Node capacity

Node capacity is the ability to fulfill shipments at a node. Inventory managers can configure how many units, releases, or order lines can be processed at a node for each time slot, which impacts the calculation of shipment dates. If a node meets the maximum work capacity on a single day, the extra fulfillment needs can be moved to the next day, either to the same distribution center or other distribution centers.

Node capacity units of measure (UOMs)

If a resource pool for a node is defined for the purpose INVENTORY, then consumption is placed for the resource pool based on the following capacity UOMs.

  • Unit - One capacity for each ordered quantity is added in consumption for an order.
  • Release - One capacity for each potential release is added to consumption based on the release consolidation template that is defined for an order. However, if a scheduled quantity can be consolidated with the existing scheduled quantity, then consumption does not increase.
  • Line - For each order line, the following logic is applied to obtain the necessary consumption.
    1. Determines the default consumption based on the DEFAULT_REQUIRED_CAPACITY_FOR_UOM_LINE rule that is configured at the capacity organization level.
    2. Calculates consumption as (FixedCapacityQtyPerLine + (OrderedQty * CapacityPerOrderedQty)).

      Here, FixedCapacityQtyPerLine and CapacityPerOrderedQty attributes are configured for an item.

    To create consumption, the maximum values of (1) and (2) are used.

The following example demonstrates the expected node capacity consumption based on the capacity UOM.

Table 1. Order lines
Order header key Order line key Item Quantity Ship date
OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_1 ITEM 1 60 13 August 2015 01:30:00
OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_2 ITEM 2 60 13 August 2015 01:30:00
The following example illustrates the node capacity:
Table 2. Node capacity
Date Capacity slots Availability Consumption
13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 100 0
14 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 100 0
Based on the resource pool definition for unit, release, or line, the node capacity consumption for each capacity UOM is explained in detail with use cases.
Capacity UOM - unit
For order line 1, consumption is created for the 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 slot on 13 August 2015. For order line 2, consumption is created for the 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 slot on 14 August 2015.
Table 3. Capacity UOM - unit
Date Capacity slots UOM Consumption Order header key
13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Unit 60 OH_KEY_1
14 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Unit 60 OH_KEY_1
Capacity UOM - release
Because the order lines 1 and 2 are expected to go in a single release, the consumption is created for the 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 slot on 13 August 2015.
Table 4. Capacity UOM - release
Date Capacity slots UOM Consumption Order header key
13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Release 1 OH_KEY_1
Capacity UOM - line
The node capacity consumption for line UOM is created based on the rule and item configurations. The following use cases explain the capacity of line UOM.
  • The FixedCapacityQtyPerLine and CapacityPerOrderedQty attributes are not configured for PROD items, and the value of DEFAULT_REQUIRED_CAPACITY_FOR_UOM_LINE rule is set to 1.
    In this case, for order line 1 consumption is created for the 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 slot on 13 August 2015. For order line 2, consumption is created for the 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 slot on 13 August 2015.
    Table 5. Capacity UOM - line
    Date Capacity slots UOM Consumption Order header key Order line key
    13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Line 1 OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_1
    13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Line 1 OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_2
  • The FixedCapacityQtyPerLine and CapacityPerOrderedQty attributes are configured for PROD items as explained in the following table. The value of DEFAULT_REQUIRED_CAPACITY_FOR_UOM_LINE rule is set to 1.
    Item FixedCapacityQtyPerLine CapacityPerOrderedQty
    ITEM 1 1 0
    ITEM 2 1 1
    For order line 1, consumption is created for the 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 slot on 13 August 2015. For order line 2, consumption is created for the 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 slot on 13 August 2015.
    Date Capacity slots UOM Consumption Order header key Order line key
    13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Line 1 OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_1
    13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Line 61 OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_2
Note: By default, the node capacity and consumption time or slot for a resource pool is derived based on the timestamp in the product installation locale. If you want to consider capacity for a node locale, set the value of the yfs.useNodeLocaleTimeForCapacityCheck property to true.

