In R12 Accounts Payables, you will notice this change right away, that there is no more supplier form.

The Suppliers have gone to self-service now. This is not the only change in the supplier. The suppliers objects have moved from AP product to TCA (Trading Community Architecture) DataModel. Due to this, even the underlying tables have changed. Supplier information is no more stored in PO_VENDORS Table now.

3 new tables have been introduced.

AP_SUPPLIERS AP_SUPPLIER_SITES_ALL AP_SUPPLIER_CONTACTS But dont panic as your customizations can still work as there are views created with names of PO_VENDORS, PO_VENDOR_SITES_ALL and PO_VENDOR_CONTACTS for backward compatibility.

Being a part of the TCA, these tables are closely linked to the hz tables. Here is the list of few imp HZ Tables that are affected when a new supplier is added.

HZ_PARTIES master table along with AP_SUPPLIERS instead of PO_VENDORS HZ_PARTY_SITES master table for supplier sites along with AP_SUPPLIER_SITES_ALL instead of PO_VENDORS_SITES_ALL HZ_LOCATIONS contains the party sites information HZ_PARTY_USG_ASSIGNMENTS stores party usages HZ_ORGANIZATION_PROFILES Captures additional Supplier information, e.g. credit scoring details of Supplier or the Number of Employees working in Supplier Organization IBY_EXTERNAL_PAYEES_ALL Captures Payment related details of the Supplier. POS_SUPPLIER_MAPPINGS This table holds the mapping between the AP_SUPPLIERS.VENDOR_ID and HZ_PARTIES.PARTY_ID. This is useful in cases whereby two vendors effectively belong the same HZ_Party Record. see the diagram below for Supplier/Sites Mappings to TCA Objects.

So whenever a supplier is added in R12, an entry is made in all these tables.

Functionally also, creating the supplier is different from 11i. Here are the steps to create a new supplier.

1. Hit the CREATE SUPPLIER button 2. Enter a unique supplier name (Organization Name) along with other optional other information like Alias, Tax Registration Number, D-U-N-S number. 3. If the Supplier Number Entry option in the Payables System Setup window is set to Automatic, Payables automatically enters a Supplier Number for you. If this option is set to Manual, you must enter a unique Supplier Number. 4. Click Apply. The system creates the supplier record and accesses the Suppliers: Quick Update page. 5. To create Supplier Sites, you will have to create the locations for that supplier. For that, click on the Address Book Button. 6. On the Address Book page, click the Create button.

7. Fill all the address details and address purpose. i.e. Purchasing, Payment or RFQ Only. 8. You can add as many locations as you wish. 9. When created, you can manage the addresses for other information.

10. The system only displays sites that are in your MOAC profile 11. The address status indicates whether the supplier has provided any updates for the address. Using iSupplier Portals Supplier Profile Management tools, suppliers can enter address book information online, creating any number of new addresses, modifying the details for existing addresses, and indicating how each address is used. 12. Suppliers can also inactivate addresses that are obsolete. Buyer administrators need to approve any changes in order to update the master supplier details. 13. Address statuses include: New. A supplier has created a new address. Change Pending. A supplier has changed the address details. Click the Update icon to review the changes that have been made. The page displays the original address details and the changes, indicated by a blue dot. Buyer administrators can approve or make additional modifications to the changes before approving or rejecting the change. If the supplier has indicated that the address should be removed, there is a status change from Active to Inactive. Current. There are no pending updates for the address. 14. Since suppliers are stored in TCA, the address details for the supplier may be used by other Oracle products so be careful if removing supplier addresses. If the address is inactivated, the system no longer associates it to any contacts, and any bank account assignments to the address are inactivated. Methods to inactivate addresses include: You can click the Remove button on the Address Book page. This sets the address status to inactive and sets the Inactive Date for every site that is associated with the address in all operating units to todays date. You can update the address and set its status to Inactive. This changes the address status and does not inactivate any of the sites that are using the address. You can use the Manage Sites page to manually update the Inactive Date for each site. Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 12, 2008

