| # Item - Ordering (tcibd2100s000) The cluster concept allows you to perform integrated planning over multiple sites. A cluster represents one or more warehouses located near each other – typically, the warehouses at a particular site or in a particular country. You can define a plan item for each combination of cluster and item code. The plan item code includes these segments: The cluster segment prefixes The item code segment Therefore, the plan item represents the combination of item definition and location. Clustered items and nonclustered items You can also define a plan item with an empty cluster segment. The empty cluster is used to model the production environment; the other clusters are used for modeling the supply chain structure for Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP). For plan items, we use the following terms: Clustered item Plan item with the cluster filled Nonclustered plan item Plan items with empty cluster segment If it is not relevant if the cluster is filled, we will speak just of plan items. The clustered item groups all inventory and planned inventory transactions of all warehouses that are assigned to the cluster. The nonclustered plan item groups all inventory and transactions of all warehouses not linked to any cluster. To view the planned inventory transactions, use the Planned Inventory Transactions (whinp1500m000) session. Note The planning system ignores inventory and planned inventory transactions of warehouses that are explicitly excluded from the planning process, such as a warehouse for rejected items or spare parts. To exclude a warehouse from the planning process, clear the Include in Enterprise Planning check box in the Warehouses (whwmd2500m000) session. Example of clusters Suppose you defined item S-3501. You also defined the following clusters: EUR (Europe) NA (North-America) JAP (Japan) Now, you can define four plan items all representing the same physical item: EUR S-3501 NA S-3501 JAP S-3501 S-3501 The planning engine treats these four plan items as four different items. For each plan item, the system maintains the anticipated receipts and issues, expected inventory levels, and forecast demand separately. The plan item concept supports the following functionality: MRP (Material Requirements Planning) MPS (Master Planning Schedule) PRP (Project Requirements Planning) DRP (Distribution Requirements Planning) Similarly, you can specify plan items for project items. In that case, the plan item code has three segments: cluster, project, and item code. |