Use this activity to analyze the material variances between two Material Planning Scenarios on the Aggregated Planning Scenario - Material Variance page. For each part, project activity, and planning period, the page presents the aggregated values of a base scenario and an alternate scenario next to each other, together with the calculated variance and variance percentage. This makes it possible to quickly identify the parts and planning periods where demand differs significantly between the two scenarios across many parts at a time. Such outliers can have a major impact on whether a plan is feasible. The same approach can also be used to focus on supply and projected on hand variances.
A part appears only when both scenarios are aggregated with the same period template and with the same begin date for period 1. The rest of the period structure is not verified. If the period template is changed between the two aggregations, for example by adding periods or changing their length, the variances can still be listed even though the period buckets are no longer identical. Aggregating the compared scenarios close together in time therefore keeps the variances comparable.
The page opens in search mode. Search for the parts you want to analyze, for example by Site, Part, Base Scenario, Alternate Scenario, and Period Template, or by a wide range of inventory part attributes, such as Planner, Product Family, Product Code, or commodity group, to narrow the analysis. To compare an alternate scenario against the live plan, use Material Planning Scenario 1 as the base scenario.
Variances are presented for total demand, total supply, and projected on hand, each with a base value, an alternate value, a variance, and a variance percentage, for example Total Demand - Base, Total Demand - Alternate, Total Demand Variance, and Total Demand Var %. The variance is calculated as the alternate scenario value minus the base scenario value, and the variance percentage is expressed relative to the base scenario value.
The MRP/MS Ordered Sup Qty - Base and MRP/MS Ordered Sup Qty - Alternate columns display the supply quantity ordered by MRP or Master Scheduling in each scenario, increased to allow for the scrap factor defined in the planning parameters of the inventory part.
The page also displays the planning parameters that were used in each scenario, such as Planning Method - Base and Planning Method - Alternate, safety stock, safety lead time, scrap factor, and primary supplier. This helps you trace a variance to the planning parameters that contributed to it, for example a value overridden by a planning lever. The Aggregation Date - Base and Aggregation Date - Alternate columns show when each scenario was aggregated.
You can start a new aggregation directly from the page using the Aggregate Material Planning Scenario command.
No system effects.