Import Demand Planning Forecasts

The purpose of importing demand planning forecasts from IFS/Forecasting is to provide an alternative to the manual entry of forecasts for master-scheduled Level 1 parts and MRP-planned spare parts. The manual process can be repetitive and tedious, especially for forecasts that must be maintained weekly or monthly. Importing previously generated forecasts, either online or in the background, greatly reduces the amount of time that you spend entering and maintaining forecasts. Even with this option, you may choose to maintain a forecast manually, either before or after the forecast has been imported.

Once the import process is complete, you can analyze its results in the appropriate Master Scheduling or MRP windows. You can view the imported forecasts, and if desired, change or delete some or all of them to better meet the capacity limitations of manufacturing resources.

The following are key terms that relate to the import process:

You import forecasts into Master Scheduling or MRP from IFS/Forecasting. The Import Demand Planning Forecasts dialog box lets you specify the import parameters. The results appear in the appropriate MRP or Master Scheduling window.

Several factors determine the time period for which forecasts are imported. For a spare part in MRP, you specify this period by entering the Begin Date and End Date. For a Level 1 part in Master Scheduling, you indicate whether the time period should include forecasts inside the planning time fence (PTF). If you do not request forecasts inside the PTF, the system imports all forecasts outside the PTF, along with all forecasts through the specified End Date. If you do request forecasts inside the PTF, the system also imports forecasts outside the demand time fence (DTF).

The IFS/Forecasting window includes columns for Start Date and End Date. The dates in these columns may be different from the Begin Date and End Date that you entered in the Import Demand Planning Forecasts dialog box. When this occurs, the system calculates the forecast amount using the formulas shown below.

How the Imported Forecast Amount is Calculated

The imported forecast amount depends on the following factors:

• The Forecast Type (either Budget or Regular)
• The number of workdays included in the specified time period for importing
• Whether or not the Start Date and End Date in IFS/Forecasting are the same as the Begin Date and End Date specified in the Import Demand Planning Forecasts dialog box
• Whether or not you have requested the inclusion of forecasts inside the PTF

If the forecast period includes one or more workdays, the formula for determining the imported forecast amount is as follows: Forecast amount imported  =  Forecast or budget amount * n, where n is the number of workdays between the Start Date and End Date specified in IFS/Forecasting

If the forecast period includes no workdays, the formula is as follows: Forecast amount imported = Forecast or budget amount * n, where n is the number of workdays between the Start Date and End Date

How the Starting and Ending Dates are Calculated

The Starting Date for each of the items below is as follows:

• Spare Part: The Start Date or the Begin Date, whichever is greater, is used as the Starting Date for calculating forecast amounts.
• Level 1 Part Without a Request for Forecasts Inside the PTF: The Start Date, Begin Date, or PTF + 1, whichever is greatest, is used as as the Starting Date for calculating forecast amounts.
• Level 1 Part With a Request for Forecasts Inside the PTF: The Start Date, Begin Date, or DTF+1, whichever is greatest, is used as the Starting Date for calculating forecast amounts.
• Spare Part or Level 1 Part for Which the Starting Date Is Not a Workday: The closest previous workday is used as the Starting Date for calculating forecast amounts. If this date does not exist on the manufacturing calendar, then the closest subsequent workday is used. If neither date can be found, an error message appears.

The ending date is as follows:

• Spare Part and Level 1 Part: The End Date that was entered in the Import Demand Planning Forecasts dialog box or the End Date in IFS/Forecasting, whichever is smaller, is used as the ending date for calculating forecast amounts.

How Each Distribution Method Imports the Forecast Amount

The distribution method is one of the import parameters that you specify in the Import Demand Planning Forecasts dialog box. The distribution method controls how the system distributes and displays the imported data.

Start Date Distribution Method

Each forecast in IFS/Forecasting has a Start Date and an End Date to indicate the time period of the forecast. With the Start Date distribution method, the Start Date appears as the Forecast Date.

Daily Distribution Method

The imported forecasts are distributed and displayed on each workday within the specified time period. The system calculates the daily forecast amount by dividing the total imported forecast amount by the number of workdays. The system rounds up any fractional amounts and carries over any overages to the next workday forecast. The following is an example of how this works.

Values:

Manufacturing Calendar:

Using this information, the system calculates the imported forecast as follows:

Imported forecast =  50 * 5 / 6 = 41.67

Imported forecast per workday = 41.67 / 5 = 8.33

Weekly Distribution Method

For the first week in the specified time span, the forecast is distributed and displayed on the Starting Date. (See "How the Starting and Ending Dates Are Calculated," above.) For the following and each subsequent week, the imported forecast is distributed on Monday. The forecast amount for each week is the sum of the forecast amount for each workday in the week. If Monday is not a workday, then the forecast is added to the forecast for the previous week and displayed on either the previous Monday or the Starting Date. If the forecast for the previous week does not exist, an error message appears. The following example uses data from the previous example to illustrate the weekly distribution method.

Values:

Manufacturing Calendar:

Using the above information, the system calculates the imported forecast as follows:

Imported forecast =  50 * 5 / 6 = 41.67

Imported forecast per workday = 41.67 / 5 = 8.33

In above example, both the Starting Date and Monday are workdays, so no forecast amount was added to that for the previous week. However, if a forecast did exist for 11/15/1999 and this date was not a workday, then the system would have added that forecast to the forecast for 11/08/1999.

How Data is Distributed for Forecasts Calculated from Multiple Periods of Forecast

Within a specified time period (Begin Date to End Date), there can be more than one forecast period within IFS/Forecasting. When this occurs, the system uses the first Start Date as the Starting Date. Forecasts for subsequent periods are displayed on Mondays. Some of these subsequent forecasts include part of the previous forecast. This is shown in the following example: