IFS Business Models

This page explains how to navigate and read the IFS Business Models.

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IFS Business Model

The IFS Business Model is an overview model describing all capabilities included in the application which can support the company’s business.

The model takes its starting point from a value creation perspective where the information flow goes from the customer on the right via the company on to the supplier on the left. The physical flow that creates the value goes from the supplier via the company on to the customer.

The model contains business setup areas, supporting areas and value creation areas.

End-to-End Processes

The End-to-End Processes area contains a collection of models describing and clarifying various aspects of the overall product or a solution.

This area includes Product Oriented processes as well as Solution Oriented processes.

1 Enterprise Management

The Enterprise Management area handles initial data set up for the system to work. Mainly this is basic data and configuration of the system.

This area includes Application Base Setup processes like defining company and site, as well as defining persons, resources and calendar setup. It also contains setup processes for specific functional areas like Financials, Asset Design and Service and Maintenance etc.

2 Financial Management

The Financial Management area handles all capabilities related to financial management.

This area includes processes like Journal Entry, Period Reconciliation, Accountings and Receivables and Payables as well as Reporting and Analysis.

3 Supplier Relationship Management

The Supplier Relationship Management area handles the relationship between the company and the supplier and the master data for the supplier.

This area includes processes like Supplier Relationship and Agreements, Supplier Quotations as well as Sub Contract Management.

4 Customer Relationship Management

The Customer Relationship Management handles the relationship between the company and the customer and the master data for the customer.

This area includes processes like Customer Management and Agreements, Campaigns as well as Sales, Support and Service Contract Management.

5 Parts and Equipment Management

The Parts and Equipment Management area handles the information connected to all type of assets like all type of parts, equipment objects, fleet information etc.

This area includes processes for managing Part Data, Engineering of products as well as Rental and Repair.

6 Demand Processing

The Demand Processing area is the first information step in the value creation flow. It handles the demand for what should be delivered or executed.

This area includes processes for entering customer’s demands. This demand could be a Service Order demand or Customer Order demand in form of a Sales Order or Quotation. It could also be a request for a Component Repair.

7 Planning

The Planning area is the second information step in the value creation flow. It handles planning of work to be executed based on the previous demand step. Within the Service and Maintenance Area, the planning is about making the right preparations for and scheduling of the defined maintenance work to be done.

This area includes processes for production planning where different planning tools are used regards to type of business, like customer driven Make to Order planning and more forecast driven Make to Stock planning. It also covers processes for long term planning like Rough Cut Capacity planning to short term planning like Shop Order planning. Other planning processes supported are Work Order planning, Project planning, Fleet Maintenance planning, CRO Work Scope planning, etc.

8 Procurement

The Procurement area is the third and last information step in the value creation flow. It handles all type of procurement requirements like purchase orders, supplier claims, sub-contracting.

This area includes processes for Initiate and Manage Purchase, Supplier Schedules and Claims as well as Business to Business processes for Procurement.

9 Inbound Logistics and Warehouse Management

The Inbound Logistics and Warehouse Management area is the first physical step in the value creation flow. It handles all receipts and warehouse management.

This area includes processes for Receipt and Inventory Management.

10 Execution

The Executions area is the second physical step in the value creation flow. It handles creation of the actual value for the customer like executing production and projects and handle deliverables of projects as well as the delivery of the Engineering deliverables.

This area includes processes like Shop Order Manufacturing, Production Schedule Manufacturing, Kanban Execution, Work Order Execution as well as Project Execution and Management of Project Deliverables.

11 Outbound Logistics

The Outbound Logistics area is the third and last physical step in the value creation flow. The physical products that have been produced are delivered or shipped from this area.

This area includes processes like Customer Order Delivery and Shipment Delivery.

12 Human Capital Management

The Human Capital Management area handles all functions for managing the company organization and its employees. It covers everything from recruit, manage,develop and train the employees but also expense and time reporting.

This area includes processes like Organization and Employee Administration, Time and Attendance Reporting as well as Health and Safety management.