Release 12 Inventory Convergence

With this release, customers of Oracles Process Manufacturing applications can now use Oracle Inventory and Oracle Warehouse Management. The use of a single inventory application provides the Oracle Process Manufacturing user seamless integration with the rest of the e-Business Suite. This feature opens up additional functionality that was previously only available to Discrete Oracle Inventory users, such as vendor-managed and consigned inventory, reservations, move order requisitions, kanban, min-max replenishment and robust physical inventory and cycle counting functionality. The ability to implement Oracle Warehouse Management allows users to leverage sophisticated picking rules, license plates (LPNS), putaway rules and task management.

Oracle Inventory, is the one source of all material management information. Key areas that have been enhanced for Oracle Order Management include improved allocation (picking) rules and added features to Move Orders. Additionally, the ability to price by a secondary quantity is available to all users who track their inventory in two quantities. Process users can leverage all of the functionality in Oracle Order Management, such as enhanced scheduling and reservations, and international drop shipments, as well as Oracle Warehouse Management functionality.

Oracle Inventorys Dual Unit of Measure Control enables users to transact inventory in two unrelated units of measure where the conversion between the measures vary from lot to lot or from one transaction to the next. If an item is dual unit of measure control enabled, during transactions, users are prompted to enter the transaction quantity in both units and are able to query on hand balances, availability and reservations in both units for full supply chain visibility to all required handling units of measure.

This particular feature has an impact on the following functionalities

Product Development Workbench Formula Management Routings Operations Recipe Management Simulator Formula Analysis, Formula Inquiry,Indented BOM Mass Search and Replace Product Development Workflow and ERES Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 12, 2008

Release 12 -iStore features for a Telecommunication Industry

I can imagine how specific feature for a telecom industry is part of Release 12 iStore. I was part of the Oracles BellSouth Support team, where there was a dedicated team to support the BellSouth Implementations. BellSouth implemented Oracles iStore and many other CRM modules. Their fastaccess.com was a highly customized Oracle iStore version of 11.5.4. Not sure if they are still with iStore, although I just came across ATT advertising fastaccess.com on one of the search engines.

So, it looks like all the features a telecom industry would have requested or would like to have has been included in Release 12 of Oracle iStore. Here is a list of the new features

Customers can configure services and items via Oracle Configurator to ensure that all business and technical rules are enforced. Products can be restricted based on customer input like their current phone number or their zip code (through Configurator rules).

Once the products are selected, customers can see all items selected, along with their prices, in the shopping cart. Prices can be either one-time or recurring prices (e.g., monthly).

The customer also can be informed about what has to be paid at the time of ordering (Pay Now amount) versus what will be billed in the future (Pay Later amount). In case of payment via credit card, only the Pay Now amount is authorized at the time of order placement.

 Once the order is placed the customer is notified and can track online the fulfillment of the order thereby reducing the load of the call center.

Customers can review all of the services and items they currently own and modify services if desired.

From the above features, it does not look too different from what previous releases of Oracle iStore used to offer. If you have Serviceable and Configurable items setup Inventory/BOM modules, its just a matter of using them in modules such as iStore.

Yes, definitely, the changes made to the Configurator functionality is definitely a plus for the telecom industry. For eg. merchants can assign a Configurator usage for model items when publishing them under sections in iStore Catalogs. For example a telecom company may wish to use the same wireless service but different ordering flows such as start with phones or start with plans. This definitely is a good feature, provided all the modules are setup as per the documentation and we do not stumble upon any bugs or issues.

Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 12, 2008

Release 12 Discrete Execution Workstation Parameters

There is a lot happening on the shop floor of any manufacturing organization. Its full activities, from shop floor workers to the supervisors to the managers ensure there is no lapse productivity. Oracle Ebusiness Suite has a wide range of modules that is tailor-made for the shop floor and one such module is Work In Process (WIP). In Release 12, WIP has a new functionality called Discrete Execution Workstation, an HTML based user interface, which allows user to perform and monitor shop floor activities. Through a simplified user interface, this workstation provides, a one-stop-shop of information needed for shop floor workers to record and monitor shop floor activities as part of the day-to-day production task, thus maximizing the value-added manufacturing time.

