPMASTER record available for publishing, except user-defined fields.
Period Data	Select to make all time-phase data fields in the DP_PUB_IPMSTLIN record available for publishing.
User Data	Select to make all user-defined fields in the DP_IPMASTER record available for publishing. The system selects only those fields that are defined as in use.
Refresh Grid	Click to populate the Field Name column with fields from the sources that you select in the Selection Fields group box.
Sequence	Enter a number that determines the order of the data fields when you publish the policy.
Field Name	Select fields that you want to include in the specification. You can insert rows into the selected fields grid using the + and − keys. The fields are sorted alphabetically.

Selecting Records to Publish

Access the Record Selection page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification, Record Selection).

See Defining Selection Criteria.

Defining External Publish Options

Access the External Options page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Define Publish Specification, External Options).

When you publish a policy to an external application, the system writes the data to a file. Use this page to define the external address for the policy publish file along with its formatting criteria.

File Date Format	Select a format in which the system writes dates to the published file. This is a required field. Values include: DMY (date, month, year) MDY (month, date, year) YMD (year, month, date)
File Date Delimiter	Select a character to use to distinguish between a date's day, month, and year. The character determines how the system processes and divides dates in published files. For example, you can use a hyphen as a date delimiter, 12-20-2003. The default value for a delimiter is a back slash. This is a required field.
File Output Format	Select a file format from the list of predefined formats. You can also create file formats for publishing policy external specifications by using PeopleTools Application Designer File Layout Objects. This is a required field. See Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Application Designer Values include: CSV-Comma (comma separated variable-comma): The system uses a comma as an indicator to start another field of data and wraps text data with quotes. CSV-Semi (comma separated variable file-semicolon): The system uses a semicolon as an indicator to start another field of data and wraps text data with quotes. CSV-Tab (comma separated variable file-tab): The system uses a tab as an indicator to start another field of data and wraps text data with quotes.
File Output Mode	Select Create a New File to create a new file. Select Append File to add records in this publish specification to an existing file.
Column Labels in First Row	Select to set the first record as column headings in the output file. The system uses either the field name or its caption as the label for the column. You determine the label by using the Headings Type field.
Headings Type	Determines how a field of information is labeled when it's published to an external file. For example, the title for a column heading in a Microsoft Excel file might use the PeopleTools field name or the caption that is assigned to the name. Captions are the descriptions that are associated with a field. Values include: Field Caption: A description that is assigned to a PeopleTools field. Normally, these captions are practical, because you can apply your own meaning and words to the field. The system extracts this value from the short description of the field. Field Name: The PeopleTools name that is assigned to this field. This is also the default value for the Headings Type field.
File Output Name	Enter the name of the output file. Use this name to recall the file in the external system.

Publishing Policies to Internal and External Systems

This section discusses how to:

Run the Publish Inventory Policy process.
Update inventory policies.

Pages Used to Publish Policies to Internal and External Systems

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Publish Policy	DP_IPPUB_RUN	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Publish Policy	Run the Publish Inventory Policy process and define parameters for publishing policy recommendations to PeopleSoft Inventory and PeopleSoft Order Management.
Inventory Policy Update	DP_IPRDOUPD_RUN	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Inventory Policy Update	Update inventory policy data in PeopleSoft SCM.

Running the Publish Policy Process

Access the Publish Policy page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Publish Policy).

Policy Publish Date

Enter the date that you want to use for this publish activity. This field along with the publish name, provide a unique key to access a specific, approved policy at any time in the future. For example, you might define a publish activity as:

POLICYSET101 (Publish Name).

Approved policy for December (Description).

12/1/03 (Policy Publish Date).

Edit Publish Specification

Click to access the Define Publish Specification page, where you can make changes to the specification that you select to run this process. This link is not available until you select a specification by using the Publish Specification field.

After you run the Publish Inventory Policy process, go to the external system or to other PeopleSoft SCM applications to review policy information and make inventory decisions.

Updating Policies

Access the Inventory Policy Update page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Inventory Policy Update).

The final step in making policy data available to PeopleSoft SCM applications is to run the PeopleSoft Application Engine DP_IPRDOUPD process. This process loads policy data into the PeopleSoft Financial, Distribution, and Manufacturing system.

