Inventory Planning > Inventory Families & Groupings > Families and Groupings - Menu options

Families and Groupings - Menu options

This describes the various menu options you can access from within the Families and Groupings program.

Edit

Field Description
Add This adds a new collection, a sub-collection to an existing collection, or stock codes to a collection.
Change This maintains the details of the collection currently highlighted in the Collection Structure tree view.
Delete This deletes the collection (and its contents) currently highlighted in the Collection Structure tree view, or deletes the stock code currently highlighted in the tree view.
Delete All This deletes all stock codes for the currently selected collection.

This option is only enabled when a SKU or consolidated warehouse items are highlighted in the tree view.

If all items attached to a collection are deleted then the aggregated figures are automatically cleared.

Copy This copies sub-collections and/or stock keeping units (SKUs) from one collection to another.
Previous Selections This displays saved stock item selections previously added in batch mode to a collection.

This option is only enabled once you have saved at least one selection and then exited and reloaded the program.

Aggregate Sales History This aggregates the sales history for the collection from the SKUs contained therein.

If the collection contains sub-collections (rather than SKUs or consolidated warehouse items) then the sales for these child collections are aggregated.

Sales for the warehouses are aggregated for consolidated warehouse items.

This aggregation must be performed before demand history maintenance or forecasting can be done.

Add Stock Code to Collection - Manual Selection

If you have a 'root' collection that contains a number of sub-collections, then you can only add stock items to the last sub-collection (i.e. to the last node in the tree).

Field Description
Warehouse Enter the warehouse in which the stock code you want to include in the collection is linked.

This field is only enabled if no warehouse consolidation is selected against the collection.

Previous Select this to navigate to the previous warehouse.
Next Select this to navigate to the next warehouse.
Stock code Enter the code of the stock item you want to add to the collection.
Rev/Rel For ECC-controlled items, you use these fields to enter the revision/release of the stock item you want to add to the collection.
Batch Selection Select this to add multiple stock items simultaneously to the collection.

Add Stock Codes to Collection - Batch Selection

This screen is displayed when you select the Batch Selection option from the Add Stock Code to Collection window. The options enable you to simultaneously add a number of stock items to a collection.

Field Description
Warehouse Selection Indicate the warehouse(s) in which the stock codes you want to include in the collection are stocked.

This option is only enabled if no warehouse consolidation is selected against the collection.

Stock code selection Indicate the stock items you want to add to the collection.
Supplier selection Indicate a selective range of suppliers (as defined against the stock code) for which you want to add the stock items to the collection.
Product class selection Indicate a selective range of product classes (as defined against the stock code) for which you want to add the stock items to the collection.
Planner Indicate a selective range of planners (as defined against the stock code) for which you want to add the stock items to the collection.
Buyer Indicate a selective range of buyers (as defined against the stock code) for which you want to add the stock items to the collection.
Include These options enable you to indicate the stock items to add to the collection based on their ABC classification (see ABC Analysis).
Analysis type

Select stock items based on the Pareto Analysis as calculated by the Pareto Analysis program. Your selection here influences which stock codes are included for addition to the collection.

Once you have selected an analysis type, you can select the Pareto level at which the analysis must be performed.

For example, if you select Sales and Stock code, then the Pareto classification of items, used for inclusion purposes, will be retrieved based on sales at the stock code level.

Sales Performs the analysis based on sales.
Current forecasts Performs the analysis based on current forecasts.
Draft forecasts Performs the analysis based on draft forecasts.
Pareto level

This option enables you to select the level at which the Pareto analysis must be performed.

The following options can be selected:

  • 1 - Stock code
  • 2 - Warehouse
  • 3 - Product class
  • 4 - Supplier
  • 5 - Planner
  • 6 - Buyer
Save selections This saves the options you selected for future use.

When you select this option, you are prompted to enter a description for your selections. The selections are saved when you add the stock codes and can be used to re-generate the stock codes for selection when required.

You use the Previous Selections option from the Edit menu to view these saved selections.

Manual Selection This manually adds individual stock items to the collection.
Review This displays the stock codes to be added to the collection according to the options you indicated. A tick in the first column of the list view indicates that the stock item must be added to the collection. By default, all stock items are marked as selected for addition to the collection.
OptionDescription
CloseSelect this to ignore all your selections and to return to the IO Families and Groupings screen.
Add SKUsSelect this to add the stock items indicated as selected to the collection. A tick in the first column of the list view indicates that the stock item is selected for addition to the collection.
SelectSelect this to mark the currently highlighted stock item as selected for addition to the collection. By default, all stock items are marked as selected for addition to the collection.
DeselectSelect this to exclude the stock item currently highlighted in the list view from being added to the collection.
Add Stock Codes This adds the items indicated to the collection.