To setup this functionality, follow these steps

Assign the Work In Process responsibility to the user(s) using the Discrete Execution Workstation user interface. Using the WIP responsibility, double-click on the Discrete Workstation functionality under the Discrete menu. Please note you must define the parameters in the WIP module before you access this functionality, else you will come across an error as shown in the figure shown below

Once the HTML interface comes up, Shop floor operators and supervisors can see what jobs are assigned to which work centers, view requirements and instructions for performing work, and monitor progress and problems. There are some pretty good enhancements offer in Release 12 over the previous releases and it is as mentioned below. Configuration preferences The workstation is highly configurable with a system of preferences controlling both overall behavior at the organization level as well as access to information and actions at the user level based on each users role. One can specify and setup the parameters to control the applications behaviour by Site, Role, Organization and Department.Based on the user role, predefined security and preferences control the types of functions and information that each user of this workstation can access. There are several parameters that control the UI, behavior, security and content by Site, Role, Organization and Department.

Many workstation related parameters can be modified, as follows

Allow Moves From Prior Operations Parameter controls the Move Transactions. The possible values as either Yes or No. When set to Yes, users are allowed to specify a prior operation in the From operation field in move transactions as a way to support out-of-order operation completion reporting. Otherwise users are restricted to enter a From operation while performing Move Transactions. Attachment Sources Parameter controls the type of attachments that are displayed in the Work Content Page and the order in which they are displayed. The possible attachments can be: Assembly, BOM, Components, Routing, Operation, Discrete Job, Sales order header, Sales order line. Attachment Window Height Parameter controls the height of the attachments that are displayed in the Work Content Page. The possible values can be: 100, 400, 600, 800 in pixels Automatic Job Transition Parameter controls the presentation of the jobs to be subsequently worked on from the work content page. The possible values can be either Yes or No. When set to Yes, upon completion of one job operation, system automatically takes user directly to the work content of the next ready job operation. Else it returns the user to the work content page of the current operation. Charge Resource at Report Time Parameter determines whether resource transactions are created from reported times. The possible values can be: Yes/No. If set to Yes, system automatically generates resource transactions after submitting the actual hours worked. Default Dispatch List Type Parameter determines the type of dispatch list to display as users enter the workstation screen. The possible values can be: Current/Scheduled. If the value is Current, all the jobs that are open in the current shift for a specific organization, department or resource or a combination thereof are displayed. If the value is Scheduled then all the jobs that are scheduled to be worked on are shown in the dispatch list. Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 9, 2008

Release 12 Subinventory Setup

To define subinventories in the oracle inventory management we have to access the Subinventories Summary folder window. The navigation to this form is as follows,

Inventory -> Setup -> Organizations -> Subinventories

When the subinventories summary window opens, click on the new button. This opens up the Subinventories window. This form looks a bit different from that seen in 11i. In R12 with in the main tab the following check boxes are checked by default and grouped as Status Attributes- Include in ATP, Allow reservation and Nettable. Also newly added to the Main tab is a test field called Default Replenishment Count Type and two check boxes labelled Enable Locator Alias and Enforce Alias Uniqueness. The two check boxes were disabled. The LPN controlled and Enable Cartonization check boxes are missing and in its place we have a check box called Enable PAR Level Planning.

Enter a unique alphanumeric name in the name field. The subinventories form has a field that defines the status of materials. This field is used if Oracle Warehouse Management is installed. The next thing to select is the costing group. This group once selected will remain as the default costing group for newly received goods, unless its specified when receiving the goods. Again this feature is available if Oracle Warehouse Management is installed.

Coming back to the main tab, it holds the Parameters, Lead times and Sourcing information. The following are the values that can be set in the Parameters section

 Quantity Tracked: Setting this parameter will let the system update the quantity on hand when ever a transaction is made. This parameter cannot be unchecked till the Status Attributes mentioned above are unchecked. On unchecking this parameter the on-hand balances are not maintained and also the Asset Inventory is not updated.

