FACTS has been enhanced to implement Advanced Inventory Management (AIM) procedures as defined by Grant Howard. The new AIM model includes differences in usage storage, definition of Order Point (OP) and Line Point (LP) calculation and required changes to the IC, MC, PO, SA and SO modules. Further capability for temporary Line Point, identification of similar items to purchase, and sales order line factors were also added to the solution. The advanced inventory enhancements provide new functionality in FACTS. (For processing and program details, refer to each module section in these release notes.)
Understanding of the Economic Order Point (EOQ) calculation method, the calculation of values for Order Point / Line Point, Safety Stock, and so on, is instrumental in implementing the AIM process. The parameters utilized to calculate the order point and line point value will be adjusted by the buyer(s) after time of installation. In addition, these parameters will determine how the system calculates OP and LP values as usage and other factors are recorded. The system is provided with a set of default values at the Company level that may not be applicable to the industry for the installation base and will require adjustment over time to achieve optimal inventory replenishment processes. There are a number of levels that are defined in the new Replenishment Parameters Maintenance program to allow a broad or granular control of the calculation of replenishment values as needed. The new Replenishment Parameters group the settings into the following areas: Ranking, Usage, Order Quantity and Rounding, Frozen Controls, Alerts, Safety Stock, Order Point Adjusters and Lead Time.
The replenishment variables for an item are updated when an item transaction is recorded. An item transaction is defined as receiving or disbursing an item from a warehouse by any system document. When a register operation or update routine is performed, the Order Point and Line Point values for an item will be recalculated and stored in ICWHSE for reference to replenishment.
In the Sales Orders module, Usage by Item is summarized by the Daily Sales Register (DSR) from the item’s transactions recorded in the ICRDST table. The summary table ICUSED provides usage information for replenishment calculations. Qualified usage adjustments recorded in ICRDST will be reflected in ICUSED when the next DSR is run. Therefore, the daily usage for an item is not stored in the system until the Daily Sales Register is run but can be calculated at any time from the disbursements of the item.
The Customer Returns System has been rewritten to work with the incorporate with new Buyer’s Control Center program and converted to a graphical user interface. The disposition code in the Customer Returns System (CRS) was replaced with 3 prompts that indicate what is to happen with the return and whether there is to be a replacement to the customer. These prompts can be different for each item on a return document. This information can be changed at any time up until the associated documents have been created. Defaults for these fields can be set up in Vendor F/M and CRS Control F/M.
The Vendor Returns System has also been integrated into the Buyers Control Center process. The new integration to the BCC will allow for the creation of Negative Purchase Orders to return goods to the vendor, and positive PO’s to replace goods to the customer.
New Purchase Orders programs provide the ability to review buying actions, generate purchase order, transfers and vendor returns as well as a method for addressing items that may require changes to replenishment parameters, gap analysis, and outstanding vendor returns.
In the Purchase Orders module, the new Buyers Control Center (BCC) is used to analyze items for replenishment. Upon entering the BCC, a buyer will be able to select a buyer code and warehouse to review the current buying actions. Additional vendors that do not require replenishment will be displayed to allow the BCC to initiate on demand purchase orders. The display of vendors that do not require action when you access the BCC can be toggled by using the “All vendors” filter. Vendor Returns can also be viewed and processed from the BCC by selecting the Returns option from the Activity pull down. Once selected, the items pending for Vendor return will appear and can either be consolidated or processed as needed for return shipment. Items that are returning to alternate warehouses will available and a Warehouse Transfer can be created from the Source Detail for processing.
The new PO Exception Control Center (ECC) provides the buyer(s) with a method for addressing items that may require changes to replenishment parameters, gap analysis, and outstanding vendor returns. You must enter a buyer and warehouse to review the data. The ECC is populated using the System Alerts and Background Process. Processes will periodically execute update routines for the alerts to display. These alerts are classified as type “<ECC>” and contain reference information for display and processing. For example, an alert corresponding to frozen controls about to expire would include the scope information and direct the user to the Replenishment Parameters Maintenance for review and updating.
The System Management system alert and background processing routines facilitate any actions needed to feed into the Buyers Control Center and Exception Control Center. The system has a defined set of routines and the update interval required to perform the exception and replenishment calculations. In addition, order point and line point adjustment routines receive updates during system register processes. The receipt of items adjusts the order point based on lead-time changes, for example, and occurs automatically at preset intervals. The background processing agent is responsible for handling these updates and providing the data to the system.
The alert system notifies via the Exception Control Center and additionally can be configured to notify users via email for certain conditions. A buyer may want to be notified of abnormal lead times upon receipt of items via email. This is accomplished by a buyer subscribing to specific alert types and supplying their user code and email information. When an alert is generated, the alert system records the information for display in the Exception Control Center and sends a summarized message to the user’s inbox.
The system background processes have various settings applied based on the business need. For example, expiring T-Min and Frozen Controls are updated in daily intervals by default, whereas Frozen Products with Hits can be updated hourly. These settings are tunable and can be adjusted by business, system resource, or other needs as determined by the environment.
Replenishment Parameters Overview
Replenishment Parameter Details
Removed IC Reports and Programs
Replenishment Reporting Enhancements