If you selected the Review option, then the stock items selected according to your indications are displayed in a list view. You can then select/deselect items from the list as required.

Collection Maintenance

Before you can add a new collection, you need to use the Browse on Collection Descriptors program to define a collection descriptor for the collection.

[Note]

A collection may contain other collections or stock codes, but not both (i.e. a collection cannot contain both sub-collections and stock codes).

However, if you have a hierarchy of sub-collections within a single collection, then the last sub-collection may contain SKUs.

When you select to add to a new collection, you are prompted to indicate whether you want to add another collection or you want to add stock codes to the collection.

Field Description
Collection Enter the collection you want to maintain.
Description This indicates the description defined against the collection (Browse on Collection Descriptors).
Instance This is automatically generated when a collection is added. It is used to ensure that each collection is unique.
Unit of measure The collection's unit of measure only needs to be defined if you want to work with the collection in quantities rather than costs or sales values.

If the products within a collection are dissimilar or vary greatly in units of measure, then it is preferable to work with values rather than quantities. In that case, you would leave this field blank.

If you do not define a unit of measure for the collection, you will be unable to select the Quantities option from the View menu.

Quantity decimals Enter the number of decimals to use for the quantities.
Forecast calendar Indicate the forecast calendar to use for the collection (see Forecast Calendars).

If left blank, the default forecast calendar is used.

Forecast algorithm Indicate the forecast algorithm to use for the collection. The following algorithms are available:
  • Use default
  • Competition
  • Mean
  • Median
  • Moving average
  • Exponential smoothing/ & trend
  • Six period weighted average
  • Twelve period weighted average
  • Holt-Winters additive
  • Holt-Winters multiplicative
  • Annual seasonal - unsmoothed.
Override default algorithm settings Define different algorithm settings for the selected collection rather than use the overall settings defined in the Inventory Optimization - Forecast Algorithms Setup program.
Algorithm Settings Select this to define the algorithm options you require for the selected collection (see Algorithm Options).

If you do not define these settings for the collection, then the settings defined in the Inventory Optimization - Forecast Algorithms Setup program are used.

Warehouse consolidation This is only enabled for collections that contain SKUs. It enables you to consolidate the warehouses for the stock items added to the collection.
No consolidation Select this if you do not want to consolidate warehouses for the stock items in the collection.
All warehouses Select this to consolidate all warehouses for the stock items in the collection.
List of warehouses Select this to indicate a list of warehouses to consolidate for the stock items in the collection.
Warehouses Define the list of warehouses you want to consolidate for the stock items in the collection (see Consolidated Warehouse Selection).
Algorithm Options

This screen is displayed when you select the Algorithm Settings function. The options enable you to define the algorithm options for the selected collection only.

Field Description
Algorithms 1

Competition options
[Note]

You can override this at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Number of months to use for competition Indicate the number of months into the past for which forecasts must be generated to compare algorithms. This defaults to 12.
Measure to use for competition Indicate the forecast error measurement that must be used when comparing algorithms. This defaults to Mean Square Deviation.

One of the following can be selected:

  • Cumulative Forecast Error (CFE)
  • Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD)
  • Mean Square Deviation (MSD)
  • Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE)
  • Tracking Signal
Mean options
[Note]

You can override this at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Number of months to use for calculation Indicate the number of months to include when calculating the mean. This defaults to 12.

The months indicated are converted to the relevant number of periods according to the calendar used.

When using a weekly calendar other than 445, 454 or 544, the number of periods are calculated as:

Periods = (months * 52 / 12) / multiples. Multiples are the number of weeks per period and can be 1, 2 or 4.

When using a monthly calendar, the number of periods are based on the number of months per period and calculated as:

Periods = months / multiples. Multiples can be 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Median options
[Note]

You can override this at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Number of months to use for calculation Indicate the number of months to include when calculating the median. This defaults to 12.

The months indicated are converted to the relevant number of periods according to the calendar used.

When using a weekly calendar other than 445, 454 or 544, the number of periods are calculated as:

Periods = (months * 52 / 12) / multiples. Multiples are the number of weeks per period and can be 1, 2 or 4.

When using a monthly calendar, the number of periods are based on the number of months per period and calculated as:

Periods = months / multiples. Multiples can be 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Moving average options
[Note]

You can override this at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Number of months to use for calculation Indicate the number of months to include when calculating the moving average. This defaults to 3.

The months indicated are converted to the relevant number of periods according to the calendar used.