Asset Subinventory: Checking this maintains the value of this subinventory on the balance sheet. That is, it stores the total value of stock in this sub inventory.

Depreciable: This is to specify if the asset value of this inventory can decrease.

Enable PAR Level Planning .

Nettable: Specify if the on-hand value of the inventory should be taken as available inventory

Allow Reservation: This allows us to include this subinventory when we perform available-to-reserve calculations.

Include in ATP

Locator Control: This can be selected only if it is specified in the Locator Control field in the Organization Parameter form. This has the following 4 values

o None- Require no locator information o Prespecified- Specifically enter a predefined locator for each item o Dynamic Entry- Define a locator for an item- it may be predefined or dynamically assigned at the time of transaction. o Item Level- Refer to locator control information at the item level. Default Locator Status: This specifies if the status of the locator in this subinventory.

Picking Order: This is like a priority value given when selecting items in this subinventory. For example if we set 1 as the value for this field then for a given item this subinventory will be picked first as compared to another subinventory with a picking order of 2 containing the same item.

Dropping Order: Priority in which items have to be dropped into this subinventory.

Inactive On: Date when subinventory will be inactive.

Location: Location for subinventory

Picking UOM: Unit of measure for picking items from this inventory.

Notify

Default Replenishment: Amount by which the subinventory has to be filled.

Enable Locator Alias: If the locator has another name by which it is referred.

Enforce Alias UniquenessIn the Lead Times section we have to specify the pre processing, processing and post processing lead times for items in this sub inventory. In the sourcing section select the source type which are again of 3 types:

o Inventory- Get items from inventory of another organization. o Supplier- Get items from a supplier specified in Oracle Purchasing. o Subinventory- Replenish from a subinventory in the same organization. If you select inventory, you have to specify the organization from which this item has to be taken from and also the organization should have a shipping network defined in the system. Next specify the subinventory in the organization from which this item is taken.

The fields in the Accounts tab deals with all the accounting aspects related to this subinventory about which I will explain later.

Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 9, 2008

Release 12 Creating an Organization

In an earlier article I had defined the steps to define an inventory organization, where an already defined organization structure was used as model to create a new organization. Here Ill focus on how to create a new organization right from the beginning.

The navigation to the forms through the Oracle Order Management tree structure is as follows, Inventory -> Setup -> Organizations -> Organizations This same form can be accessed from the HRMS Manager in the following way, HRMS Manager -> Work Structures -> Organization -> Description When this leaf is clicked we get two forms, Organization and Find organization. The Find Organization can be used to view an already existing organization. To create a new organization just click on the New button in the Find Organization window.

In the organization window enter the name of the organization in the Name field. The Type field has an LOV that lists out the type of organization that is to be created. He we specify if the organization is a Business Unit or a Branch or Cost Centre etc. Then enter the date from which the organization has to be active. Entering to date is optional. The next field is the location that gives the address of the organization. This again is an LOV, so just select the values from the list. To enter set up new Locations, just navigate to, Inventory -> Setup -> Organizations -> Locations Then select if the organization is internal or external. The next field is the Organization Classification. Save your work before going to that section.

The Organization Classification can be selected from an LOV. In this case make the selection as an Inventory Organization. Enable the selection and save. The Organization is created. In my next article Ill explain on how to set up organization parameters for an inventory organization. This process will enable this organization to show in the LOV when you want to copy from organization to create inventory organizations.

The above procedure can be followed to set up any type of organization with any classification.

Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 9, 2008

Release 12 Multi Org Access Control (MOAC)

Release 12 came with a new feature of accessing the multiple Operating Units with the single responsibility. In R12 they call it Multi-Org Access Control (MOAC).

Multi-Org Access Control (MOAC) enables companies that have implemented a Shared Services operating model to efficiently process business transactions by allowing them to access, process and report on data for an unlimited number of operating units within a single applications responsibility.

