Delivery schedules are an important part of any Supply Chain Management (SCM) concept. They are common in the automotive industry but are not limited to any particular sector.

IBS Customer Delivery sCheDules provides comprehensive functionality in this vital area of the supply chain. The EDIFACT message DELFOR is used to handle logistics informa-tion between business partners. The delivery instruction message DELINS is another example of customer logistics information. The message type DELFOR can be used in two different ways:• Net forecast with firm orders • Gross forecast with min/max/ actual inventory.

Net forecast with firm orders Forecasts from customers can be handled in different ways. Short-term forecasts can be transferred to orders automatically, either by using status flags in the EDI message or by a defined timeline in IBS enterprise. In addition, the customer forecast information can be transferred to the supplier’s forecast, or solely for informational purposes.

You can make adjustments to delivery sched-ules. For example, when a delivery is made to the customer, the plan is reduced by the quantity delivered. In such cases, ‘last deliver-ies’ are sent with the EDI message. Details sent include shipment date, transport note, quantity and unit.

Gross forecast with min/max/actual inventory With Supplier Managed Inventory (SMI) or Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), the supplier controls the customer warehouse. The customer sends a schedule with gross forecast, and min/max/actual inventory targets, and the supplier dispatches the goods based on this information.

Delivery forecast retrievalDuring retrieval of delivery schedules, several controls can be activated. If these controls result in a warning, an alert is sent, both at item level (to indicate a warning) and on the delivery schedule header.

A delivery schedule holds a start date. This is defined by the customer and sent by EDI. From this start date, the lead-time for warnings and lead-time for firm orders are calculated. Once the customer defines the lead-time for firm orders, that number of days is added to the scheduled start date in order to calculate an end date by when firm orders need to be shipped. A delivery schedule with warnings can still update an order, despite the warning.

Delivery schedules can hold up to three ‘last deliveries’ for each item. The customer transfers ‘last delivery’ information directly into the delivery schedule. This indicates the last deliveries that the customer has received from the supplier. They are used to check if a delivery has been made after the customer created his delivery schedule, i.e. these deliv-eries are not taken into account in his plan and should therefore be subtracted from the delivery plan.

Functional overview - iBS enterpriSe

IBS Customer Delivery sCheDules software provides time and money-saving functionality

for handling and streamlining logistics information from your customers, no matter

how information is sent.

IBS Customer Delivery Schedules

• Automates replenishment• Provides tools to communicate critical supply chain data• Enables you to handle both net and gross forecast• Gives you full control of the call-off process.

Forecast typesDelivery schedules can hold two types of forecast, gross and net. In a net forecast, the customer determines the dates and quantities. This means that no adjustments are made to the quantities in the delivery schedule, and the supplier delivers what the customer requests.

A gross forecast delivery schedule consists of minimum/maximum/actual inventory. Forecast records on line level are to be seen as gross forecast. Available quantity is calculated as the actual inventory plus ad-justment for order lines for the customer/ item with status GT (i.e. goods in transit, which have been delivered by the supplier but not yet received by the customer). When available quantity is less than minimum quantity, the line will automati-cally be updated as an order suggestion.

Suggested order quantity is maximum quantity minus available quantity.Order quantity is rounded off to an even number of default sales units. This gives the supplier a head start, and is as accurate as the net forecast.

Confirmation of picked quantitiesIf orders are generated from a delivery schedule, these must be handled dif-ferently from a normal order. Should the confirmed picked quantity be greater than the quantity on the delivery schedule, the next quantity matrix in the delivery schedule is decreased with the excess quantity delivered.

If confirmed picked quantity is less than quantity on the delivery schedule and the back order code is set to ‘No’, then this back order quantity automatically

decreases the delivery schedule quantity. If the back order code is set to ‘Yes’, a new order line is created with the same dispatch date. This is how IBS enterprise normally operates. The additional func-tion here is the link between the order line and the delivery schedule.

IBS North America: 1-800-886-3900 • info@ibsus.com • www.ibsus.com

The materials contained in this document are summary in nature, subject to change and intended for general information only. For updates of this information, please contact your local IBS representative. v2006-08 © IBS 2006

IBS, International Business Systems, is a world-leading supplier of supply chain management software and professional services for large and mid-sized companies. IBS has some 5,000 customers in more than 40 countries, including ABB, Ciba Vision, Galexis, Nautor’s Swan, Nintendo, General Electric, Honda, Maxell, Scribona, Miele and Volvo.

You can easily drill down to item level from any delivery schedule.