Business Requirements
The business requires the ability to plan and schedule production taking capacity and other constrains into account.
- Ability to perform detailed planning and scheduling, which enables constraint-based planning through scheduling and sequencing.
- Optimize Production Planning and Constraints Management and plan production resources finitely beyond S/4HANA MRP functionality (including live MRP, DDMRP).
- Create production plans and schedules based on business sales, operations, and inventory plans with instant feedback loops from manufacturing and logistics execution.
According to SAP Reference Business Architecture the Manufacturing Performance Management business area comprises the following capabilities (Figure 1 - available to view in SAP Signavio Process Explorer)
Figure 1 – Manufacturing Performance Management Business Capabilities
Business Capabilities and Process Alignment
From the “Plan to Fulfill” end-to-end business process you can drill down to the activities enabled by the business capabilities (Figure 2):
Figure 2 – Business Process Module – Activities - Capabilities
The Solution Value Flow Diagram (Figure 3) shows the implementation of a Solution Process Module by depicting an implementable combination of Solution Components and their corresponding Solution Capabilities for hybrid deployment.
Figure 3 – Solution Value flow
Solution Options
The following SAP solutions are available to enable Production Planning and Scheduling capabilities (see Figure 3 above).
- SAP S/4HANA Enterprise core – basic production planning capabilities:
- Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
- Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP)
This solution option is not discussed further in this article – for architecture decision please refer to Solution Options for Material Requirements Planning.
- SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling (MP&S, aka Advanced Planning)
- SAP Synchronized Planning for Production (SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) + S/4HANA MP&S)
SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for Planning and Scheduling (MP&S) is often referred as Advanced Planning or S/4HANA PP/DS as well.
Note that PP/DS (or PPDS) is a function module in SAP APO while S/4HANA has the embedded PP/DS. In this article we will use MP&S as the broader end-to-end solution and refer to the PP/DS module of S/4HANA where appropriate (S/4HANA PP/DS).
Note: Along with the Business Suite, SAP APO mainstream maintenance is going to end by 12/31/2027. Extended maintenance is available until 12/31/2030. For further details please refer to SAP Maintenance Strategy: Maintenance 2040, Product Availability Matrix (PAM), SAP note 1648480.
Moving forward, the platform of innovation for production planning is SAP Integrated Business Planning and SAP S/4HANA.
Characterization of the Solution Options
The brief description below focuses on the production planning capabilities of SAP S/4HANA and SAP IBP only and is not intended to provide the full feature scope of the products.
SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for Planning and Scheduling
SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling (aka PPDS) is an integral part of the end-to-end planning capability/suite from SAP and allows the creation of feasible production plans and schedules that optimize scarce resources to stabilize production and help making reliable commitments to internal and external customers. This S/4HANA Enterprise Management core extension, available both on premise and as private cloud edition, in stack and extra stack (side by side as S/4HANA DSC-Edition), ensures that planning and execution are synchronized in real time.
SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling is a solution for planning production resources and considering finite capacity and material availability constraints, the full APS-functionality directly embedded in S/4 (APS: Advanced Planning and Scheduling).
Key capabilities include:
- Time-continuous scheduling (i.e., down to the second), supporting features like alternative resources, min/max constraints, dynamic setup times and costs
- Multi-level pegging (i.e., material flow), connecting demand and supply elements
- Alerting enabling exception-based planning
- Advanced Planning & Scheduling Optimization Solvers and Heuristics
- Simulation versions and transactional simulation
- Industry specific functionality (Block Planning, Campaign Planning, Shelf-Life …)
- Web based Scheduling Board aka. “Gantt Chart” (Fiori app)
- Optimize Production Planning and Constraints Management and plan production resources finitely beyond classic MRP functionality
- Consider capacity and material availability constraints in the planning model
- Integrate manufacturing master data to define the basis for production planning data structures
- Streamline scheduling processes throughout global production environments
- Perform detailed scheduling with a setup matrix, sequence constraints, and alternative modes
Deployment options
As mentioned above, S/4HANA PP/DS is available as embedded or “side car” deployment (Figure 4). Technically both are the embedded PP/DS in S/4HANA, but the SAP DSC Edition is limited to supply chain functionalities (see Side by side deployment below) and other S/4HANA modules/functionalities are not available.
Figure 4 – SAP S/4HANA MP&S (PP/DS) deployment options
Embedded PP/DS
SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling (embedded PP/DS) is the preferred option.
- Simplified system landscape
- Leaner integrations between ERP core and advanced layer of SAP S/4HANA
- But implies dependency for the move from ERP to SAP S/4HANA
Side by side deployment
This deployment option is based on SAP Digital Supply Chain Management, Edition for SAP S/4HANA (S/4HANA DSC-Edition) which is an S/4HANA core with only the below embedded solutions – no other S/4HANA functionalities are available:
The side car deployment is a valid option to accelerate the supply chain transformation or for hub scenarios. It can be a transition state while planning and executing the transformation from APO and ECC to S/4HANA and IBP.