Features of MOAC

Access multiple operating units within a single application responsibility. Perform following tasks for and across multiple operating units with out changing responsibility.\ Set-up controls, Negotiate sales agreements Enter quotes, orders and returns Schedule orders, Apply and Release holds Run reports and concurrent programs Setup Transaction Type, apply and release holds

This increases the productivity of Shared Service Centers, as users no longer have to switch application responsibilities when processing transactions for multiple operating units at a time.

Ability to view data from multiple operating units from a single responsibility, gives users more information. This enables them to make better decisions. For example when performing scheduling actions, users can now look at orders across multiple operating units and make more informed decisions on inventory allocation.

To support Multi-Org Access Control the Operating Unit has been has added as a hidden folder field in the following forms:

Sales Order Form Find window (All tabs) Quote window, Find Customer window Sales Agreement Form Scheduling Organizer Pricing and Availability Order Import.

Since operating unit is a hidden field we can made it visible (using folder tools).

Setup required for MOAC At a high level we need to set-up security profiles that allow access to multiple Operating Units. We also need to set the following MO profile options, in order to enable Multi-Org Access Control: MO: Security Profile A Security profile contains either hierarchy of the Operating Units and/or the Operating Units. Setting the security profile at the responsibility level allows the access the multiple Operating Units from a single Responsibility.

MO: Default Operating Unit Profile Option to set the Operating Unit to be defaulted on your Forms, Pages and Concurrent Programs. Set this profile option to the Operating Unit for which the maximum volume of works is carried on.

Note that if you do not set these profiles the application will behave as it does now

We need to set the Security Profile at MO: Security Profile This is Mandatory step to accessing multiple operating units from single

responsibility but optional for cases where only one Operating Unit is accessed.

We can default the Operating Unit, which is frequently used on your forms, pages or Concurrent programs

Setup Details Go to Responsibility > Human Resource

Navigation: Security > Global Profile

Select Global Profile

Enter a Name for Profile. Select security type as Secure Organizations by Organization Hierarchy and/or organization list. Select the classification as Operating

unit and theOrganization name as the Name of all operating units that you want to provide to responsibility or user. All operating units that are to be associated to this security profile should be added in the Classification/Organization Name section.

In a consistent example this would have been Denmark, Germany and Austria. Save and Exit from Global Security Profile

Run Security List Maintenance Responsibility: US Super HRMS manager

Navigation: Navigate to View > Requests > Submit a new request > Single Request

The Security List Maintenance concurrent program has to be run. This has to be run each time a new security access profile has been created or updates have been made.

Set Profile Options The security Access Profile is to be associated to the user/responsibility which is done via the profile option MO: Security Profile

Responsibility: System Administrator

Navigation: Profile >System.

Query for the Profile: %Security Profile%

In the System profile Form, assign the Responsibility /User to the Profile MO: Security Profile. Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 9, 2008

Release 12 Inventory Organization Setup

Every sales department requires a clear picture on every aspect of the product they sell. The product could be in any of their warehouses (if their organization has multiple warehouses) and each warehouse may have its own operating method. The product may have to be assembled from parts taken from various warehouses. This means the sales department will need an idea of the items required for the product, the count of the items, the location of the warehouse holding the item and Bill of Materials required for the product. All this comes as a part of the inventory and warehousing process within the organization. This is a step that we find in the Oracle Order Management set up. One of the setup steps in Order Management is to define inventory organizations, also referred to as warehouses. For each warehouse we have to specify details on shipping, item, BOM etc. Further we have to define sub-inventories and

picking rules within the warehouses. All these steps are related to inventory, so a source of reference for this set up process is the Oracle Inventory Users Guide.

As seen above, the first step of this procedure is to define warehouses or organizations. This procedure is made easy by allowing us to copy the structure of an already existing warehouse or organization. The new organization can import the same structure and entities like BOM, Routing, Items, Categories, Sub inventories, Shipping Networks, Inventory Parameters, WIP Parameters, and BOM Parameters from a previously existing organization. This copying is done in 2 steps. Step one is to provide information about the entity we want to create. This data is made into an XML document which is stored in an interface table. In the forms window this can be done by navigating to the Maintain Interface form in the Order Management set up Navigator.