Node capacity by delivery method

If a node meets the maximum work capacity in one day, you can move the extra fulfillment needs to the same or other distribution centers the next day. You can configure the sourcing rules to include only those nodes that have a certain percentage of available capacity.

You can define a node capacity for shipping or pickup delivery method. For a node that maintains capacity, you can configure a single resource pool for each delivery method. For example, you can configure the Res1 resource pool for the N1 node to maintain capacity for the pickup delivery method. Similarly, you can configure the Res2 resource pool for the N2 node to maintain capacity for the ship delivery method.

Shift-based node capacity

Use the shift-based node capacity capability to specify the quantity for item units or order releases that a node can fulfill during a specified time period based on the node capacity. For example, your business might experience less traffic in the morning than in the afternoon and a traffic surge in the evening.

To make sure that you have sufficient capacity at a node for the evening rush, you can partition your node capacity as shown.
  • Low in the morning from 8:00:00 to 12:00:00
  • Moderate in the afternoon from 12:00:00 to 16:00:00
  • High in the evening from 16:00:00 to 21:00:00

By partitioning your node capacity, you can allocate capacity based on the demand by determining the time for a particular day.

In the IBM® Sterling™ Business Center Inventory window, when you create a service slot group, you can divide a node capacity into multiple time slots. You can then assign the node capacity slot groups to multiple inventory resource pools. You can create, modify, or delete node capacity slots and node capacity slot groups either in IBM Sterling Business Center or by calling the manageServiceSlotGroup API. During node capacity allocation, in addition to the ship date, the time component is considered to pick a service slot so that the available capacity at the node is shown accurately.

For a service slot, the yfs.nodecapacity.considerSlotEndTime property determines whether the expected shipment date calculation is based on the start or end timestamp of the slot. If you set the value to Y, the expected ship date is calculated based on the end timestamp of the slot. If the value is blank or is set to N, either the start timestamp of the slot or the minimum ship timestamp is used, depending on which one is generated the last. The following example illustrates this use case. In this example, it is assumed that the value of the yfs.nodecapacity.considerSlotEndTime property is set to Y.

Table 6. Order lines
Order line number Quantity Ship date
1 1000 13 August 2015 01:30:00
2 1000 13 August 2015 01:30:00

The following example illustrates the capacity at a node:

Table 7. Capacity at a node
Service Slots Availability Allocated consumption
08:00:00 to 12:00:00 4000 0
12:00:00 to 16:00:00 1000 3000
16:00:00 to 19:00:00 4000 0

For order line 1, the consumption is created for the 12:00:00 to 16:00:00 slot on 13 August 2015. For order line 2, the consumption is created for the16:00:00 to 19:00:00 slot on 13 August 2015.

Table 8. Consumptions
Service slots Availability Allocated consumption
08:00:00 to 12:00:00 4000 0
12:00:00 to 16:00:00 0 4000
16:00:00 to 19:00:00 3000 1000

The expected ship date for order line 1 is 13 August 2015 16:00:00, and for order line 2, it is 19:00:00. However, in the same scenario, if the value of the yfs.nodecapacity.considerSlotEndTime property is either set to N or not defined, the ship date for order line 1 is 13 August 2015 01:30:00, and for order line 2, it is 13 August 2015 16:00:00.

Node capacity for procurements

During procurement, capacity is considered only from a procurement node. The following business scenario explains the node capacity consideration for a sales order for which the ordered quantity is 50.

Table 9. Business scenario for a sales order
Order header key Order line key Ship node Quantity
OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_1 SN1 50

As shown in the following table to fulfill a sales order, the SN1 ship node does not contain the specified quantity, which is 50. Therefore, the remaining quantity is procured from PN1 procurement node with one day transit.

Table 10. Available quantity
Node Quantity
SNI 26
PN1 100

For the same Node capacity for procurements, the capacity of unit UOM at the SN1 ship node is considered as illustrated in the following table.

Table 11. Capacity for the unit UOM at SN1
Date Capacity slots Capacity availability
13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 30
14 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 30
15 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 100

The following table illustrates the capacity for the unit UOM that is considered at the PN1 procurement node:

Table 12. Capacity for UOM UNIT at PN1
Date Capacity slots Capacity availability
13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 100
14 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 100

During scheduling, the following schedules and capacity consumptions are observed.