- Rapid supply chain transformation without transitioning from ECC to S/4HANA
- Modular enhancements integrated with ERP core
- Enable centralized hub scenarios connected to multiple ERPs (both ECC and S/4HANA)
For further information on the potential transition options and deployment scenarios please refer to:
SAP Digital Supply Chain Management, Edition for SAP S/4HANA | SAP Community
Accelerate Supply Chain Transformation and Innovation (sap.com)
SAP Digital Supply Chain Management, Edition for SAP S/4HANA (overview)
SAP Digital Supply Chain Management, edition for SAP S/4HANA | SAP Help Portal
Additional information:
SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling
PP/DS for SAP S/4HANA (Advanced Planning) - SAP Community
Overview of the key functionality of embedded PP/DS on S/4HANA - SAP Community
SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling - Release 2023
Roadmap: SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for planning and scheduling (Business Capability: Constraint-Based Production Planning)
SAP Synchronized Planning for Production
Synchronized Planning for Production (‘SYPP’) is not a standalone product, but a closed loop process of supply chain planning and execution working seamlessly across different planning horizons and time buckets. It combines the planning capabilities of SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) for Supply and SAP S/4HANA PP/DS in a synchronized way. SAP IBP translates the customer demand to trigger off the requirements for an efficient manufacturing planning which in turn drives the Detailed Scheduling that are embedded in S/4HANA. The IBP interoperability with PP/DS now offers truly synchronized planning from strategy down to machine level scheduling. SYPP is also available with the standalone edition of PPDS (see above S/4HANA DSC-Edition, side car deployment) offering customers and independent end2end planning environment independent of the ERP backend.
Synchronized Planning for Production is one of the building blocks of SAP’s Synchronized Planning strategy. To find out more about the overall Synchronized Planning strategy look here: Achieving Supply Chain Resiliency by Synchronizing Business Decisions (sap.com).
Synchronized Planning for Production is based on the following solution components:
- SAP S/4HANA MP&S (PP/DS) and
- SAP IBP for Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and/or SAP IBP for Response & Supply
The solution is SAP IBP supply planning with production planning integration to SAP MP&S (PP/DS).
Key capabilities include:
- Create transparent plans from supply network planning to production planning and detailed scheduling
- Synchronize your business processes, plans and data - from planning to execution
- Provide end-to-end visibility and decision support to your planners
- Order Integration for operational supply planning in real time between SAP IBP and PP/DS in SAP S/4HANA (Figure 5)
- Key Figure Integration for tactical supply planning by sharing constraints between SAP IBP and PP/DS in SAP S/4HANA
Process scenarios with Order integration
Figure 5 – Process scenarios with Order integration
Process scenarios with Key Figure (Time Series) integration
Figure 6 – Process scenarios with Order integration
Additional information
Exploring the Benefits of Synchronized Planning fo... - SAP Community (important links to detailed information on the solution, integration scenarios, processes and setup)
Roadmap: SAP Synchronized Planning for Production
Criteria to determine the most suitable target solution
Based on the characterization of the solution options SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for Planning and Scheduling (MP&S) is a mandatory component, either the embedded or the side-by-side deployment option. Manufacturing customers with SAP IBP should consider the Synchronized Planning for Production for the additional benefits.
Existing SAP APO customers using APO Supply Network Planning (SNP) and PP/DS can consider Synchronized Planning as a viable alternative to move to S/4HANA and IBP.
Questions that can provide some orientation from Production Planning and Scheduling perspective
- Customer runs SAP ECC and SAP APO (PP/DS and/or SNP)
As the mainstream maintenance is nearing its end consider the Synchronized Planning strategy and plan the transition to S/4HANA and IBP. As a transition state customer can consider S/4HANA MP&S (PP/DS) side by side deployment. - Customer with multiple ERP systems and an APO system
Consider the transition scenarios and stages to the final target architecture w/ S/4HANA and IBP. Building a roadmap of exact sequencing and phases need careful evaluation of various factor, e.g., the instance options, business processes and priorities. - Customer runs multiple ERP systems and need for centralized Production Planning system
Consider SAP MP&S (PP/DS) side car deployment for hub scenario. - Customer runs SAP IBP
Existing SAP IBP customer with the need for PP/DS capabilities need to consider the SYPP solution - S/4HANA MP&S (PP/DS) and the integration between IBP supply planning and PP/DS. - Customer runs ECC
Existing ECC customer with the need for PP/DS capabilities should plan the transition to S/4HANA with embedded PP/DS and consider adding IBP in a later phase.
Decision Tree
A simple decision tree to determine the target application architecture is illustrated below:
Conclusion
Companies using SAP ECC and SAP APO for PP/DS need to consider the transition options to SAP S/4HANA with embedded PP/DS and replace APO functionality S/4HANA and SAP IBP. The SAP DSC edition for S/4HANA (side car) offers alternatives for the transition as well as for the final target architecture (hub scenario).
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