Navigation is as follows

Inventory > Setup > Organization > Organization Copy > Maintain Interface.

On opening the Maintain Interface form we see two forms 1) Copy Organization Interface 2) Find Interface Records. As we would like to create a new interface click the new button on the Find Interface Records form. This opens up a new form called New Interface Record. In this form we type in the Group Code, Organization Name, Organization Code and Location name (the Location name can be filled form a list of values) for the entity we wish to create. On clicking the Populate Interface Table the XML text gets created and stored in the copy organization interface table.

Now if you open the Maintain interface form and do a find for the Group code that you created, you see the result populated in the Copy Organization Interface form. You can create any number of groups with the same Group Code. All these will get populated in the table. In the Copy Organization Interface form there is a text area with some XML code in it. I think the code can be modified as needed. Will look into that further and explain more.

Step two is to run the program to export or import the setup data.

Navigation is as follows

Inventory > Setup > Organization > Organization Copy > Launch Organization Copy.

On opening this form we get 2 forms again 1. Organization Copy and 2. Parameters.

In the Parameters form we select

1. the Organization structure that we would like our warehouse to look like.

2. And the Group that was created in the previous step.

Then we are given options to select if the information regarding the shipping network, sub inventories, items, categories, BOM, Routings and Purge has to be copied directly from the model organization. Once these are selected, click the ok button and these values get populated in the Parameters field of the Organization Copy form. Click the submit button in the Organization Copy form and the request is submitted.

The organization copy form has other fields like Run the Job and Completion Notification which can be selected as needed.

Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | October 6, 2008

XML Gateway

XML Gateway is a tool that facilitates the communication between the Oracle E business suite and third party applications or trading partners in the form of well formatted XML messages. XML Gateway ensures that both business to business (B2B) and Application to Application(A2A) requirements are met. Further XML Gateway ensures that the messages that are generated or consumed are compliant with the standards set by the Open Applications Group. You can find more information on these standards at http://www.openapplications.org .Oracle XML Gateway works with Oracle Workflow to consume events raised and generate XML messages. These messages are further propagated using Oracle Advanced queuing technology and Oracle Transport agent(OTA).Inbound and outbound messages are managed in queue table using Oracle Advanced Queuing. The OTA is used to deliver messages to a trading partner over HTTP or HTTPs. An OTA servlet running with Oracle Applications is also responsible for receiving inbound documents sent by the trading partner.Oracle XML gateway can be considered as a form of EDI, whereas in a normal EDI transaction the operation happens in a batch in case of XML gateway the message are more real time as they are based of events.Oracle XML gateway makes use of the uses Web Services Description Language (WSDL) to facilitate trading partners to communicate with Oracle Applications. Trading partners can use third party web service tools to call the web services publish by your Oracle Applications.It also uses the Java Messaging Service(JMS) to send messages between Oracle Applications and trading partners.At the core of Oracle XML Gateway lies the execution engine, this is responsible for interacting with other oracle technologies like Oracle Workflow etc to consume and generate messages between trading partners as in the case of a B2B communication.Oracle XML Gateway supports the SMTP, HTTP, HTTPS, JMS transport protocols for message delivery and consumption.Oracle XML Gateway uses the Message Designer to define message maps, message maps are required to specify the data source and data target for the document. You can also use Map creation wizards that are provided for this purpose.The message designer and wizard is a client software which is required to be installed separately on the client PCs.Message map files have a .xgm extension. Message maps that are created on the loacle /client system have to be loaded to the middle tier APPL_TOP.The java LoadMap and java DeleteMap are used to load and delet message maps on the middle tier server. Its important to note that before you crate your message maps for your document you must ensure that the document conforms to the Document Type

