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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 3 of 5

Leveling: dispatching and rescheduling

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Evaluation shows the problem; capacity leveling fixes it. Leveling schedules operations finitely, that is, only into periods where free capacity exists, and assigns them to those periods. SAP calls this dispatching. Undoing it is deallocating.

  1. EvaluateASSY-10 shows 160% on Monday, 40% on Wednesday
  2. SelectBottleneck operations on Monday that can move without missing the requirement date
  3. Choose a strategyPlanning mode, scheduling control and direction
  4. DispatchOperations placed into Wednesday's free capacity
  5. CheckOrder dates updated; Monday and Wednesday both at 100%; dispatched status set
A leveling cycle.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pp-206

The leveling apps

AppWhat it doesBest for
Capacity Scheduling TableLists bottleneck operations of planned, production and process orders on pacemaker work centers; dispatch and deallocate selected ordersFast, list-based leveling of a bottleneck line
Capacity Scheduling BoardGraphical chart of operations on work centers; dispatch to a chosen time slot, reschedule, deallocate, realign schedulesVisual planning where sequence and timing matter
Tabular planning tablesPeriod-based aggregate view of capacity and loadsRough leveling by period; cannot sequence within a period

Leveling tools named in SAP Learning for SAP S/4HANA.

Planning strategy

Both Fiori tools dispatch according to a planning strategy. SAP Learning lists its parts: planning mode (bucket or sequence), scheduling control (find slot finitely, infinite scheduling, or insert operation finitely) and planning direction (forward or backward). In bucket mode, operations go into daily buckets, and if a bucket would exceed its capacity the operation moves in the planning direction.

  1. Must the order finish by a fixed date?Yes → plan backward from the requirement date · No → plan forward from today
  2. Is the sequence within the day important (for example setup families)?Yes → sequence mode on the board · No → bucket mode is enough
  3. Must the operation fit into free capacity?Yes → find slot (finite) · No → infinite, and accept the overload knowingly
Choosing a planning strategy.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pp-206

Dispatching on the Capacity Scheduling Board

SAP Learning walks through the board in a few steps. In the app settings the planner defines an area of responsibility and industry type. The display can be limited to bottleneck operations on pacemaker work centers. The planner selects an operation, sets a planning strategy and chooses Manage Operation, which highlights the operation and shows alternative work centers or production versions with their free time slots. Selecting a slot and choosing Dispatch assigns the operation there; Deallocate removes the assignment.

What dispatching changes

Dispatching is a commitment. SAP Learning describes the effects: dispatched planned orders get a capacity-dispatched indicator and are firmed, so MRP cannot reschedule them; dispatched production order operations get status DSPT and cannot be moved by lead time scheduling. They can only be rescheduled through finite scheduling in a planning tool. That is good for stability and bad if someone dispatches carelessly: a dispatched plan ignores later MRP changes.

Dispatching freezes a plan: MRP and lead time scheduling stop moving the order, and only finite scheduling in a planning tool or deallocation can change it.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pp-206

Leveling is not the only fix. Planners can add capacity (an extra shift via the app's shift change or an interval), move work to an alternative work center or production version, split an order, or ask sales to accept a later date. Capacity tools show the trade-offs; the decision is still a business one.

An overload has several fixes besides leveling; the capacity tools show the trade-off but the choice is a business decision.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pp-206

What would you do?

After the planner dispatches next week's orders on ASSY-10, MRP runs overnight and a sales order for Great Lakes Fleet Services increases demand. The planned orders do not change. Kenji is asked to "fix the bug". What do you tell him?

Walkthrough: leveling ASSY-10 in the Capacity Scheduling Table

  1. Open the Capacity Scheduling Table with ASSY-10 as pacemaker work center for plant 1710 and the next two weeks.
  2. Select the strategy agreed for Detroit: bucket mode, find slot (finite), backward from the requirement date.
  3. Select the planned order on Monday that has float before its requirement date and choose Dispatch. It moves into Wednesday's free capacity.
  4. Check the result: planned order firmed and flagged as capacity-dispatched; Monday at 99%, Wednesday at 78%; requirement date still met.
  5. Run MRP for CMC-ALT-100 (MD01N or Schedule MRP Runs) and confirm that the dispatched planned order did not move.
Key points
  • Leveling dispatches operations finitely into periods with free capacity.
  • Capacity Scheduling Table and Capacity Scheduling Board are SAP's current Fiori leveling tools.
  • A planning strategy sets planning mode, scheduling control and direction.
  • Dispatched planned orders are firmed; dispatched operations get status DSPT.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. What does dispatching an operation mean?

  2. 2. Which status does a dispatched production order operation receive?

  3. 3. Which planning strategy element chooses between bucket and sequence?

  4. 4. After dispatching, the planner runs MRP for CMC-ALT-100. What result proves the plan is protected?