AI Foundation Setup

To see the additional hierarchy level in AI Foundation applications, you must create an alternate product hierarchy that includes both the new level and all other levels from your product hierarchy that you wish to use.

The first step in defining the alternate product hierarchy in AIF is setting up the configuration tables RSE_ALT_HIER_TYPE_STG and RSE_ALT_HIER_LEVEL_STG. These tables are updated from the Manage System Configurations screen in the Control & Tactical Center. For this example, the data you create may look like the following:

Table 9-11 RSE_ALT_HIER_LEVEL_STG Sample

HIER_TYPE_NAME	HIER_LEVEL_ID	DESCR	ID_SRC_COLUMN_NAME	ID_SRC_OBJ_NAME	NAME_SRC_COLUMN_NAME	NAME_SRC_OBJ_NAME	UI_DESCR
PROD_SUBCAT	1	CMP	TOP_PRODCAT_ID	W_PRODUCT_DTS	TOP_PRODCAT_DESC	W_PRODUCT_DTS	Company
PROD_SUBCAT	2	DIV	LVL8_PRODCAT_ID	W_PRODUCT_DTS	LVL8_PRODCAT_DESC	W_PRODUCT_DTS	Division
PROD_SUBCAT	3	GRP	LVL7_PRODCAT_ID	W_PRODUCT_DTS	LVL7_PRODCAT_DESC	W_PRODUCT_DTS	Group
PROD_SUBCAT	4	DEPT	LVL6_PRODCAT_ID	W_PRODUCT_DTS	LVL6_PRODCAT_DESC	W_PRODUCT_DTS	Department
PROD_SUBCAT	5	SUBCAT	FLEX1_CHAR_VALUE	W_PRODUCT_ALT_DTS	FLEX2_CHAR_VALUE	W_PRODUCT_ALT_DTS	Sub Category
PROD_SUBCAT	6	CLS	LVL5_PRODCAT_ID	W_PRODUCT_DTS	LVL5_PRODCAT_DESC	W_PRODUCT_DTS	Class
PROD_SUBCAT	7	SBC	LVL4_PRODCAT_ID	W_PRODUCT_DTS	LVL4_PRODCAT_DESC	W_PRODUCT_DTS	Sub Class
PROD_SUBCAT	8	SKU	ITEM	W_PRODUCT_DTS	ITEM_DESC	W_PRODUCT_DTS	Stock Keeping Unit

Table 9-12 RSE_ALT_HIER_TYPE_STG Sample

DELETE_FLG	DESCR	NAME	OBJ_TYPE_NAME
N	Product Hierarchy with Sub-Category	PROD_SUBCAT	PRODUCT

The configurations specified in this example show how to refer to the default hierarchies (which are loaded through the staging table W_PRODUCT_DTS) and the alternate hierarchies (loaded through the table W_PRODUCT_ALT_DTS). When referring to a default hierarchy level, you should use the parameters shown here for all the SRC fields. You can modify the HIER_LEVEL_ID to change the placement of the levels within the structure; however the standard hierarchy rules must still pass after reorganizing them (for example, you cannot place DEPT below CLS because then the same child node may have multiple parent nodes).

After your configuration is finalized, you may generate the alternate hierarchy in AIF using RSE_MASTER_ADHOC_JOB with the -X flag. This will only load the alternate hierarchy; it assumes you have also loaded the main hierarchy using the -p flag, or you are loading both of them together using -pX. For nightly batch job details, refer to the AI Foundation Implementation Guide, section “Building Alternate Hierarchy in AIF”.

It is also necessary to update RSE_CONFIG options to use the new hierarchy. For example, to use the hierarchy in LPO, change the PMO_PROD_HIER_TYPE parameter to the ID for the new hierarchy. You can find the ID for the hierarchy in table RSE_ HIER_TYPE column ID, which is viewable in Manage System Configurations. Custom hierarchies will have ALT_FLG=Y in their rows of the table.

If you will use the alternate hierarchy in forecast generation for Planning, then the rest of the data aggregation and forecasting processes are the same, whether you are using the standard product hierarchy or the alternate one. You will follow all steps outlined in the AI Foundation Implementation Guide sections for “Forecast Configuration for MFP and AP” and “Forecast Configuration for IPO-DF and AIF” as needed. A summary of those steps are:

1. Set up the configuration to use your alternate hierarchy

2. Create your run types and select your desired intersections, which can include the new alternate hierarchy levels as the forecast level

3. Perform aggregation, estimation, and forecasting processes following the usual steps in the AIF guides

4. Run the ad hoc jobs from POM to export the forecast results to Planning, such as RSE_MFP_FCST_EXPORT_ADHOC_JOB

If you generate a forecast using the custom level, then the export to PDS will appear for that level description as defined in RSE_ALT_HIER_LEVEL_STG.DESCR. In this example, you may generate a forecast at the SUBCAT / AREA / Fiscal Week levels for use in MFP. These are the level names that will appear in the forecast export and must be configured for use in MFP.