Definition(DTD).Predefined DTD are installed and loaded in the $APPLTOP of the middle Tier. You can however load custom DTD that you can define using the Oracle Message Designer to the middle tier as well as modify existing DTD and delete existing DTD.The DTD files are created with the .dtd extension.The java DeleteDTDFromClob and java LoadDTDToClob are used for deleting and loading DTDs respectively.For complete syntax and example to load and delet DTDs refer to the Oracle XML Gateway users guide.You can use the Oracle Applications responsibility XML Gateway Responsibility to define trading partners and transactions.In releases 11.5.7 onwards XML gateway is distributed as a part of AOL and does not require to be licensed or installed separately. For prior releases XML Gateway can be installed by applying patch 2440710.The metalink note 152775.1 contains full instructions for installing and configuring Oracle XML Gateway.You can verify your XML gateway installation byu executing the following sql script SQL> $ECX_TOP/patch/115/sql/ECXTEST.sqlthis will create a OUTnnn.xml if the installation and configuration of XML Gateway is successful. I hope this helps for specific examples please go to the metalink note and research further.
Thanks Matt for this.

Leave a Comment Posted in Uncategorized Posted by: oracleworld | September 2, 2008

Reorder Point Planning

Reorder point planning can be used as an alternative to MRP or Min/Max planning. Reorder point planning uses demand forecasts to decide when to order a new quantity to replenish inventory. Reorder point planning suggests a new order for an item when the available quantity (on-hand quantity plus planned receipts) drops below the items safety stock level plus forecast demand for the item during its replenishment lead-time. The suggested order quantity is an economic order quantity that minimizes the total cost of ordering and carrying inventory. Oracle Inventory can automatically generate requisitions to inform your purchasing department that a replenishment order is required to supply your organization.

If the forecast is correct and the order arrives on time, the inventory level should be right at the safety stock level at the time of receipt. In cases where the desired safety stock level changes during the order lead time, Oracle Inventory uses the largest safety stock quantity during the lead-time.

When an order is triggered, the EOQ is the size of the triggered order. EOQ = square root of: [(2 X annual demand X order cost) / (carrying cost percent X Unit cost)] Oracle Inventory calculates annual demand as the current demand rate annualized by multiplying the current period demand forecast by the number of periods per year (12 or 13). Reorder point planning can be performed at the organization level only.

Item Attributes: Navigate to: Inventory > Items > Organization Items.Choose the General Planning alternative region

Fields: Inventory Planning Method Select Reorder Point Planner Enter if you have assigned planners. Planner codes must be defined before using

Make or Buy Select Make or Buy Cost Order Enter the dollar cost to generate an order in your company Cost Carrying % Enter the whole number percent that represents your inventory carrying cost Order Quantity Enter the Minimum and Maximum order quantities (Optional) Source Type Select Supplier or Inventory Source Organization/Subinventory If you selected Source Type Inventory, you must designate an Organization from which to requisition replenishments. If the Organization you enter is the same as the current Organization, you must enter a non-nettable subinventory. Safety Stock Method Non-MRP Planned Fixed Lot Multiplier Enter the standard package quantity for the item(Optional) Save your work.

Choose the Lead Times alternative region

You can also specify the items lead times. The most commonly used are processing, preprocessing, and post-processing lead times. IF all these attributes have their attribute controls set at the Master Level you can do all the attribute set up using this path otherwise do the setup in the inventory organization where you will be doing the planning.

Fields: Preprocessing Enter the number of days required to place an order Processing Enter the number of days required to acquire or manufacture the item Postprocessing Enter the number of days required to receive the item into inventory after initial receipt from the supplier Safety Stock Calculation Methods

Define your own or have Oracle Inventory generate them for you using a percentage of forecast demand.

To define your own safety stock quantities: Navigate to: Inventory > Planning > Safety Stocks The Find Item Safety Stocks window appears. Enter the inventory item for safety stock specification. You can use the Find window to locate items by effective date, forecast, category set, and category. Choose New to display the Enter Item Safety Stocks window.