When using a weekly calendar other than 445, 454 or 544, the number of periods are calculated as:

Periods = (months * 52 / 12) / multiples. Multiples are the number of weeks per period and can be 1, 2 or 4.

When using a monthly calendar, the number of periods are based on the number of months per period and calculated as:

Periods = months / multiples. Multiples can be 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Exponential smoothing with trend options
[Note]

You can override this at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Smoothing coefficient Indicate the smoothing coefficient that must be used when calculating forecasts using this algorithm. This defaults to 0.7.
Trend coefficient Indicate the trend coefficient to use when calculating forecasts using this algorithm. This defaults to 0.6.
Algorithms 2

Six period weighted average options
[Note]

The weightings for all periods added together must equal one.

You can override your entry here at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Weighting for periods forecast minus 1 & 2 Indicate the weighting that should be applied to the two periods immediately prior to the period being forecast. This defaults to 0.5.
Weighting for periods forecast minus 3 & 4 Indicate the weighting that should be applied to the third and fourth periods prior to the period being forecast. This defaults to 0.3.
Weighting for periods forecast minus 5 & 6 Indicate the weighting that should be applied to the fifth and sixth periods prior to the period being forecast. This defaults to 0.2.
Twelve period weighted average options
[Note]

The weightings for all periods added together must equal one.

You can override your entry here at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Weighting for periods forecast minus 1, 2 & 3 Indicate the weighting that should be applied to the first three periods immediately prior to the period being forecast. This defaults to 0.45.
Weighting for periods forecast minus 4, 5 & 6 Indicate the weighting that should be applied to the fourth, fifth and sixth periods prior to the period being forecast. This defaults to 0.25.
Weighting for periods forecast minus 7, 8 & 9 Indicate the weighting that should be applied to the seventh, eighth and ninth periods prior to the period being forecast. This defaults to 0.2.
Weighting for periods forecast minus 10, 11 & 12 Indicate the weighting that should be applied to the tenth, eleventh and twelfth periods prior to the period being forecast. This defaults to 0.1
Holt-Winters additive options
[Note]

You can override this at stock code/revision/release/warehouse level.

Optimize coefficients Select this option if you want the system to attempt to find the optimum coefficient values to use when forecasting, instead of the values at the coefficient fields below. This option is selected by default.
Level coefficient Indicate the level coefficient to be applied when forecasting with this algorithm. This defaults to 0.
Trend coefficient Indicate the trend coefficient to be applied when forecasting with this algorithm.
Seasonal coefficient Indicate the seasonal coefficient to be applied when forecasting with this algorithm.
Holt-Winters multiplicative options

Optimize coefficients Select this option if you want the system to attempt to find the optimum coefficient values to use when forecasting, instead of the values at the coefficient fields below. This option is selected by default.
Level coefficient Indicate the level coefficient to be applied when forecasting with this algorithm. This defaults to 0.
Trend coefficient Indicate the trend coefficient to be applied when forecasting with this algorithm.
Seasonal coefficient Indicate the seasonal coefficient to be applied when forecasting with this algorithm.
Consolidated Warehouse Selection

This screen is displayed when you select the Warehouses function. The options enable you to define a list of warehouses for which you want to consolidate the stock items in the collection.

Field Description
Available Warehouses This list view displays the codes and descriptions for the warehouses you can select to include in the consolidation.
Assign Selected Select this to include the currently highlighted warehouse(s) in the Available Warehouses list view in the consolidation.

You can use the Ctrl and Shift keys together with your mouse pointer to individually highlight the warehouses you want to assign.

Assign All Select this to include all warehouses in the Available Warehouses list view in the consolidation.
Selected Warehouses This list view displays the codes and descriptions for the warehouses you selected to include in the consolidation.
Remove Selected Select this to remove the currently highlighted warehouse(s) from your list of Selected Warehouses.

You can use the Ctrl and Shift keys together with your mouse pointer to individually highlight the warehouses you want to remove.

Remove All Select this to remove all warehouses in the Selected Warehouses list view from the consolidation.

Copy

Field Description
Copy from  
Collection By default, this is the collection highlighted in the tree view when you selected the Copy option.

You can use the Switch Source/Target option to reverse the target and source collections. This enables you to then indicate the source warehouse from the tree view.

Instance This indicates the instance allocated to the collection when it was added.
Switch Source/Target Select this to switch the source and target collections. When you select this option, the source collection becomes the target collection and vice versa.
Copy to  
Collection Enter the collection to which you want to copy the sub-collections or SKUs.

You can use the tree view to indicate the target collection required.

