How to model stock and supply chain in SAP Analytics Cloud

Supply-chain reporting is where the stock-versus-flow distinction matters most. Inventory is a balance; receipts and shipments are flows. Mix them up in SAP Analytics Cloud and every coverage and turnover figure is wrong. Here is how to model it cleanly.

Balances vs flows

Inventory on hand is a stock: the level at a moment. Across the time dimension it must use a LAST aggregation — December's level, not the sum of twelve months. Receipts, shipments and consumption are flows: they sum. This single rule, set with a time-dimension aggregation exception, is what makes the rest of the model correct.

The KPIs

Model inventory value and units, days of cover (inventory over average daily demand), stockout rate, service level (orders fulfilled on time), and inventory turnover (cost of goods sold over average inventory). The ratios — cover, turnover, service level — are calculated measures recomputed at each level, never summed.

Dimensions

Model an SKU or product dimension, a Warehouse or location, a Supplier, and the time dimension. This lets you find the warehouse driving a stockout or the supplier behind a service-level miss.

Toward S&OP

Sales & operations planning puts demand and supply in the same model and plans them forward. That needs data entry and the Version dimension — a SAC Planning model. Hold a demand plan and a supply plan as versions and measure the gap, the same way finance holds Actual, Budget and Forecast.

Start from a built model

The Stock & supply chain template ships with balances on LAST, flows on SUM and the coverage ratios pre-defined. See more under Retail or build your own with the generator.