| The Adaptive Buffer Simulator (ABS) can be used to examine the affect different buffer size parameters will have on the replenishment strategy for a given consumption history. The ABS can be used with Sabe or as a stand alone tool. When the ABS is used as a stand alone tool you will import consumption and, optionally, buffer size and order parameters and lead time from a spreadsheet (the format for this spreadsheet can be found at the end of the page as an attachment).
When it is used from within Sabe you may also load this data directly from an Itemsite and may open the ABS for a particular Itemsite via various context menus. |
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Input Data
Historical Data
Input Parameters
The ABS can be preloaded with buffer size, order, and lead time parameters. When used as a stand alone tool you can click on the tool button at the bottom of the history data list and select "Load from Spreadsheet" to load consumption data and input parameters from a pre-defined Excel .xlsx spreadsheet. You may also select "Download Spreadsheet Template" to download a template of the predefine format.
When used within Sabe, you can additionally select "Load from Itemsite" from the tools button to select an Itemsite from which Sabe will load historical data and input parameters from the Itemsite's Planning Category and Policy.
Below you will find a list of input parameters, the source of each, and a short description:
| Name | Source | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used in Sabe | Used Stand Alone | ||
| Analytic Period | Planning Category | analyticPeriod | The number days of past history will be used to determine the Average Daily Usage |
| Analytic Resolution | Planning Category | analyticResolution | The size, in days, of the data buckets from which Sigma is determined |
| Lead Time | Itemsite | leadTime | The replenishment lead time of this Item |
| Minimum Order | Itemsite | minimumOrder | The minimum order size for a replenishment order for this Item |
| Order Multiple | Itemsite | orderMultiple | The order multiple size for a replenishment order for this Item |
| Direct Cost | Item | directCost | The Direct Cost for this Item |
| Consider Demand Spike | Planning Policy | useDemandSpike | Indicates that Demand Spike should be considered when calculating Available Stock |
| Demand Spike Threshold | Planning Policy | demandSpikeThreshold | The minimum quantity that an order must be in order to be considered as Demand Spike, expressed as a percentage of Red Zone |
| Demand Spike Horizon | Planning Policy | demandSpikeHorizon | The maximum number of days that an order may be in the future in order to be considered as demand spike, expressed as a percentage of Lead Time days |
| Green Zone (MRP Buffer) | Planning Policy | greenZoneDays | The number of days of ADU that will define the size of the Green Zone |
| Yellow Zone (MRP Buffer) | Planning Policy | greenZoneDays | The number of days of ADU that will define the size of the Yellow Zone |
| (+ Itemsite Lead Time) | Planning Policy | Unused (add leadTime to yellowZoneDays manually) | Indicates that the Lead Time days should be added to the Yellow Zone days when determining the total size of the Yellow Zone |
| Green Zone (DDMRP Buffer) | Planning Policy | greenZonePercent | The size of the Green Zone, expressed as a percentage of Lead Time Usage |
| Yellow Zone (DDMRP Buffer) | Planning Policy | yellowZonePercent | The size of the Yellow Zone, expressed as a percentage of Lead Time Usage |
| Red Zone Base (DDMRP Buffer) | Planning Policy | redZoneBasePercent | The size of the non-safety portion of the Red Zone, expressed as a percentage of Lead Time Usage |
| Red Zone Safety (DDMRP Buffer) | Planning Policy | redZoneSafetyPercent | The size of the safety portion of the Red Zone, expressed as a percentage of the non-safety portion of the Red Zone |
Even if you're running the ABS as stand-alone, you can click on the list button on the top right of the Planning Parameters region to load parameters from a selected Planning Policy. This will allow you to create and re-use various standard Planning Policies without having to manually enter the parameters or keep multiple versions of a spreadsheet.
Simulation Output
Once you've loaded historical data and input parameters, either directly from an Itemsite or via a spreadsheet import, Sabe will run the buffer simulation and produce tabular and graphical results. If data is available, the Show Historical Supply and QOH checkbox will be enable and you can include this data in the simulation output to compare the simulation performance against historical performance.
Graphical Results
The ABS will plot the red, yellow, and green zones, the consumption and simulated supply events, and the resulting simulated QOH. If enabled, the ABS will also plot the historical QOH and supply and the value difference between the historical and simulated QOH as Excess Value.
You can click on the names of the plotted values in the legend to include or exclude the given value.
Tabular Data
The ABS will list a detailed simulation result in the History list with the following values:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | Self Explanatory |
| Simulated QOH | The simulated Quantity on Hand |
| Qualified Spike | The total Qualified Spike for this date |
| Simulated Supply | The total quantity for simulated orders due on this date |
| Available Stock | [Simulated QOH] - [Current and Late Demand] - [Qualified Spike] + [Pending Supply] |
| Action Quantity | The amount of a simulated order planned for this date. Note that this quantity will not become available until the Lead Time has passed and, at such time, will appear in the Proposed Supply column |
| Red Zone | The total Red Zone Calculated for this Date |
| ToY | Top of Yellow ([Red Zone] + [Yellow Zone]) |
| ToG | Top of Green ([Red Zone] + [Yellow Zone] + [Green Zone]) |
| Yellow Zone | The Yellow Zone Calculated for this date |
| Green Zone | The Green Zone Calculated for this date |
| ADU | Average Daily Usage calculated for this date |
| Sigma | Sigma, or Standard Deviation, calculated for this date |
| Historical Supply | When available, the total amount of incoming orders from historical data for this date |
| Historical QOH | When available, the historical Quantity on Hand for this date |
| Excess Value | When available, ([Historical QOH] - [Proposed QOH]) * [Direct Cost]) |