Background
There are many ways of looking at locations in different supply planning engines. However, one of the most interesting that we have seen is within the ToolsGroup interface. ToolsGroup calls this view the Network Browser. It is within the main tab of the application.
What this view does is show the locations that ship to the middle location, and which locations receive shipments from the middle location.
By selecting a location on either the right or the left of the middle location, it then moves the location that is selected towards the middle where statistics can be read about it.
Here the statistics that show are the following:
- The network level
- SKU locations
- Current stock
- Target service level
- Delivery groups
- Sales areas
- Service classes
The Importance of This View
After having a great deal of exposure to different supply planning applications, this view is something that is unique. It shows the flow of materials between locations in a way that provides a strong intuitive feel for the network. This is a major problem in both SAP ERP and SAP SNP in that there is no way to really understand the flow through the network. In fact, it is difficult, unless you know to network setup by heart to know what products are going from which location to which location. Therefore, it becomes necessary to cycle through screens trying different combinations and product and locations.
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What About the SAP SCM Supply Chain Cockpit?
those that would list the Supply Chain Cockpit in SAP SCM have never used it, and it primarily exists in demos because it is not used in the field. The SAP GUI is extremely disadvantaged when it comes to graphics.
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By selecting a drop down from the Network Browser menu, you can see the selection for location diagram.
This brings up a screen which shows the overall network.
We were at location 21, and as you can see, location 21 is shown in the location diagram view. So it is the first warehouse after production.
Different Views
Just what is listed above is tremendously helpful to planners as well as consultants attempting to troubleshoot the system. However, the views that we have shown up to this point have all been within the Item product structure. However, there are many different product structure views to overlay upon this graphical representation of the locations the network. Different product structures can be viewed by selecting the product structure drop down to the left.
By selecting global, we receive the view below.
This shows the total expected demand for a product including all independent and dependent demand for all warehouses.
Conclusion
Tracking and tracing material through a supply chain is critical from everything from system testing to normal planning. What is interesting is that so few software companies have developed their software to easily understand the flow of material which defines the connections between locations. ToolsGroup provides the most effective view that we have seen that meets that universal need.
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