Business Unit Option	Select All to include all business units contained for the publish specification. Select Specific to use one business unit. You must complete the Business Unit field if you use a specific business unit.
Business Unit	Enter the business unit to which you want to apply the published inventory policy.
Safety Stock Update	Select to apply published policy values and stock periods to the STOCK_PERIOD_IN record. This includes safety and excess stock limits.
Replenish Attrib Update (replenish attributes update)	Select to apply published policy values to the BU_ITEMS_INV record. These values include fields that relate to replenishing inventory quantities, including stockout rates, order multiples, and reorder points.
Utilization Attrib Update (utilization attributes update)	Select to apply published policy values to the BU_ITEM_UTIL_CD record. These values include utilization codes and groups.
Planning Attributes Update	Select to apply published policy values to the PL_ITEM_ATTRIB record. Planning attributes from PeopleSoft Inventory Policy Planning include minimum and maximum order quantities and multiples for transfer, purchasing, and manufacturing components. When you select this update you can also select specific components that you want to update.
Transfer	Select to apply published inventory policy order modifiers to the PL_ITEM_ATTRIB record. This includes the transfer minimum and maximum order and the order multiple.
Purchase	Select to apply published inventory policy order modifiers to the PL_ITEM_ATTRIB record. This includes the purchasing minimum and maximum order and the order multiple.
Manufacturing	Select to apply published inventory policy order modifiers to the PL_ITEM_ATTRIB record. This includes the manufacturing minimum and maximum order and the order multiple.

Reviewing Published Policies

After publishing policies, you can review data that was published using the Review Published Policy feature.

This section lists common elements and discusses how to:

Select fields to review in published policies.
View published policy details.
View published policy period data.
View published user data.
View published planning fields.

Common Elements Used in This Section

Return to Filter	Select to access the Review Published Policy page and change the selection criteria that you use to create the inquiry.
Return to Policy Details	Select to access the Published Policy Details page and select another item to view.
Planning Fields	Select to access the Published Planning Fields page, which displays planning information. This information has been published to PeopleSoft Supply Chain Management applications.
User Data Fields	Select to access the Published User Data page, which displays information about user-defined fields.

Pages Used to Review Published Policies

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Review Published Policy	DP_IPPUB_FILTER	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Review Published Policy	Enter selection criteria that determine the lines that you review in the published policy.
Published Policy Details	DP_IPPUB_TABLE	Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Review Published Policy	View published policy details.
Published Period Data	DP_IPPUB_DETAIL	Click an Item Code link on the Published Policy Details page.	View published policy period data.
Published User Data	DP_IPPUB_TABLE2	Click the User Data Fields link on the Published Policy Details page.	View published user data.
Published Planning Fields	DP_IPPUB_TABLE3	Click the Planning Fields link on the Published Policy Details page.	View published planning fields.

Selecting Fields to Review in Published Policies

Access the Review Published Policy page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Review Published Policy).

See Defining Selection Criteria.

Viewing Published Policy Details

Access the Published Policy Details page (Inventory Policy Planning, Commit Policy, Review Published Policy).

This page provides basic details about the published policy item. Using a variety of tabs and links, you can review different policy data types. Select an item from in the Item Code column to access the Published Period Data page and review policy data for each period.

OQ/SS Policy

Select the OQ/SS (Order Quantity/Safety Stock) Policy tab.

This tab displays order quantity and safety stock data.

RP/MM Policy

Select the RP/MM (Reorder Point/Minimum-Maximum tab.

This tab displays reorder point and minimum/maximum policy data.

Other Data

Select the Other Data tab.

This tab displays other data, including order multiples, order count, and average inventory.

Standard Costs

Select the Standard Costs tab.

This tab displays cost data, including standard price, standard cost, and carrying cost percentage.

Units

Select the Units tab.

This tab displays UOM-related information, including inventory and publish units, conversion factors, and volume and weight published values.

Viewing Published Policy Period Data

Access the Published Period Data page (click an Item Code link on the Published Policy Details page).

This page displays values, including period-by-period values for the forecasted quantity, indirect demand, and policy quantities, for published data series. Click the Return to Policy Details link to access the Published Policy Details page and review information for another published item.

Average Inventory

Access the Average Inventory tab.

This tab displays the published average inventory, turn rate, minimum and maximum quantities, and costs for a policy item period-by-period.

Viewing Published User Data Fields

Access the Published User Data page (click the User Data Fields link on the Published Policy Details page).

This page displays published values for user-defined fields. Each tab on this page contains a different set of fields for mapping data for publishing.

Viewing Published Planning Fields

Access the Published Planning Fields page (click the Planning Fields link on the Published Policy Details page).

This page displays values—including item type, group, color, and stock type—for item family attribute values that the system published to PeopleSoft SCM applications.

Click a value in the Items column to see time-phased details for the item.

Cost

Select the Cost tab.

This tab displays cost information—including the standard cost group, cost element, excess inventory, and if an item is consigned—that the system publishes to PeopleSoft SCM.