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Capacity Leveling

Use
The capacity leveling function is an extension of heuristic-based planningin Supply Network Planning (SNP) The
SNP heuristic run is an infinite form of planning that does not take into account capacities and can thus cause
resource overloads. You can use SNP capacity leveling to clear resource overloads by moving orders or partial order
quantities into previous or subsequent periods using forward or backward scheduling. In addition, you can transfer
orders to alternative resources in the same period.
SNP capacity leveling is used to level specific bottleneck resources. It is run locally on a resource in a specified
horizon, which means that dependencies with other resources are ignored. Leveling capacity for the entire supply
chain would, in effect, be the same as performing a new planning run and is not within the scope of this function.
You can run capacity leveling in both interactive Supply Network Planning and in the background. Interactive
planning has the advantage that you can display the resource load directly before and after leveling. If you run
capacity leveling in the background, you can select several resources for leveling (which can then be processed in
sequence). You can also use a selection profile. Running capacity leveling in the background is especially suited to
large data volumes and complex models. A detailed log is displayed whether you run capacity leveling in interactive
planning or in the background.

Prerequisites
You have run the SNP heuristic before capacity leveling. Although it is possible to run capacity leveling after an
SNP optimization run or Capable-to-Match (CTM) run, in most cases it is not advisable to do so.
In addition, the same prerequisites apply for running capacity leveling as for heuristic-based planning in general. For
more information, see Running the Heuristic in the Background

Features

Supported Resource Categories and Order Types


Capacity leveling supports the following resource categories:
Production resources
Transportation resources
It does not support storage or handling resources.
Capacity leveling supports all the resource types supported by SNP in general. It supports the following resource
types in particular:
Bucket resource
Single-mixed resource
Multimixed resource
Transportation resource
It does not support any other resource types.
Capacity leveling only takes into account SNP planned orders and SNP stock transfers. Deployment stock transfers,
TLB shipments, and Production Planning and Detailed Planning orders (PP/DS orders) are not leveled; however, the
system does take into account the resource load caused by these orders.
Capacity leveling does not take dependent demands into account. Since leveling is only performed locally on a
resource, it can lead to other resources being overloaded, additional on-hand stocks being created, or shortfall
quantities being generated.
For more information about which master data the system considers, such as lot sizes and rounding values,
seeConsideration of Lot Sizes and Other Master Data .

Capacity Leveling Profile


You can control capacity leveling using various parameters. You define these parameters in a profile that you
specify when running capacity leveling in interactive planning or in the background. However, you can also specify
the parameters manually or overwrite individual profile parameters before each capacity leveling run. You define
the capacity leveling profile in Customizing for SNP under Profiles → Define SNP Capacity Leveling Profiles or in
the SAP Easy Access screen under Supply Network Planning → Environment → Current
Settings →Profiles → Define SNP Capacity Leveling Profiles .
You use the profile to define the following specific parameters:
The capacity leveling method (heuristic, optimizer, or BAdI)
The scheduling direction (forward, backward, or combined)
Order prioritization (that is, which orders you want capacity leveling to process first)
Handling of fixed orders and order fixing during capacity leveling
The maximum resource utilization
The maximum runtime for capacity leveling
For more information, see Capacity Leveling Profile .

Consideration of Alternative Resources


You can specify that capacity leveling also considers alternative resources. This means that the system considers
production process models (PPMs) or production data structures (PDS) that produce the same location product with
alternative resources.
For more information, see Consideration of Alternative Resources

Log and Alerts


The system generates a detailed log for capacity leveling that is displayed automatically after the planning run both
in interactive planning and when executed in the background. It includes the following information:
Quantities in each period before and after capacity leveling
Resource utilization before and after capacity leveling
Surplus or shortage in the supply of output products
Error and warning messages (that excessively large lot sizes will cause leveling problems, for instance)
Parameters selected by the user
If you run capacity leveling in the background, you can hide the quantities in each period and the resource capacity
load in the log. This helps you improve performance and reduce data volume. You can also specify for how long
you want the log to be saved and display logs from previous capacity leveling runs.
Capacity leveling does not generate alerts directly. However, you can run a background job for a macro to generate
alerts (for example, the SNP standard macro for database (DB) alerts). You can then view these alerts in the Alert
Monitor. For more information, see the following Demand Planning documentation under Demand Planning
Process → Creation of the Demand Forecast → Macro Execution with Mass Processing (see also the subordinate
topics) .

Activities

Capacity Leveling in Interactive Supply Network Planning


On the SAP Easy Acces s screen, choose Advanced Planning and Optimization → Supply Network
Planning→ Planning → Interactive Supply Network Planning and go to the capacity view ( Capacity Check data
view).
Select a resource.
If the resource is overloaded, choose Capacity Leveling .
You can choose the planning horizon in the planning table by selecting one or more periods. To select several
periods, select the first and last period of the horizon (by choosing the left-hand mouse button and the control key).
You can also choose individual products for capacity leveling by drilling down for products and selecting the
products you require. Capacities are then only leveled for the selected products within the chosen horizon.
A dialog box appears where you can choose a capacity leveling profile or manually specify the parameters.
You run capacity leveling and, if required, view the log.
You display the new load situation in the capacity view.

Capacity Leveling in the Background


On the SAP Easy Access screen, choose Advanced Planning and Optimization→ Supply Network
Planning →Planning → Supply Network Planning in the Background → Capacity Leveling
You select one or more resources for capacity leveling. To do this, you can also specify a selection profile that you
previously saved in interactive planning.
You select a capacity leveling profile or manually specify the parameters.
You run capacity leveling in the background and, if required, view the log.
You display the new load situation in the capacity view of interactive Supply Network Planning.

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