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SAP Guide of Long-Term Planning

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Index Page

1. Introduction 3

2. Creation of Inactive Independent Requirements plan (Forecast) 3

3. Simulative MRP (Running MRP in inactive scenario) 13

4. Simulative MRP evaluation (executing LTP) 14

5. Capacity evaluation 16

6. Simulative Purchasing Information Systems 18

7. Simulative Inventory Controlling Information Systems 18

8. Ability to compare operative to simulative plan 19

9. Copy of simulative plan to operative planning 21

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Overview of SAP Long-Term Planning

1- Introduction

Long-Term Planning (LTP) provides support carrying out simulations in short and mid-term planning.

To carry out an annual planning or a rolling quarterly planning run you require information on the

future stock and requirements situation. This means you need to know how sales and operations

planning influence resources. That is, whether the results of sales planning can actually be produced

with capacity on hand. If such information is available it is possible to decide at an early date

whether extra work centers will be required to cope with bottlenecks, or whether additional

machinery will have to be purchased to reach the sales target.

The purchasing department can also use the results of long-term planning. They use the information

on the future requirements quantities to estimate future orders. This provides them with a basis for

negotiating delivery schedules and contracts with vendors. Vendors also gain from long-term

planning as they are sent a preview of future purchase orders.

Through LTP we can analyse hypothetical scenarios where the demand has not only been

increased/decreased but also moved from one plant to another.

2- Creation of Inactive Independent Requirements plan (Forecast)

Planning structure S076, has the forecast is then downloaded to Demand Management as the

operative forecast using a mass processing job which downloads requirements to the active version

of Demand Management GP (Production Plan). To support Long Term or scenario planning, this

version needs to be copied to an inactive scenario.

2.1 - Downloading a single material to Demand Management (copying the latest Forecast)

Transaction MC94: Change Plan in Flexible Planning

Enter material, plant and click on ‘Inactive version’.

Select the inactive version ‘020 Long Term Planning’.

Select the following parameters and click on ‘Transfer now’:

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We can also change the values manually:

2.2 - Downloading via mass processing (copying the latest Forecast)

A new mass processing job needs to be created1 using transfer profile Z062 to download

independent requirements.

Planning Mass Processing Transactions:

1 Job SOP006 has been created in DEV 310 as an example

2 Transfer profile Z06 has been created to download to requirements plan 02 (inactive)

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2.3 – Create inactive version of independent requirements

A new inactive version of independent requirements can be created by using transaction ZMS61.

Transaction ZMS61 will prevent the user setting the version as active which will double up the

requirements in the MRP.

Ensure the following user parameters:

The system will show the following pop-up:

Enter manually the independent requirements (date and planned quantity):

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Alternatively, we can use transaction MS64 to copy versions3 of independent requirements:

Transaction MD75 can be used to delete/reorganise independent requirements.

3 Using field ‘Source version’ = GP (PRODUCTION PLAN)

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Transactions MC8W/MC8K (background) can be used to delete an inactive version of Indep.

Requirements

Note: “X-plant matl status” can be used to exclude materials from LTP (transaction MM02). This

option can be found in:

SAP IMG > Logistics – General > Material Master > Settings of Key Fields > Define Material Statuses

BOM explosion of assemblies can be configured not relevant for LTP (transaction CS03)

Capacities can be also ignored in LTP by removing the indicator relevant for Finite capacity planning

(transaction CR02).

2.4 – Creating the planning scenario

Transaction MS31

Enter key number and description and press “Enter”:

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We will have to specify:

a. Version of independent requirements

b. Plants contained in the scenario

c. Opening stock

d. Include or exclude sales orders

e. Planned receipts to include

f. Version of capacity

a. Version of independent requirements

Select the inactive version of independent requirements previously created and date:

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b. Plants contained in the scenario

c. Opening stock

We have the following options:

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Typically we will choose option 2 = ‘Plant stock at time of planning’

d. Include or exclude sales orders

This selection determines whether sales orders are to be taken into account in long-term planning.

The system automatically copies sales orders from operative planning. However, the sales orders

cannot be changed in long-term planning.

Note: Flag also ‘Use make-to-order and project planning’ if we want to copy automatically customer

requirements from operative planning. This selection defines that make-to-order planning as well as

project planning are carried out in long-term planning.

Use make to order planning” because there are some make to order products in NSS.

e. Planned receipts to include

We have three options:

- Include firm receipts: If this field has been selected, the system takes purchase orders, production

orders and reservations into account in long-term planning. That means that they are copied from

operative planning and taken into account as receipt elements. However, Firmed planned orders and

firmed purchase requisitions are not taken consideration.

- Include firm purchase requisitions: If you select this field, the system takes firm purchase

requisitions into account in long-term planning. That is, the system copies them from operative

planning and regards them as receipt elements. You must also select Include firm rcpts if you want

firm purchase requisitions to be taken into account.

