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<ManualTopic ID="/baanerp/cp/onlinemanual/000149" xml:lang="en">
	<Header>
		<Title xmlns:ssa="http://www.ssaglobal.com" xmlns:HTML="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">Plan levels and product families</Title>
		<Keyword><Level1>Plan levels and product families</Level1>
		</Keyword>
		<Keyword><Level1>Product families</Level1>
		</Keyword>
		<Keyword><Level1>Plan levels</Level1>
		</Keyword>
		<Keyword><Level1>Plan levels</Level1>
		</Keyword>
	</Header>
	<GeneralSection><Paragraph>In <GUIRef href="/baanerp/cp" role="package">Enterprise Planning</GUIRef> you can use <Link href="/baanerp/ti/glossary/glossary#PlanLevel.ti" role="glossary">plan levels</Link> to represent different levels of aggregation.</Paragraph>
		<ExampleSection><SectionTitle>Example</SectionTitle>
			<List><ListItem>On plan level 1, you define a general <Link href="/baanerp/ti/glossary/glossary#ProducFamily.ti" role="glossary">product family</Link> named BIKE.</ListItem>
				<ListItem>On plan level 2, you define various subfamilies, such as RACING BIKE and MOUNTAIN BIKE.</ListItem>
				<ListItem>On plan level 3, you define individual products, such as RACING BIKE C1 and RACING BIKE C2.</ListItem>
			</List>
		</ExampleSection>
		<Paragraph>You maintain planning data at each plan level. You can exchange data between the various levels by defining <Link href="/baanerp/ti/glossary/glossary#PlanniBillOf.ti" role="glossary">aggregation relationships</Link>.</Paragraph>
		<ExampleSection><SectionTitle>Example</SectionTitle>
			<List><ListItem>You can create separate forecasts for RACING BIKE and MOUNTAIN BIKE, and use the sum of these forecasts as an overall forecast for BIKE. This is an example of <Link href="/baanerp/ti/glossary/glossary#Aggregate.ti" role="glossary">aggregation</Link>.</ListItem>
				<ListItem>You can make a production plan for RACING BIKE, and distribute this plan over the various types of racing bike. This is an example of <Link href="/baanerp/ti/glossary/glossary#Dissagregate.ti" role="glossary">disaggregation</Link>.</ListItem>
			</List>
		</ExampleSection>
		<Paragraph>You can specify an item's plan level in the <GUIRef href="/baanerp/cp/rpd/cprpd1100m000" role="session">Items - Planning (cprpd1100m000)</GUIRef> session.</Paragraph>
		<List><ListIntro>Plan levels play an important role in the planning process:</ListIntro>
			<ListItem>A planning run in Enterprise Planning always involves one particular plan level.</ListItem>
			<ListItem>Capacity overviews in Enterprise Planning always concern one particular plan level. In this way, you can maintain distinct capacity overviews at various levels of aggregation.</ListItem>
		</List>
		<Note><SectionTitle>Note</SectionTitle>
			<Paragraph>Use of plan levels is not strictly necessary. For example, you can define aggregation relationships between items that are at the same plan level. As a general rule, however, it is recommended that you use plan levels to represent the various levels of aggregation in a product-family structure.</Paragraph>
		</Note>
	</GeneralSection>
	<RelatedTopics><SectionTitle>Related topics</SectionTitle>
		<RelTopic><Link href="/baanerp/cp/onlinemanual/000300" role="manual">Enterprise Planning, an Overview</Link>
		</RelTopic>
		<RelTopic><Link href="/baanerp/cp/onlinemanual/000324" role="manual">Product families in Enterprise Planning</Link>
		</RelTopic>
		<RelTopic><Link href="/baanerp/cp/onlinemanual/000105" role="manual">Aggregated planning</Link>
		</RelTopic>
	</RelatedTopics>
</ManualTopic>
