SAP Updated C_TS422_2023 Exam Questions and Answers by leonidas

Forecasting is the process of predicting future demand for products or services based on historical data, market trends, and other factors. Forecasting is an essential component of supply chain planning, which aims to optimize the flow of materials, information, and money across the supply chain network. SAP offers various applications that can be used for forecasting in supply chain planning, such as:

Integration Business Planning (IBP): IBP is a cloud-based solution that provides end-to-end visibility and integration of planning processes across different business functions, such as sales, finance, operations, and logistics. IBP enables collaborative and real-time forecasting, scenario analysis, and decision making based on advanced analytics and machine learning. IBP supports various forecasting methods, such as statistical, causal, and demand sensing, and allows users to adjust and refine forecasts based on changing market conditions and business priorities12.

Supply Chain Management (SCM): SCM is an on-premise solution that covers the entire supply chain process, from demand planning to delivery and invoicing. SCM includes various modules, such as Advanced Planning and Optimization (APO), Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), and Transportation Management ™, that enable efficient and flexible planning and execution of supply chain activities. SCM supports various forecasting techniques, such as exponential smoothing, trend analysis, and seasonal adjustment, and allows users to monitor and control forecast accuracy and performance34.

The other two options are not SAP applications, but rather concepts or processes related to supply chain planning:

Capacity Requirement Planning (CRP): CRP is the process of determining the available and required capacity of resources, such as machines, labor, and materials, to meet the production plan. CRP helps to identify and resolve capacity bottlenecks, optimize resource utilization, and balance supply and demand. CRP can be performed using various SAP applications, such as MRP, Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling (PP/DS), or IBP5 .

Material Requirement Planning (MRP): MRP is the process of calculating the quantity and timing of materials needed to fulfill the production plan. MRP helps to optimize inventory levels, reduce costs, and improve customer service. MRP can be performed using various SAP applications, such as ERP, SCM, or IBP . References: SAP Integrated Business Planning | SAP, Forecasting | SAP Help Portal, SAP Supply Chain Management | SAP, Forecasting | SAP Help Portal, Capacity Requirements Planning (PP-CRP) | SAP Help Portal, [Capacity Planning | SAP Help Portal], [Material Requirements Planning (PP-MRP) | SAP Help Portal], [Material Requirements Planning | SAP Help Portal]

 To set up a make-to-order planning scenario for a finished material, you need to choose planning strategy 20 (Make-to-Order) and select the corresponding Individual/Collective indicator for the components in the bill of material. This way, you can control whether the components are procured individually or collectively for the sales orders. The following steps explain how to achieve this:

In the material master record of the finished material, you need to select the MRP type PD (MRP) and the strategy group 20 (Make-to-Order) in the MRP 1 view. This means that the finished material is planned based on the sales order requirements and not on the forecast12.

In the bill of material of the finished material, you need to select the Individual/Collective indicator for each component. This indicator determines whether the component is procured individually for each sales order or collectively for all independent requirements. For the component that should be procured for each sales order individually, you need to select the indicator 2 (Individual requirements only). For the component that should be procured jointly for all independent requirements, you need to select the indicator 1 (Collective requirements only)3 .

When you create a sales order for the finished material, the system generates a sales order item and a planned independent requirement for the finished material. The planned independent requirement is used as a planning element in MRP and triggers the procurement of the components according to the Individual/Collective indicator. For the component with indicator 2, the system creates a dependent requirement that is linked to the sales order item. For the component with indicator 1, the system creates an independent requirement that is not linked to the sales order item .

References:

1: SAP Help Portal: Make-to-Order Production

2: SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 2: Demand Management

3: SAP Help Portal: Individual/Collective Requirements

: SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 3: Material Requirements Planning

: SAP Help Portal: Requirements Planning

: SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 4: Advanced Planning

The duration of an operation for production is determined by the combination of data maintained in the routing and the work center. The routing defines the sequence of operations, the work centers, and the standard values for each operation, such as setup time, processing time, and teardown time. The work center defines the capacity, the formulas, and the scheduling parameters for each operation, such as base quantity, operation rate, and queue time. The system calculates the duration of an operation by multiplying the standard values from the routing by the factors from the work center formulas and adding the scheduling parameters from the work center. For example, if the routing specifies a processing time of 10 minutes per unit and the work center formula is processing time = (processing time / base quantity) * operation quantity, and the base quantity is 100 units, then the duration of the operation for 50 units is (10 / 100) * 50 = 5 minutes.

The bill of material (BOM) © and the material master (D) are not data objects that determine the duration of an operation for production. The BOM defines the components and the quantities that are required for producing a material. The material master defines the general and specific attributes of a material, such as the material type, the unit of measure, the MRP data, and the production data. These data objects are relevant for planning the material requirements and the production costs, but not the operation duration. References:

https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_ON-PREMISE/c00ad2cac7be4ef29a4461ba114e4f91/051ebf53d25ab64ce10000000a174cb4.html

https://learning.sap.com/learning-journeys/manage-production-orders-in-sap-s-4hana-manufacturing/scheduling-production-orders_cc390d5f-b87c-4c4d-9472-8bb10ea4f476

One-off events: These are special events that affect the demand for a product, such as promotions, holidays, or product launches. You can use the one-off events function in SAP S/4HANA to create and maintain events and assign them to products. The system considers the events when generating the forecast and adjusts the demand accordingly.

Past sales order quantities: These are the historical data of the actual sales orders for a product. You can use the past sales order quantities as the basis for forecasting the future demand. The system applies statistical methods and algorithms to analyze the past sales order quantities and identify the trends, patterns, and seasonality of the demand.

Market intelligence: This is the external information that influences the demand for a product, such as market research, competitor analysis, or customer feedback. You can use the market intelligence function in SAP S/4HANA to import and integrate market data from various sources into the forecast. The system adjusts the demand based on the market intelligence data and the weighting factors that you define. References: Exploring the Steps of Supply Chain Planning; SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing II, Unit 2: Demand Management; [SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide], page 76.