- Include firm planned orders: If this field has been selected, the system takes firm planned orders

into account in long-term planning. This means, the system copies them from operative planning

and treats them as receipt elements. To obtain as realistic a planning situation as possible in long-

term planning, you should also select the Include fixed rcpts field so that fixed receipts are also

copied. When copying firm planned orders, the system only copies the headers. This means that

BOM items which were manually changed in the planned order are lost in the copying process. Firm

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planned orders are only included in the planning run of long-term planning if the control parameter

in the initial screen of the planning run allows this.

f. Version of capacity

Typically we will not use the LTP tool to plan the capacity of the Work Center. Leave this field blank.

Click on ‘Release + Save’ button:

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After select ‘Yes’, press option ‘Background’ and then ‘immediate’ to create the planned

independent requirements in a way that will not slow SAP performance (it will take several minutes).

Transaction MS21 can be used to display the planning file.

Note: Risk buy requirements will have to be added as incremental requirements using transaction

ZMD61/ZMD62.

g. How to delete the planning scenario

To the delete a planning scenario previously created, go to transaction MS32 (Change planning

scenario), then Top menu Planning scenario Delete Scenario and select ‘Delete everything’.

Then schedule a job in the background/immediate.

3- Simulative MRP (Running MRP in inactive scenario)

Transaction MSBT will be used to run LTP as background job.

Create a variant with following settings:

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Save the variant, select the variant and click on ‘Immediate’ to run MRP now or ‘Schedule job’ to run

MRP in the night as it can take up to one hour to run.

Transaction SM37 (Job overview) can be used to see if there are any errors in the job processing

Transaction MC8J could be a better option in the event we only want to see the P/Ns with errors.

Alternatively, individual materials can be run through simulative MRP using:

MS02: Single Item Multi level

MS03: Single Item Single level

MS50: Single Item Sales Order

MS51: Single Item Project

Tip: Transaction MS20 will force am material to be run in MRP next time, even if nothing has

changed from the MRP point of view. Option ‘Net Change planning’ has to be selected.

NOTE: We have to set up a NETCHG (run only the materials that have some changes relevant to

MRP) per plant to run every day and a REGEN (NEUPL) per plant just on Sundays (run all the

materials).

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4- Simulative MRP evaluation (executing LTP)

Transaction MS04: Stock requirements list (individual).

To compare the planned scenario

MS07: Stock requirements list (collective)

MS05: MRP List (Individual) Similar to MD05 or the bespoke transaction ZMRP

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MS06: MRP List (Collective)

MS44: Planning Situation for a material

Use layout SAPMPS

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5- Capacity evaluation

You can use capacity evaluations to analyze capacity loads both in the simulative or operative

system.

A lists predefined by SAP showing data on the capacity situation at work centers. For every capacity

for the selected work centers the following information is displayed in columns:

Period

Capacity requirements in the period

Available capacity in the period

Capacity load (capacity requirements/available capacity in percentage terms) in the

period

Free available capacity in the period

Transaction CM38 is used to display LTP Capacity Evaluation.

Change to use overall profile ZLTP_24M: Top Menu Planning Profiles Overall profile

Select Plant and click on ‘Standard overview’:

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Lines highlighted in red correspond to overloaded work centers in this week.

We can compare this result with the planning capacity in the operative system using transaction

CM01.

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Transaction CM05 will show us only the ‘bottle necks’ (overload) in the operative system:

6- Simulative Purchasing Information Systems

LTP generates ‘planned orders’ instead of purchase requisitions and there is not ‘Source of supply’ in

planned orders. However, we can see the Vendor in the Standard Information System reports.

After the LTP activity, a new version of the PURCHIS information system needs to be created using

transaction MS70.

Enter planning scenario, untick ‘Test session’ and execute.

To report the requirements the following transactions are used:

MCEC: LTP - Material

MCEA: LTP - Vendor

MCEB: LTP - Material Group

7- Simulative Inventory Controlling Information Systems

After the LTP activity, a new version of the Inventory Controlling Information system needs to be

created using transaction MCB&:

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8- Ability to compare operative to simulative plan

The following reports can be used to compare the operative system against the simulative system:

MCE7: Material Analysis

MC$G: Purchasing Values

MC$4: Vendor Purchasing Values

MC$<: Mat. Group Analysis

MCBA: Plant Analysis

MCE3: Vendor Analysis

MCE5: Material Group

It is better to do the comparison from the operative system, as headers will be easy to understand:

For example: MCE3

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Position cursor on key figure column:

Go to: Edit > Comparisons > Planned/Actual...

Select the LTP version:

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9- Copy of simulative plan to operative planning

It is possible to transfer firm simulative planned orders to the operative system using transaction

MD43.

However, typically the proper way is to load the demand in the operative system and run MRP.