Inventory Planning and Optimization with SAP IBP

How much inventory is ideal? From setting service target levels and lead times to managing demand variability, learn to calculate and plan the best way to handle your inventory. Configure SAP Integrated Business Planning for inventory and model your supply network. Then optimize your inventory practices and measure your performance through KPIs, reports, and dashboards. Plan and control your stock levels with this all-in-one guide!

• Set up and use SAP IBP for inventory
• Run inventory calculations, build intuition, and conduct what-if analysis
• Measure inventory performance and analyze your results

Key Inventory Processes

Understand how variability, lead time, demand, safety stock, and other factors help determine your optimal stock level. Perform what-if analysis, calculate demand forecasts, and use other built-in tools to refine your inventory calculations.

Configuration and Integration

Set up the key elements of SAP IBP: time profiles, attributes, planning areas, key figures, and more. Discover the templates and data flows that are available to extract data from SAP ERP, SAP S/4HANA, SAP APO, and even non-SAP systems into SAP IBP.

Monitoring and Reporting

Measure the performance of your inventory plan using Excel and KPIs, and perform scenario analysis to providing feedback to your planning teams. To further tailor the system to your needs, create custom inventory alerts so you know when something is amiss.

• Master data
• Planning areas
• Supply network models
• Replenishment
• Lead times
• Safety stock
• Inventory types
• What-if analysis
• Integration
• Implementation planning
• Case studies

About the Authors

Lei Wang is the director of product management, supply chain, at SAP and the product owner for the underlying supply chain algorithm library beneath SAP Integrated Business Planning for inventory and SAP Integrated Business Planning for demand. He has more than a decade of experience in the research and development of enterprise inventory and service optimization solutions. He has also worked with expert users, planners, supply chain analysts, and consultants on various SAP Integrated Business Planning for inventory implementations. Lei Wang has a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Atul Bhandari is the senior director of predictive supply chain analytics at SAP and product owner for SAP Integrated Business Planning for inventory. He has more than a decade of experience in helping companies adopt inventory optimization and demand-sensing capabilities. Atul acts as the SAP liaison for the SAP User Group for inventory and service optimization.

Sanchit Chandna is a manager for Deloitte Consulting LLP with more than nine years of experience in the design and implementation of SAP supply chain solutions. He has focused on demand management, master production scheduling, rough cut capacity planning, inventory planning and optimization, and sales and operations planning (S&OP). He has deep knowledge of SCOR processes and is an expert in SAP IBP and SAP APO. He has implemented supply chain planning and optimization technology solutions in the chemical, food, life sciences and medical consumer products, auto, high-tech, and semiconductor industries. Currently, he is working with multiple SAP IBP customers as a subject matter expert.

Jeroen Kusters is a senior manager for Deloitte Consulting LLP with more than 10 years of supply chain planning experience. Jeroen started his career implementing SAP APO environments, with a focus on demand planning and service parts planning. Since 2013, his focus has been on SAP Integrated Business Planning; he works closely with SAP to drive new functionality enabling best-practice supply chain planning business processes.