Scenario Evaluation

User Accessibility

Supply Review pages are visible to users logged in as Process Coordinator, Demand Team, or Supply Team.

../../_images/ibp-scenario-evaluation-page-action.png

Page Actions

There are three actions available at the bottom right of the page.

  • icon Run an optimization model
  • switch Choose demand scenario and supply V&Os
  • zoom_in Review Production Input

Choose Demand Scenario and Supply V&Os

Clicking on this button brings up a dialog to let you choose a demand scenario and supply V&O. This dialog appears automatically the first time you visit the page.

When you click through different Supply V&Os, the corresponding details will show in the table on the right side.

Run an Optimization Model

After the selection of demand scenario, supply V&O and model options are made, click on the AIMMS Solve button icon to run optimization.

Save as a Business Scenario

At the bottom status bar of this page, there is an area showing current business scenario save. To save the current content on this page as a business scenario, enter a unique name and a description for this business scenario, and click Save. There is an overview of all business scenarios on the page Business Scenario Management and solution recap on the page Scenario Review.

Model Options

In an Optimization Model, constraints are in place so that the result follows your expected restrictions. Constraints, are enabled or disabled by model options, and shape scenarios. Sometimes you may want to enable or disable a set of constraints and compare its results against another scenario.

Enable or disable model options using the Options at the top left of the page. Model options will appear when the dataset includes the needed input data. For example, when there is target inventory data in the dataset, the option ‘Use target inventory’ appears.

The following model options are available, depending on your input:

  • Allow over utilization
  • Allow unfulfilled demand
  • Use target inventory
  • Include production cycles
  • Capacity smoothing
  • Batch Production
  • Batch Supply

In the side panel, there are more model options:

  • Strict capacity limit

  • Strict min inventory limit

  • Strict max inventory limit

  • Frozen Periods

    Note

    The option “Frozen Periods” has a separate side panel. You can select the production resource/location/periods to fix production volume.

Results

After you click Optimize, results are summarized on this page.

  • Status Box

    There are two Status in the Options Box. They indicates whether the optimization has reached the optimal solution (then results will be displayed), or the solve is not feasible (displayed results can not be trusted).

  • Barchart Period Utilization Type

    This table shows for each resource, the number of periods in different utilization types.

    ../../_images/ibp-scenario-evaluation-period-utilization-type.png

    In this example, there are 4 resources and 12 periods (months). From left to right, the first 3 resources are in Good utilization type for all 12 months. Meanwhile regards to the last resource, 9 months are in Good, 1 month is in Under utilization and 2 months are Inactive.

    Find the legend for this chart in the side panel.

    Note

    • Inactive: zero utilization
    • Under: below 50% of utilization limit
    • Good: between 50-100% of utilization limit
    • Over: above utilization limit

    Click a bar in this chart to inspect more details in the Barchart Capacity vs. Production and Line chart Inventory.

  • Table Results

    Key outputs are listed here. Revenue is the production (or sold) amount \(\times\) selling price (or margin). Production Violation is the amount of production above the utilization limit (soft constraint). Above/Below Target/Min/Max Inventory is the amount of inventory outside of the range specified (soft constraint). Note that ranges of hard constraints can never be “touched”.

  • Table Utilization Overview

    This table shows the utilization type and inventory status.

    ../../_images/ibp-scenario-evaluation-utilization-overview.png

    The first 3 columns on the left show the number of periods by utilization type. The middle 3 columns show the minimal, average, and maximal utilization of the corresponding resource. The last 2 columns on the right show the number of periods that are below minimal inventory level or above maximal inventory level.

  • Barchart Capacity vs. Production

    This is the monthly Capacity and monthly Production for a resource. The production bar is color-coded according to the legend to the right. An over-utilized facility is colored red. A facility with utilization above 95% but below 100% is colored orange.

    Note

    To enable contents for this chart, click to select a bar in Barchart Period Utilization Type.

  • Line chart Inventory

    This is the monthly inventory level of all facilities.

    Note

    To enable contents for this chart, click to select a bar in Barchart Period Utilization Type.

Frozen Periods

In the actual production planning practice, production plans may already have been determined 2 or 3 cycles prior, meaning that in the next 2 or 3 cycles production volume should be the predetermined numbers. To achieve that, you can use attribute Production Volume Input in table “Resource Product Data” “Bill Of Resource Data” to provide predetermined input data, and the side panel Frozen Period to toggle which resources should follow input data in frozen periods.

Once Production Volume Input exist in the dataset, a new page action zoomin will appear at bottom right. Clicking on that page action brings up an dialog page that compares the Production Volume Input and optimization solution on production volume.

At side panel Frozen Period, you can specify which resource(s) should follow Production Volume Input during which periods (frozen periods).