Instance This indicates the instance allocated to the collection when it was added.
Copy options Depending on the structure of the source collection, not all these options may be available. For example, if the source collection contains only SKUs, then the options to copy collections are not enabled.
OptionDescription
Copy collections onlySelect this to copy only the collections to the target collection. SKUs are not copied.
Copy collections and SKUsSelect this to copy the collections and SKUs to the target collection. Everything below the source collection is copied.
Copy SKUs onlySelect this to copy only the SKUs. The program drops through all sub-collections and copies the SKUs directly to the target collection.
Copy first level onlySelect this if you do not want to process and copy the lower levels of the collection.
Copy to This tree view displays the available collections to which the items can be copied (i.e. the target collections).
Copy from This tree view displays the available collections from which the items can be copied (i.e. the source collections).
Copy Copies sub-collections and/or SKUs from one collection to another.

Previous Selections

This displays all saved selections for the collection (more than one selection can be saved for a single collection).

These selections are created when you add stock items to a collection in batch mode and select the Save Selections option.

You typically save selections so that you can re-generate them for the collection. For example, you may have saved a selection of stock items for a specific warehouse only. Since these were last added to the collection, additional stock items may have been added to the warehouse and you now want to include these new items in the collection. You can select the appropriate selection and process the selection to add these items to the collection. This saves you from having to delete the existing stock items and re-defining the selection.

The following information is displayed for each saved selection:

Column Description
Column 1 A tick in this column indicates that the selection is currently selected.
Date This indicates the date on which the selection was saved.
Time This indicates the time at which the selection was saved.
Description This indicates the description allocated to the selection when it was saved.
Field Description
Select All Select this to set all saved selections to selected.
Deselect All Select this to set all saved selections to deselected.
Delete Select this to delete the selected selections.
Review Select this to view the stock codes to be added to the collection according to the options you indicated. The list view is displayed when you select to process the selections.

This enables you to deselect the items you do not want to add to the collection.

Delete existing items Select this to delete the SKUs currently held against the collection before the selections are processed.
Retain manual additions Select this to retain any existing stock items which were added manually, but to delete all existing SKUs added using the batch method.
Process selections Select this to add the stock items for the selected selections to the collection. If you selected the Review option, then the stock items are displayed in a list view. This enables you to select/deselect items as required.
Cancel Select this to return to the previous screen.
Selection information This indicates the options selected when the selection was originally made. It is displayed for information purposes only and cannot be changed.

Aggregate Sales History

Field Description
Date that aggregation was last performed This indicates the date on which the sales aggregation was last performed for the selected collection.
End date of last period of history This indicates the end date of the previous forecasting period, as defined in the calendar for the collection.

The sales aggregation needs to be run if the sales history for the selected collection has not been aggregated after this date.

Update sales history for all SKUs in selected structure Select this to update the sales history against each stock item in the selected collection with the sales transactions that occurred since the last aggregation.

The sales history and sales returns history values are held in year-to-date format in the IOPSLS (IopSales) and IOPSLR (IopSalesReturns) tables/files. While this format aids performance when retrieving history for any given period (certainly on C-ISAM), it can be tedious to update.

For example, if a sale needs to be introduced to the IOPSLS file/table for the 1st May 2008 and there are 50 records for the stock code/rev/rel/warehouse in 2008 that are subsequent to this date, each of these records require updating. To avoid the effect that these potentially slow updates would have on invoicing, the IOPTRN (IopTransactions) intermediate file/table is used. However, any transactions that have been output to this file/table must be included in the sales and sales returns history before we can begin forecasting in Families and Groupings.

By selecting this option, Sales Aggregation transfers sales figures from IOPTRN (IopTransactions) to IOPSLS(IopSales) and IOPSLR (IopSalesReturns).

Aggregate Sales Select this to aggregate the sales for the selected collection.

For whichever collection you select, the entire hierarchy below that collection is processed.

The sales history for each member of the collection for each period in the interval for which the members have a valid history is totalled.

For each SKU found, the sales figures are aggregated up through any intermediate collections to the collection the process was started on.

The Aggregation date and time is updated against each collection included in the aggregation. This information is displayed in the Collection Information pane.

View

Field Description
Quantities This displays quantities in the stocking unit of measure in the list view columns and on the graph.
[Note]

This option is only enabled for a collection if a unit of measure is defined against the collection.

Cost Values This displays the cost values in the list view columns and on the graph.

Forecast cost values are calculated using the current inventory cost in the selected warehouse.

Sales Values This displays the sales values in the list view columns and on the graph.

Forecast sales values are calculated using the list price for the item.

You can only select this if you have been denied access to the option: Show costs in Inventory/WIP queries (Operators).