Table 13. Schedules
Order header key Order line key Ship node Quantity ETS
POH_KEY_1 POL_KEY_1 PN1 24 13 August 2015 01:30:00
OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_1 SN1 50 14 August 2015 01:30:00

The procurement transfer order is scheduled on 13 August 2015 from the PN1 procurement node as it can ship on the current date, which is 13 August 2015. Considering one day transit, the sales order is scheduled on 14 August 2015 for the ordered quantity, which is 50 from the SN1 ship node.

Based on these schedules, the capacity consumption is illustrated in the following table:

Table 14. Capacity
Date Capacity slots Node UOM Capacity consumption Order header key
13 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 PN1 UNIT 24 PO_KEY_1
14 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 SN1 UNIT 26 OH_KEY_1

For the procured quantity, the capacity at the PN1 procurement node is considered, which is 24. The sales order is scheduled for the entire ordered quantity, which is 50, from the SN1 ship node. The capacity at the SN1 ship node is considered based on the inventory that is available at SN1 ship node, which is 26. The capacity at SN1 ship node is not checked for inventory that is procured from the PN1 procurement node.

Ship node capacity for procurements

You can consider the ship node capacity for procurement scenarios by enabling the Consider Ship Node capacity for procurements rule for the procured quantity. For more information, see Consider Ship Node capacity for procurements.

For the business scenario described in the following table, before you ship the ordered quantity, the capacity for the procured quantity at the SN1 ship node is considered. If the Consider Ship Node capacity for procurements rule is enabled, the following schedules and capacity consumptions are observed. For more information, see Defining forwarding or transfer rules.

Table 15. Schedules
Order header key Order line key Ship node Quantity ETS
POH_KEY_1 POL_KEY_1 PN1 24 14 August 2015 01:30:00
OH_KEY_1 OL_KEY_1 SN1 50 15 August 2015 01:30:00

The sales order is scheduled on 15 August 2015 for the ordered quantity, which is 50, from the SN1 ship node because it does not contain the actual capacity on 14 August 2015, which is 50. Also, the creation date of the procurement transfer order is adjusted to ship on 14 August 2015 by considering one day transit.

Based on these schedules, the following table explains the capacity consumption:

Table 16. Capacity
Date Capacity slots Node UOM Capacity consumption Order header key
14 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 PN1 UNIT 24 PO_KEY_1
15 August 2015 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 SN1 UNIT 50 OH_KEY_1

The capacity at the PN1 procurement node is considered for the procured quantity, which is 24. The capacity consumption at the SN1 ship node considers the available quantity at the SN1 ship node and the quantity that is procured from the PN1 procurement node, which is 50.

Deactivating node capacity

You can disable capacity availability checks and capacity consumption at the resource pool or enterprise level. When you deactivate the node capacity, it is assumed that a node or enterprise has unlimited capacity during availability checks.
  • To deactivate capacity at the resource pool level, see the changeResourcePool API in Javadoc.
  • To deactivate capacity at the enterprise level, use the manageRule API to set the value of the DISABLE_NODE_CAPACITY_FOR_ENT property to Y as shown.
    <Rules OrganizationCode="DEFAULT"
RuleSetFieldDescription="Disable Node Capacity for Enterprise"
RuleSetFieldName="DISABLE_NODE_CAPACITY_FOR_ENT" RuleSetValue="Y"/>
    Note: The deactivating node capacity feature is supported only for resource pools with the purpose INVENTORY, and the default value is set to N.

Purge or delete the consumption data of inactive resource pools

You can purge or delete the consumption and consumption detail records ignoring the lead days for inactive resource pools. To purge or delete the consumption data, set the criteria parameter IgnoreLeadDaysForInactive=Y and run the capacity purge agent. The consumption data for the inactive resource pools gets deleted.

If needed after the consumption data that is associated with the resource pool is purged, you can delete the resource pool by using changeResourcePool API.