The Demand Planning (DP) component of SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer (SAP APO) is a complex, high-performance, and flexible instrument that supports the sales/requirements planning process in your company. User-specific planning layouts and interactive planning books allow not only the inclusion of various departments, but also of other companies, in the forecast creation process.
The configuration of demand planning is an important factor for a successful implementation of the system. This is performed, as it is also done for the Supply Network Planning component (see Chapter 5, Inventory Planning with SAP APO-SNP—Basic Principles), with the Supply and Demand Planning (S&DP) Administration Workbench.
The entire administration of the demand planning component and the components required for configuring the planning area are summarized in Figure 3.1.
First, we will give you a brief overview of the terms detailed in the figure and their relationships; then, they will be described in greater detail in the following sections.