13 Cross Application Processes

The Cross Application Processes area handles functions that can be utilized cross the application.

This area includes processes like Quality Management, Risk Management, Document Management, Business Reporting and Analysis Management as well as Support and Case Management.

How to navigate

Starting point

The IFS Cloud Documentation home page

When the IFS Cloud Documentation is opened from a browser, the IFS Business Models navigator bar is active by default and the top nodes in the navigator are displayed. The Welcome page, which also displays the top nodes but as process objects, is displayed in the information area. To browse through the different levels of the models you can either use the navigator or directly click one of the process objects on the Welcome page.

Navigation through navigator

Navigation through navigator filter

You can navigate by using the navigator filter in the Documentation Navigators navigator bar.

Enter what you want to filter on and click (Search). The filtering option displays the context, i.e., within which process models with "bdr for support" in the title are present. Clear the navigator filter by clicking (Clear the navigator filter). This will also reset the navigator.
 

Navigation through model

You can navigate through the models displayed in the information area.

Business model (level 2)

  1. Document links: The process description describes the graphical model in text. It provides details that cannot be illustrated in the model.
  2. Breaks down to: Click the arrow if you want to drill down to the next level. The next level opens directly if only one alternative exists. If there are several options a list is displayed. Click the model that you want to view.
  3. Participates in: If the process object is included in other process models, this icon is displayed. Click the icon if you want to view the other model. The next level opens directly if only one alternative exists. If there are several options a list is displayed. Click the model that you want to view.
  4. Click the process object: If you click the process object both the aforementioned lists (breaks down to and participates in) are gathered into one list and you can chose what you want to view.
  5. Document links: A description of one or several business objects, i.e., the inputs and outputs of a certain process object. The description is of the type topic description (also called about description). The topic descriptions range from limited to extensive descriptions and can also describe a work flow, a specific function, or functionality in IFS Applications. All topic descriptions can be found by main process under Topics in IFS Applications on the documentation navigator.
  6. Breaks down to: Some business objects are further detailed by having a product model on level 3. If this is the case, a breaks down to icon is displayed. Click the icon if you want to view the product model.
  7. Find this model in the navigator (available when a model is visible in the information area): Useful for example when you want information about in which context a particular business process/main process participates. The navigator displays all relevant models in IFS Business Models section.

Activity diagram (level 3)

  1. Client links: Direct links to the places where the activity can be performed in IFS Cloud.
  2. Document links: The activity description describes how to perform a specific user action. The activity description provides an explanation of the activity and the functionality in general, prerequisites for being able to perform the activity, system effects when performing the activity, and a step-by-step procedure. One activity object can have several activity descriptions.
  3. Click the process object: If you click the activity object both the aforementioned lists (client links and document links) are gathered into one list and you can chose what you want to view.

 

How to read process models

The IFS Business Models are built in a 3-level structure.

1. Main Process Models (Level 1)

These models are made up of a number of generic, main business processes to create a sweeping overview of an entire business, for example, Make to Stock manufacturing. These models contain main processes that are supported by several different components within IFS Cloud, such as portraying everything from sales to invoicing and financial monitoring.

The main processes, which are used as building blocks, can also be found in a library of main processes. Each main process is sorted into a functional area such as Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Human Resources, and so on.

2. Process Models (Level 2)

Details the main process. The process might also have business objects controlling the process or resources that are being used by the process.

Normally, the business processes are described graphically in rather general terms so that they represent what one actually wants to accomplish within a business.

3. Activity Diagrams (Level 3)

The activity diagram can be seen as a detail graphical description of the process object on level 2. The process object on level 2 always have one or several inputs and outputs. This means that the activity diagram describes how the input is refined/processed in order to become the output. This level includes links to IFS Cloud forms so that an activity easily can be performed in IFS Cloud.

There are two types of level 3 models: ordinary activity diagrams and Basic Data Requirements (BDRs) diagrams.

The activity diagrams show the actual implementation of how a process is carried out using IFS Cloud. There might be several parallel flows describing alternative tracks, e.g., procurement of services and procurement of goods.