<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ManualTopic ID="/baanerp/cp/onlinemanual/000006" xml:lang="en">
	<Header>
		<Title xmlns:ssa="http://www.ssaglobal.com" xmlns:HTML="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">Workload control, backward and forward planning</Title>
		<Keyword><Level1>Workload control</Level1>
			<Level2>backward and forward planning</Level2>
		</Keyword>
		<Keyword><Level1>Backward planning</Level1>
			<Level2>workload control</Level2>
		</Keyword>
		<Keyword><Level1>Forward planning</Level1>
			<Level2>workload control</Level2>
		</Keyword>
	</Header>
	<GeneralSection><Paragraph>General remarks concerning the backward and the forward planning methods:</Paragraph>
		<GeneralSection><SectionTitle>Backward planning</SectionTitle>
			<Paragraph></Paragraph>
			<List><ListItem>Backward planning minimizes inventory levels by minimizing early delivery, but it does not always result in a feasible production plan. Any unplanned production volumes are reported.</ListItem>
				<ListItem>The backward planning step is especially useful in case of seasonal demand patterns.</ListItem>
				<ListItem>The backward planning step ignores coproducts completely. You should use only the forward planning step if coproducts must be considered.</ListItem>
			</List>
		</GeneralSection>
		<GeneralSection><SectionTitle>Forward planning</SectionTitle>
			<Paragraph></Paragraph>
			<List><ListItem>The forward planning step computes feasible delivery dates.</ListItem>
				<ListItem>Forward planning automatically uses safety stock.</ListItem>
			</List>
		</GeneralSection>
		<GeneralSection><SectionTitle>Combination</SectionTitle>
			<Paragraph></Paragraph>
			<List><ListItem>Use the combination of backward and forward planning to level out seasonal peaks and compute feasible delivery dates in one run. The combination may result in longer computation times.</ListItem>
			</List>
		</GeneralSection>
		<Note><SectionTitle>Note</SectionTitle>
			<Paragraph>If backward planning and forward planning are combined, SSA ERP executes a backward planning pass first, and then a forward planning pass.</Paragraph>
		</Note>
	</GeneralSection>
	<RelatedTopics><SectionTitle>Related topics</SectionTitle>
		<RelTopic><Link href="/baanerp/cp/onlinemanual/000001" role="manual">Workload control, planning algorithm</Link>
		</RelTopic>
	</RelatedTopics>
</ManualTopic>
