Model Feature Overview

This section contains a list of constraints and limits that you can enforce in the model. It also includes instructions on how you can activate a particular constraints/limitation and what data you need to provide to use this.

Note

This list is under construction, so existing model features will be added to this list from time to time. Please check with support if you have any questions about certain model features that are not yet documented.

Customers

You limit the number of resources that can serve a group of products and locations. This allows you to indicate, for instance, that the demand for all "Slow Moving Products" in the "State of New York" must be served by at most 2 resources. If you want to use this functionality, you need to check the wizard question "Include maximum number of resources that can serve demand by product and location group" and provide data for the attribute "Maximum # of Resources" on sheet "Product Location Data".

Resources

You can indicate that all resources at one location need to open and close simultaneously. This allows you to indicate, for instance, that all five resources in a certain location must either be all open or all closed. You cannot have that some resources are open, and some are closed. If you want to use this functionality, you need to check wizard question "Include ability to make open and close decision by location" and provide data for the attribute "Location Open/Close" on sheet "Location Period Data".

Note

Please note, if you have a location with one resource, but it is a DC and a Production in the same time, you should provide the availability information both for DC and Production sheets. This setting doesn't mean that you create two resources for a location, so the model will provide you a warning, about constraining a location that has only one resource. If you need two resources, please provide different name on the two sheets but for the same location.

You can indicate which mode of transportation each resource can use. This allows you to specify that resource X can ship using "LTL" and "Parcel Carrier", while resource Y can only ship using "LTL". If you want to use this functionality, you need to check wizard question "Include which mode of transportation can be handled by which resource" and provide data for the attribute "Mode Allowed In" and/or "Mode Allowed Out" on sheet "Trans Type Resource Data".

You can indicate that you want to restrict DC capability by product. This allows you to indicate that resource X can only handle product group "A" and "B". If you want to use this functionality, you need to check the wizard option "Define DC Capability by Resource & Product". If you also want to include capacity limits by product, you need to check the options "Define maximum DC Throughput capacity by DC Facility & Product" and "Define minimum DC Throughput capacity by DC Facility & Product". The new attributes "Available (DC)", "Minimum Capacity (DC)" and "Maximum Capacity (DC)" will appear on sheet "DC Product Data".

It is also possible to define DC capacity for a group of products. To use this functionality, you need to check wizard options "Define DC Capability by Resource & Product" and "Enable Product Grouping", after which you can check the option "Enable option to consider DC capacity by Product for Product Groups". The new attribute "Capacity for Product Group (DC)" will appear on sheet "DC Product Data".

Transportation Cost Using Drop Size and Distance Based Rate Cards

There are various ways to provide transportation cost based on the lanes. The model currently supports these types:

  • Cost Per Distance

  • Cost Per THU

  • Fixed Cost Per Trip

  • Minimum Cost Per Trip

  • Take or Pay Costs

  • Stepwise Costs

  • Cost functions generated using the secondary transportation app

There is another method, which uses rate cards which specify costs for different distance/drop size bands. The model uses that information to determine the transportation cost that is needed for a particular lane.

If you want to use Rate Cards, you need to set the switch for the Data Navigator wizard statement "Include rate cards to describe part of the transportation costs" to true. In that case, Data Navigator tells you that you need to provide the following attributes:

  • Drop Size Lower: The lower bound of the drop size for this band in specified unit

  • Drop Size Upper: The upper bound of the drop size for this band in specified unit, 0 means unlimited

  • Distance Lower: The lower bound of the distance for this band in the given distance UOM

  • Distance Upper: The upper bound of the distance for this band in the given distance UOM, 0 means unlimited

  • Some kind of cost: The model can take in to account a variety of costs for each rate band, these are: Cost Per Distance, Cost Per THU, Fixed Cost Per Trip, Minimum Cost Per Trip

Depending on whether you want to use Rate Cards for supplier, resource, customer or lanes (direct, secondary, primary, inter-resource, or any combination of these), you will have to specify different attributes.

  • Supplier Rate Card: Rate Card Drop Size in Product Location Data

  • Resource Rate Card: Rate Card Drop Size in Product Location Data

  • Customer Rate Card: Rate Card Drop Size in Customer Product Data

  • Lane Rate Card: Rate Card Drop Size in Transport Cost Data

If you want to use the Rate Card Drop Size for lanes you can specify it to each from and to location transport type, period, and product combination. This provides the flexibility of being able to define Rate Card costs for a select individual lanes.

You should specify the demand in the Customer Product Data sheet just like without Rate Cards.

The model calculates the Rate Card costs in the following cases:

  • Supplier Rate Card: For lanes which have a Supplier starting point for which a Rate Card Drop Size has been specified.

  • Resource Rate Card: For lanes which have a Resource starting point for which a Rate Card Drop Size has been specified.

  • Customer Rate Card: For lanes which have a Customer ending point for which a Rate Card Drop Size has been specified.

  • Lane Rate Card: For lanes with Rate Card Drop Size data specified in Transport Cost Data page.

You cannot however specify Rate Card costs in multiple ways e.g., if you already have Rate Card Drop Size for a supplier, you cannot also specify on a from and to location basis a Rate Card Drop Size on a lane with that supplier as its from location. In addition, you have to make sure that the bounds for drop size and distance cover the possible range of these attributes. Meaning that if for example, the Rate Card Drop Size specified on a lane is so big that it doesn't fit into any rate card band, then the model will ignore that lane.

If you specify more than one type of rate card for a lane that is resulted in a fatal error at the Data Validation. You also have to keep in mind that if you specify normal as well as rate card costs on a particular lane, that will result in an error too.

Note

Backwards compatibility: The first version of rate cards were working with Demand from a Drop Size Customer Product Data sheet. The new version can also work with Demand from that sheet, but only if there is only one drop size for each Product, Customer, Location, Period combination