How it works: Safety Stock Policy options
Units: How many pieces will be added as safety stock in each order calculation.
Days: How many days of safety stock would you like to hold. The specified days are then converted into units based on the cumulative total demand from today until the selected number of days is reached.
Statistical: The statistical uncertainty over the order period as set by the confidence factor. Units are calculated based on the forecast uncertainty and length of your order period.
Units
How many pieces to add to the replenishment need each time an order is calculated.
When using this policy, AGR can either map safety stock units directly from the ERP system for each item and/or the user can set the units, through bulk update and the item card.
Example:
The safety stock policy = Units.
1000 units have been keyed in the safety stock units field, for the users insights these units are instantly converted into days, based on how many days it takes for the Total Demand to equal the safety stock units.
Days
The safety stock days will always add the number of days, to the order period when calculating the replenishment need. The specified days are then converted into units based on the total demand from today until the selected number of days is reached.
When using this policy, the number of days starts at zero, and must be set per item through the item card in AGR (or you can do it for multiple items at the same time through the Bulk Update functionality in AGR).
In the below example, the safety stock policy is set to Days.
60 days have been keyed in, and those days have been converted into units by calculating the total demand over the next 60 days which in this case equals to 8.766,- units of safety stock.
Statistical
The statistical uncertainty over the order period as set by the confidence factor. Units are calculated based on forecast uncertainty and the length of each product's order period.
In the example below, the safety stock policy being used is Statistical. The confidence factor has been set to 95%. Safety stock for order period has been calculated and can be seen in the Units column. Those units have then been converted into days based on how many days it takes for the Total Demand to equal the safety stock units.
You can read more about what affects safety stock units when using statistical safety stock policy here.
Safety Stock Units and Days as columns
Safety Stock Units and Safety Stock Days can be displayed as columns in Items/Reports, these fields align with the values shown in the item card.
Keep in mind that it can vary depending on the safety stock policy in use, whether it is a calculated value or a user-defined value.
Safety Stock Policy Settings
Global Settings
In Settings > Forecast > Safety Stock Policy, the users can access and manage this settings for all items in AGR. By default, the Safety Stock Policy is set to Units.
Users can change the policy from Units to either Days or Statistical (only for those that have subscribed to Order Pro).
If the ERP system includes a safety stock units field, it will be data-mapped to the AGR safety stock units field for individual items.
It will however only take effect if Safety Stock Policy: Units is in use.
Item Level Settings
The safety stock policy can be configured on the item level, through the Item Card -> Item Details.
You can modify the default policy and adjust the units, days, and confidence factor as needed, based on the selected policy.
Bulk Update
If you want to configure the Safety Stock Policy for multiple items at the same time, you can do that through the Bulk Update functionality in AGR.
In the example below, I select four items, open the bulk update sidebar, set the Safety Stock Policy to "Days," and then specify it as 30 days.
This change takes effect immediately and is reflected in the item card for each item after the grid has been refreshed.