Thinking Beyond the SAP Standard

Demand-Driven MRP (DDMRP) as a concept for effective and Demand-Driven supply chain planning has finally found a way into the SAP world and is here to stay. Today, appropriate solutions are available for all relevant SAP platforms (SAP ECC, SAP SCM, SAP S/4 Hana, SAP Integrated Business Planning).

SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) is a particularly suitable platform for the DDMRP concept, as it is very easy to map the entire production and distribution network—an important prerequisite for the systematic definition and monitoring of strategic decoupling points as required in the DDMRP concept.

The DDMRP solution for SAP IBP, jointly developed by Camelot ITLab and SAP, builds on this strong foundation by enhancing existing standards instead of replacing them. Thus, it is easy for existing SAP IBP customers to implement the concept.

Enhancement Framework

Custom developments are not possible within the SAP IBP system. The standard is extended by using an enhancement framework with corresponding interfaces. DDMRP for SAP IBP is just one solution that uses this function, other applications can also supplement the SAP IBP standard. In order to fully implement the core principles of the concept, more advanced functionalities are often required in the context of Demand-Driven SCM, especially for complex environments and extensive global supply chains.

For example, the principle of a parameter-controlled supply chain in complex and heterogeneous environments requires systematic segmentation and parameterization, which however can only be implemented to a limited extent with out-of-the-box functionality. Another application case is the use of AI algorithms for the optimization of planning parameters such as inventory level (Camelot AI-enabled Supply Chain Planning).

In these scenarios, the SAP Cloud Platform is used to operate the enhancements. This is in line with SAP’s strategic direction, which already supports and uses its Cloud Platform for extension with other cloud products. Such extensions for standard software and its processes such as S/4 Hana, SAP IBP, SAP SCM are called microservices. Their task is to improve existing—or introduce new—process steps within a business process. Such a microservice has to implement data extraction and processing as well as the transfer of then determined results. Camelot uses the Camelot Intelligence Engine, developed on the SAP Cloud Platform, to map this process. The Intelligence Engine is also able to repeat the execution of the process with jobs that can be scheduled.

The cloud product Camelot Segment & Strategize then uses this foundation for data segmentation. Segment & Strategize enables the systematic segmentation of products, customers, suppliers and other (planning) relevant entities and a derived parameterization of supply chain planning. The result is a constantly updating and differentiated parameterization of the supply chain and thus an important cornerstone of Demand-Driven SCM.