GP Values This displays the gross profit values in the list view columns and on the graph.

Forecast gross profit values are calculated as: sales value less cost value.

GP Percentages This displays the gross profit percentages in the list view columns and on the graph.

Forecast gross profit percentages are calculated as: gross profit value divided by cost value, shown as a percentage.

Reports

These reports are only available at collection level (i.e. when you highlight a collection in the Collection Structure tree view). The reports are generated only for the selected collection. The collection is equivalent to the Forecasting set in Inventory Forecasting.

Field Description
Forecast Comparison Report This uses the Forecast Comparison program to compare current forecasts with draft forecasts for the currently selected collection. This enables you to check the reasonableness of newly-generated draft forecasts.
[Note]

The Forecast Comparison program is merely used as a template for the Families and Groupings program's list of SKUs. The Forecast Comparison program is not displayed for you to make any selections.

List of Forecasts This uses the List of Forecasts program to print, by forecasting period, a list of draft and current forecasts per stock code/warehouse/rev/rel for the collection currently highlighted.

The results are displayed by forecasting period as defined by the calendar. If the Forecast Comparison program highlights unexpected variances between draft and current forecasts, then this report can be used to investigate the items causing the variance.

[Note]

The List of Forecasts program is merely used as a template for the Families and Groupings program's list of SKUs. The List of Forecasts program is not displayed for you to make any selections.

Pareto Analysis

Field Description
Parameters This defines the options for performing a Pareto analysis on the SKUs in the currently highlighted collection.
Analysis type  
Type This enables you to indicate on what you want to base the analysis.
Sales Select this to base the analysis on past sales.
Current forecasts Select this to base the analysis on current forecasts.
Draft forecasts Select this to base the analysis on draft forecasts.
Analysis options  
Base Indicate the basis on which the analysis must be performed.

This includes:

  • 1 - Sales value
  • 2 - Gross profit
  • 3 - Cost
  • 4 - Quantity
  • 5 - Hits
Months Indicate the number of months to use for the analysis.

If the analysis is being performed on sales, then this determines the number of months into the past to be used in the analysis.

If the analysis is being performed on either current or draft forecasts, then this determines the number of months into the future to be used for the analysis.

Include sales adjustments Select this to include sales adjustments in the sales figures for the analysis. This only applies if the analysis is being performed on sales.
Replenishment items only Select this to indicate that only items marked as a replenishment item (Options Maintenance) must be included in the analysis.
Percentage breaks Indicate the cumulative percentage break points between the different classes of items.
Include This option enables you to indicate the items to exclude from the results list view based on their calculated Pareto classification.
Analyze This performs Pareto Analysis on the collection currently highlighted in the tree view of the Collection Structure pane.

If a stock item is currently highlighted in the tree view, then the analysis is performed on its parent collection.

The analysis is always performed on the SKUs contained in the collection, regardless of the level at which the SKU exists in the collection (e.g. if the All Collections level is selected, then the analysis is performed on all SKUs throughout the hierarchies. The results are displayed in the Details panes.

[Note]

The results of the Pareto Analysis are displayed in the panes of the Pareto Analysis tab and cannot be saved. This is because Pareto requires all SKUs and all warehouses to be included in the process before the results can be saved.

In Families and Groupings, the collection is the set. Therefore the Pareto Analysis, as tailored to run in Families and Groupings, does not allow the usual selection of a range of stock items or warehouses. These parameters were defined when the collection was created.

Demand History

Field Description
Maintain Sales Adjustments This processes adjustments to the history to ensure that it is representative of typical sales.

If sales for the selected collection have not been aggregated since the end of the previous period (as defined by the calendar), then you are prompted to aggregate the sales.

Adjust for Outliers This generates adjustment entries for periods where sales differ from the mean by more than the value defined against the Number of standard deviations outliers option (Inventory Optimization - General Setup).

If the selected item is found to be seasonal (i.e. its sales history falls within the seasonal profile correlation cut-off (Inventory Optimization - Forecast Algorithms Setup) then you are prompted to adjust the outliers to diminish the effect of seasonality.

When you run outlier adjustments at SKU level in Families and Groupings, the changes are visible in Inventory Forecasting (and vice versa). However, If you run outlier adjustments at a collection level, they are not visible in Inventory Forecasting.

Maintain Sales Adjustments

Demand history maintenance can be performed at any level in the tree view. The adjustment entries made are held at the level at which the maintenance is performed. Therefore, adjustments made at an SKU level are held at the SKU level the same as if the adjustments were performed using the Demand History Maintenance program.