Fields: Item Enter the Item Effective Date Enter a safety stock effective date. Quantity Enter the safety stock quantity Safety Stock Method The Safety Stock Method field displays User-defined quantity. Save your work. To have Oracle Inventory calculate safety stock based on an existing forecast for the item: Navigate to: Inventory > Planning > Safety Stock Update

- Or Select Reload from the TOOLS menu in the Enter Item Safety Stocks window The Parameters window opens automatically. Fields: Selection Select all inventory items, a specific inventory item, or items in a specific category. Item If you choose a Specific inventory item in the Selection field, enter the item. Method Select Percentage of forecast demand or Mean absolute deviation (see discussion below) Forecast Enter the name of the forecast to use in the safety stock calculation. Category Set Enter category set to restrict the safety stock update (Optional) Category Enter category to restrict the safety stock update(Optional) Safety Stock % Enter the safety stock percentage of demand (User-defined percentage method only) Service Level Enter the desired customer service level % (Mean absolute deviation method only) Starting Date The date after which the existing safety stock quantities will be replaced by the results from this safety stock calculation Selecting the method for loading the safety stock: User Defined Percentage User-defined percentage calculates safety stock based the percentage specified in the Safety Stock % field of a demand in the specified forecast. Obviously, you must have constructed a forecast in order to use this method. Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) Mean absolute deviation calculates safety stock based on the percentage specified in the Service Level % field. If you have sufficient forecast and demand history, the system computes the MAD of the actual demand from the historical forecasts and determines what level of safety stock will be required to attain the specified service level given the historical accuracy of the forecasts. To use this method you must not only have current forecasts, but also a reasonable history (six months or more) of forecast and demand. After completing the parameters, click OK and the Reload Safety Stock request form will appear. (Next page)

This request can be scheduled to run periodically (synchronized with your planning process) and send notifications to designated personnel upon completion.

Chose Submit Request button to launch the process. This process does not produce a report. It only calculates the safety stock for the item and builds a table of required safety stock for each period in the demand horizon. You can see the calculation by querying the items safety stock. Reorder Point Planning Report Navigate to: Planning > Reorder Point Planning Fields: Item Selection Select All reorder point planned items or Items under reorder point Demand and Supply cut off dates All demand and supply quantities up to the cut off date will be included in the calculations. Restock Select Yes or No to indicate whether you want to create demand records in the interface tables for requisitions and/or WIP jobs. (Setup for requisition creation must be complete see Purchasing) Default Delivery To Select the default delivery location for the requisition. You can enter a value in this field only if you choose Yes in the Restock field. Forecast Enter the name of the Forecast to use in determining demand for the report. First Sort Select one of the following options for the first sorting criterion:

ABC Class Sort the report by ABC class. Buyer Sort the report by buyer. Category Sort the report by category. Inventory item Sort the report by inventory item. No sort Do not sort the report. Planner Sort the report by planner. Second Sort/Third Sort Select one of the above options for the second and third sorting criteria. The second sort option sorts by the first sort type and then by the second type within the first type. The third sort option sorts by the first type, then by the second type within the first type, and finally by the third type within the second type.

Item From/To You can run the report for a single item or a range of items by either entering a value, or all items by leaving these fields blank

Categories From/To You can run the report for a single category or a range of categories by either entering a value, or all categories by leaving these fields blank

Planners From/To You can run the report for a single planner or a range of planners by either entering a value, or all planners by leaving these fields blank

Buyers From/To You can run the report for a single buyer or a range of buyers by either entering a value, or all buyers by leaving these fields blank

ABS Group / Class You may restrict the report to a specific ABC Group/Class

Include Select Yes or No to specify whether or not to include PO Supply each of these in the supply quantity used for the WIP Supply report calculations. Interface Supply Non-nettable Display Item Description Select Yes or No to specify whether or not to print the item descriptions on the report.

Display Additional Information Select Yes or No to indicate whether to display the following additional item information: Category, Planner, Buyer, and ABC Class.

After all parameters are entered, click OK. The Reorder Point Report request screen will appear. You may schedule this request to run periodically. Chose Submit Request button to launch the process.