Topic covered -

1. SAP Candidate Introduction Meeting
2. Supply Chain Planning Overview
3. DC Inventory Transfer Challenges
4. Supply Chain Demand Planning Concepts
5. Supply Chain Planning and Transition
6. Distribution Planning and Demand Management
7. Supply Chain Inventory Planning Overview
8. Master Data and IBP Clarifications
9. Excel Integration With IBP
10. SAP IBP Configuration and Planning
11. SAP IBP Evolution and Capabilities

SAP Candidate Introduction Meeting

The meeting involved introductions from candidates with varying backgrounds in SAP, focusing on their experience with IBP and other SAP models. Akash shared his experience as a category specialist, Mandar highlighted his one-year experience in IBP and supply chain, while Sandeep and Shubham discussed their extensive experience in SAP PP and MM, respectively. Siddharth and Vidhu introduced their roles in support projects and as junior consultants. Sam, the facilitator, provided an overview of the meeting's purpose and requested confirmation of enrollment, noting that Mandar was still in the process of enrolling.

Supply Chain Planning Overview

The meeting focused on supply chain planning and the role of IBP (Integrated Business Planning). SAM introduced the session by emphasizing the importance of understanding both technical and functional aspects of supply chain planning to enhance career opportunities. He explained the high-level supply chain network, including distribution centers, customers, and the flow of goods and demand. The discussion aimed to help participants visualize and comprehend typical supply chain networks, with an emphasis on practical applications and the ability to adapt to different supply chain planning tools.

DC Inventory Transfer Challenges

The discussion focused on inventory management and distribution between DC1 and DC2. Sam explained that while DC1 is the primary source for customer orders, there are exceptions where DC2 can transfer excess inventory to DC1, though this is not part of the standard planning process and involves additional logistics costs. Vidhu added that in some organizations, supply planners have access to inventory data across all DCs to manage inventory balancing, while in others, different roles are responsible for specific DCs, which can create coordination challenges. Sam shared a practical example from an Indian client where poor demand forecasting and internal coordination led to frequent last-minute inventory transfers between distribution centers, resulting in increased logistics costs.

Supply Chain Demand Planning Concepts

The discussion focused on supply chain planning, particularly demand forecasting and supply network planning. SAM explained the concepts of unconstrained and constrained demand, highlighting how demand planners anticipate market demand without considering supply chain bottlenecks, while supply planners focus on actual production capabilities. The conversation also touched on the complexity of aligning different stakeholders' KPIs in Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes, and Mandar asked about dependent and independent demand, which SAM said would be covered in future discussions.

Supply Chain Planning and Transition

The meeting discussed supply chain processes, focusing on demand forecasting, inventory management, and production planning. Sam explained how to anticipate and manage shortages, with Vidu responsible for overall supply calculations and Rahul managing short-term manufacturing operations. The discussion covered the transition from SAP's PPDS model to the new S/4 EPPDS module, emphasizing the importance of understanding both demand and supply functions. Sam also introduced the concept of distribution planning, which involves managing the distribution of goods from production locations to warehouses within a short lead time.

Distribution Planning and Demand Management

Sam discussed the complexities of distribution planning, focusing on how to manage inventory distribution to multiple destination centers when supply is less than demand. He explained the difference between independent and dependent demand, with independent demand being sales to customers at specific locations and dependent demand being demand generated within the organization. Sam emphasized the importance of supply chain knowledge for implementing IBP and highlighted the need to predict demand accurately to avoid losing orders due to demand variations.

Supply Chain Inventory Planning Overview

The discussion focused on inventory planning and supply chain management, with Sam explaining the role of supply planners in managing both replenishment quantities and safety stock to handle variations in demand. Sam described how SAP's IBP system handles inventory optimization through separate models, with organizations typically using either simple business rules or complex algorithms for safety stock calculations. The conversation also covered the differences between demand planning (which operates in monthly buckets) and supply planning (which requires weekly granularity), and Sam mentioned that while time series supply planning is part of the curriculum, organizations may prefer order-based planning in the future as SAP continues to mature the response and supply model.

Master Data and IBP Clarifications

Sam discussed the importance of understanding master data parameters in supply chain planning, explaining that errors often arise from incorrect data rather than configuration issues. He clarified that ATP (Available to Promise) is an execution element outside the scope of IBP (Integrated Business Planning), though there is a dedicated ATP model in S/4HANA. Sam also explained that IBP is a cloud-based SaaS tool without traditional transactions, contrasting it with the earlier APo model which organizations preferred for individual planning elements.

Excel Integration With IBP

SAM explained how organizations use Excel for managing end-to-end SN2P discussions and described SAP's development of an add-on that allows Excel to interact with an IBP cloud database, providing planners with a familiar interface while leveraging IBP's functionalities. SAM clarified that while Excel is a primary frontend, certain configurations can be accessed via web-based URLs, and explained the concept of key figures in IBP, which replaces traditional transactional data terminology. SAM also discussed the relationship between master data and attributes in IBP, comparing it to ECC and S/4HANA concepts, and mentioned that more detailed discussions on supply planning and master data would follow in future sessions.

SAP IBP Configuration and Planning

The meeting focused on understanding SAP IBP's configuration and functionality from a planner's perspective. SAM explained that IBP requires master data objects to be configured as attributes, which are essential for generating focused plans for specific products, locations, or customers. The discussion covered data integration capabilities, including the use of SAP Cloud Integration for Data Services (CIDS) to integrate data from both SAP and non-SAP systems. SAM also introduced the concept of sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes, explaining how demand and supply reviews are integrated and how final S&OP cycles work in typical organizations.

SAP IBP Evolution and Capabilities

The meeting focused on the evolution and capabilities of SAP IBP, with SAM explaining how the tool has matured over the years, particularly in demand planning and supply network planning. Mandar inquired about the configuration sequence and limitations of IBP, to which SAM responded by sharing experiences of organizations transitioning from other tools to IBP and back, highlighting the importance of steady-state support and documentation. The group discussed the need for SAP access before the next session and agreed to finalize the timing of future sessions, with Vidhu requesting a later start time due to time zone differences. SAM emphasized the importance of understanding both the technical and functional aspects of IBP configurations and encouraged interactive participation in future sessions.