Adjustments made to a collection's sales are held against the collection and adjustments made to a consolidated warehouse stock item's sales are held against the collection/consolidated stock item.

All adjustments against a collection are accumulated up through the collection structure to the top level when creating, aggregating and disaggregating forecasts.

Sales adjustments may only be maintained if you selected Quantities, Cost Values or Sales Values from the View menu.

Field Description
Entry method This enables you to indicate how the quantities/values entered must be treated.
Adjustment Select this to output the quantities/values entered as adjustments.
Net quantity/value Select this to treat the quantities/values entered as the totals for the period. The adjustments output will reflect what is required to bring the period's sales in line with these quantities/values.
Navigation  
Move to next/previous period automatically after adding adjustment Select this to automatically select the next/previous period after an adjustment is added.
Next period

Select this to automatically select the next period after an adjustment has been added.

Previous period

Select this to automatically select the previous period after an adjustment has been added.

Period

This indicates the start and end dates of the currently selected period. Use << and >> to manually cycle through the periods.

Sales This indicates the sales for the selected period (the value depends on your selection at the View menu).
Credits This indicates the credits for the selected period (the value depends on your selection at the View menu).
Adjustments This indicates the adjustments for the selected period (the value depends on your selection at the View menu).
Net sales This indicates the net sales for the selected period (the value is derived from the previous three fields (i.e. sales LESS credits PLUS Adjustments).

The value indicated may be the quantity, cost value or sales value, depending on your selection at the View menu.

Date Enter the date for the adjustment. This defaults to the first day of the selected period.
Quantity Enter the quantity of the adjustment or net quantity depending on your selection at the Entry method option.

This is only enabled if you selected Quantities from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this field is calculated based on the entry at the Cost value or Sales value fields if the Calculate option is selected.

For stock items, the quantity is calculated using the current cost or list price.

For collections, the quantity is calculated using averages based on all the history being displayed.

Calculate This is not enabled if you selected Quantities from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this option must be selected to calculate the quantity based on your entry at the Cost value or Sales value fields.

Cost value Enter the cost value of the adjustment or the net cost value depending on your selection at the Entry method option.

This field is only enabled if you selected Cost Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this field is calculated based on the entry at the Quantity or Sales value fields if the Calculate option is selected.

For stock items, the cost value is calculated using the current cost and list price if Sales values is selected.

For collections, the cost value is calculated using averages based on all the history being displayed.

Calculate This option is not enabled if you selected Cost Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this option must be selected to calculate the cost value based on your entry at the Quantity or Sales value fields.

Sales value Enter the sales value of the adjustment or the net cost value depending on your selection at the Entry method option.

This field is only enabled if you selected Sales Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this field is calculated based on the entry at the Quantity or Cost value fields if the Calculate option is selected.

For stock items, the sales value is calculated using the list price and current cost if Cost values is selected.

For collections, the sales value is calculated using averages based on all the history being displayed.

Calculate This option is not enabled if you selected Sales Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this option must be selected to calculate the sales value based on your entry at the Quantity or Cost value fields.

Comment Enter a comment relevant to the adjustment if required.
Add Select this to add the adjustment or net sales value to the list view of adjustments.
Remove Select this to delete the currently highlighted adjustment or net sales value from the list view of adjustments.

If you selected the Confirm removals option then you are required to confirm the removal.

Replace Select this to replace the adjustment highlighted in the adjustment list view with the new details entered.
Clear All Select this to remove all adjustments.

You are prompted to confirm the removal, regardless of whether you have selected the Confirm removals option.

Confirm removals Select this to indicate that you want to be prompted before removing adjustments.

Adjust for Outliers

When you select to adjust history for outliers, the system performs the following for each stock code/rev/rel/warehouse:

  • Calculates the forecasting periods' start/end dates according to the calendar associated with the item.
  • Checks for and deletes any existing outlier adjustment entries for the item.
  • Reads the sales history transactions (sales, sales returns and sales adjustments) into the forecasting periods.

    An item is ignored if it uses a proxy or is being used as a proxy.

  • Checks for a seasonal demand pattern if at least two years of history is available,

    If the item is found to be seasonal and the Adjust for Outliers option is run from batch forecasting, it is ignored.

    If the item is found to be seasonal and the Adjust for Outliers option is run from Demand History Maintenance, a warning is displayed that the item has seasonal demand. You are given the opportunity to either cancel or continue with the process.

  • Calculates the average sales for all the periods since the first period with a non-zero sales quantity.
  • Calculates the standard deviation for all the periods since the first period with a non-zero sales quantity.
  • Calculates the minimum sales quantity allowable as the average minus the Number of standard deviations to define outliers defined against the stock code/rev/rel/warehouse or the Inventory Optimization - General Setup (if it has not been defined at the item level)

    min sales = avg sales - (std dev * no std dev’s to define outliers).

  • Calculates the maximum sales quantity allowable as the average plus the number of standard deviations to define outliers as defined against the stock code/rev/rel/warehouse or the Inventory Optimization - General Setup (if it has not been defined at the item level)

    max sales = avg sales + (std dev * no std dev’s to define outliers).

  • Checks each period's sales since the first period with non-zero sales.

    If a period has a sales figure less than the minimum allowable, generates an outlier adjustment entry to bring the sales figure up to the minimum.

    If a period has a sales figure more than the maximum allowable, generates an outlier adjustment entry to bring the sales figure down to the maximum.

Forecasting

Forecasting can be performed at any level in the tree view. Suggested forecasts are generated and draft forecasts can be created regardless of the level being processed.

Field Description
Copy Suggested to Draft This copies the suggested forecasts to the draft forecasts.

Although a warning message is displayed if draft forecasts already exist, you can select to continue.

Edit Draft This maintains the draft forecast.

If sales for the selected collection have not been aggregated since the end of the previous period (as defined by the calendar) then you are prompted to aggregate the sales.

Disaggregate Forecasts This updates draft or current forecasts.
Graph Sales History Indicate the year for which you want to display sales history information in the Forecasting tab panes.
Graph Current Forecast Select this to include the current forecast data set in the Forecasting graph on the Forecasting tab.
Graph Draft Forecast Select this to include information for the draft forecast in the Forecasting graph on the Forecasting tab.
Graph Calculated Forecast You can select to include the following calculated data sets from the following algorithms in the Forecasting graph on the Forecasting tab:
  • Suggested
  • Competition
  • Mean
  • Median
  • Moving Average
  • Exponential Smoothing/Trend
  • Six Period Weighted Average
  • Twelve Period Weighted Average
  • Holt-Winters Additive
  • Holt-Winters Multiplicative
  • Annual Seasonal - Unsmoothed.

Edit Draft

Field Description
Period Enter the period for which you want to change the draft forecast.
Advance to next period automatically Select this if you want the program to automatically select the next/ period after a forecast is saved.
Quantity Enter the draft forecast quantity for the period.

This field is only enabled if you selected Quantities from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this field is calculated based on the entry at the Cost value or Sales value fields if the Calculate option is selected.

For stock items, the quantity is calculated using the current cost or list price.

For collections, the quantity is calculated using averages based on all the history being displayed.

Calculate This option is not enabled if you selected Quantities from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this option must be selected to calculate the quantity based on your entry at the Cost value or Sales value fields.

Cost value Enter the draft forecast cost value for the period.

This field is only enabled if you selected Cost Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this field is calculated based on the entry at the Quantity or Sales value fields if the Calculate option is selected.

For stock items, the cost value is calculated using the current cost and list price if Sales values is selected.

For collections, the cost value is calculated using averages based on all the history being displayed.

Calculate This option is not enabled if you selected Cost Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this option must be selected to calculate the cost value based on your entry at the Quantity or Sales value fields.

Sales value Enter the draft forecast sales value for the period.

This field is only enabled if you selected Sales Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this field is calculated based on the entry at the Quantity or Cost value fields if the Calculate option is selected.

For stock items, the sales value is calculated using the list price and current cost if Cost values is selected.

For collections, the sales value is calculated using averages based on all the history being displayed.

Calculate This option is not enabled if you selected Sales Values from the View menu.

If any other option is selected from the View menu, then this option must be selected to calculate the sales value based on your entry at the Quantity or Cost value fields.

Freeze draft forecast Select this to freeze the draft forecast so that:
  • the forecast is not over-written when suggested forecasts are copied to draft forecasts
  • the forecast is not deleted when updating live forecasts
  • the forecast and not the disaggregated figure is used during disaggregation
  • the forecast is not overwritten in Batch Forecasting. The quantities in the frozen draft forecasts are applied when creating live forecasts.

Disaggregate Forecasts

Field Description
Reference Enter a reference to associate with the current forecast if required.
Target for disaggregation  
Draft forecasts Select this to update the draft forecasts only.
Current forecasts Select this to update the current and draft forecasts.
Periods to update You use this option to indicate the forecasting periods' start/end dates (according to the calendar associated with the item) to be updated.
Output method These options enable you to indicate how the current forecasts should be updated.
One forecast per period on the first working day Select this to output only one forecast per forecasting period on the first working day within the period.
One forecast per period on the first day Select this to output only one forecast per forecasting period on the first day of the period regardless of whether it is a working day.
Split forecast quantity over all working days Select this to divide the quantity forecast for the period evenly over the working days within the period.
[Note]

The last working day may have a different quantity because of rounding.

Split forecast quantity over all days

Select this to divide the quantity forecast for the period evenly over working and non-working days within the period.

[Note]

The last working day may have a different quantity because of rounding.

Delete draft forecasts in updated periods Select this to remove the draft forecasts after the current forecasts have been updated.
Apply parent algorithm through all levels

This determines which algorithm to use when calculating suggested forecasts at each level.

Enable this to apply the algorithm defined against the parent item highlighted down through all levels when calculating suggested forecasts.

When this is disabled, the algorithm defined against each entity is used to calculate suggested forecasts. This can give obscure results at lower levels when the algorithm is inappropriate for the entity. If no algorithm is defined against the entity, then the Default algorithm in Inventory Optimization - Forecast Algorithms Setup is used.

The suggested forecasts calculated are used to calculate the ratio to apply when updating the current level's drafts.

Start Processing Select this to update the forecasts according to the options you indicated.

Processing differs depending on the level being forecast.

When current forecasts are updated for a collection, forecast disaggregation is performed. The draft forecasts of the collection (or consolidated warehouses stock item) being forecast are disaggregated down through all levels until, finally, the MRP forecasts for the SKUs at the lowest level are updated.

The calendar that applies to the selected entry applies throughout the levels when disaggregating and updating.

Disaggregation occurs by starting with the collection instance being processed and processing each level going down through the hierarchy as follows:

  • For each period (as defined by the calendar against the top level collection being processed), the parent collection's forecast is disaggregated down to its children (further collections or SKUs).
  • For each child, if a draft forecast exists, this is used and the parent's forecast quantity to disaggregate is reduced by the child's forecast.

    If no draft forecast exists, then forecasts are generated for the child based on the forecast options against the top level collection being processed.

  • The forecasts generated for the children for the period are totalled.
  • The parent's forecast (possibly reduced by draft forecasts found) is split based on the ratios of the generated forecasts to the total of the generated forecasts.

At the SKU level the same processing occurs as in standard forecasting and the MRP forecasts are updated. The following process is performed (according to your selections):

  • The forecasting periods' start/end dates according to the calendar associated with the item are calculated.
  • The draft forecasts are read into the forecasting periods.
  • The current forecasts are updated as follows:

    • All existing current forecast records/rows for the item that fall between the start date of the first forecast period and the end date of the last forecast period and that have not had any sales recorded against them (forecast depletion) are deleted.
    • For each forecast period out to the forecast horizon, the forecast quantity is output according to the forecast option selected.
  • Snapshots of forecasts created for stock code/warehouse combinations are stored and used in the Forecast Accuracy Review program.

Notes and warnings

Deletion considerations

  • When a SKU or consolidated warehouse item is deleted from a collection, the last aggregation date and time for the collection and its parent collection(s) up through all levels to the All Collections collection are reset to zero.

    This forces you to re-aggregate the sales before demand history maintenance or forecasting can be performed.

  • Deleting SKUs and collections from the Collection Structure tree view does not delete the history for the SKUs from file. When you remove an SKU from a collection, the resultant suggested forecast for the collection changes.

  • When you delete a collection, only the instance of the collection is deleted: the collection descriptor (Browse on Collection Descriptors) is not deleted. When a collection instance is removed, anything contained in the collection (sub-collections or SKUs) are deleted. In addition, all previous selections, aggregated sales, sales adjustments, forecasts, collection warehouse lists, consolidate warehouse sales, consolidated sales adjustments and consolidated draft forecasts are removed from the families and groupings forecasting tables/files.

Aggregation considerations

  • When you add stock items to a collection, the last aggregation date and time for the collection and its parent collection(s) up through all levels to the All Collections collection is reset to zero. This forces you to re-aggregate the sales before demand history maintenance or forecasting can be performed.

    If you enabled the Aggregation in Families and Groupings setup option (Inventory Optimization - General Setup) then you are prompted to perform the sales aggregation whenever you add or delete an SKU, a consolidated warehouse item or a sub-collection in any collection or when you maintain sales adjustments or adjust for outliers.

    Running the IO Purge and Update program will also perform the aggregation for you if an update is needed.

    You can aggregate any collection, including the top level All Collections collection.

Algorithm considerations

  • The Six Period Weighted Average and Twelve Period Weighted Average algorithms are not applied when insufficient history is available. In this case, the forecast calculation tries to use the default forecast algorithm if it differs, otherwise it reverts to using the Competition algorithm to calculate the forecasts.