Labor Planning - Setting Up

Before you can forecast and plan labor costs allocation, you must set up the module first. Follow each procedure below to set it up.

1. Setting Up Demand Types

2. Setting Up Labor Definitions

3. Setting Up Plan Definitions

4. Setting Up Forecast Definitions

Setting Up Demand Types

This procedure goes over setting up Demand Types. For background information on Demand Types, see Demand Types.

Prerequisites

You have defined and planned all Demand Types.

Steps

1. From the Rebus menu, select Admin Tools > Labor Planning > Demand Types. You’re at the Demand Types screen.

2. Click ‘+New Demand Type’.

3. Start filling in the fields needed to set up the Demand Type.

   

   Demand Type Fields

   Field	What You Enter…
   Demand Name	Name of the type of demand.
   Classification	The demand’s classification. It’s information that you can display when building a widget. If you want to remove the existing classifications and add new ones, contact Rebus Customer Support.
   Historical Widget	Historical Widget. To do so, click the ‘Assign Active Widget’ button. The Assign Widget form appears. On the left-hand side, find the widget you want to assign. You can use the search box to enter its name and to find it in its group. Click the group and then the ‘Assign’ button. Click ‘Done’. You are back to the Demand Type screen, and additional fields appear. Note You can change the Historical Widget by clicking the ‘Edit’ button next to it.

4. Fill in the rest of the fields.

   

   Demand Type Fields Cont’d

   Field	What You Enter…
   Historical Control Date	Date parameter used to specify the historical date range that you will define in the Forecast Definition. You can leave it as is or select another one.
   Future Widget	Future Widget. To select a Future Widget that is different than the widget assigned as the Historical Widget, select the ‘Edit’ button next to it and select the right widget.
   Future Control Date	Date parameter used to specify the future date range that you will define in the Forecast Definition. You can leave it as is or select another one.
   Demand Attributes	Fields that will be used for: Mapping: used for mapping a demand to an activity. Output: use for grouping the aggregated demand results in the forecast results. Units: hold the demand quantity. Note If a Demand Type requires fulfillment with more then one Unit field, you must set up more than one Demand Type. For more information, see Setting Up Demand Types with Multiple Unit Fields.

5. Click ‘Save’. You have created a Demand Type.

Repeat the steps for each Demand Type you want to set up.

Setting Up Demand Types with Multiple Unit Fields

If a Demand Type requires fulfillment with more then one Unit field, configure separate Demand Types, and select a different Unit field for each. Configuring separate Demand Types with unique Unit fields prevents Rebus from calculating future labor costs and quantities with only the first unit field in the Demand Type’s list of Unit fields. For example, in the screenshot below, the Demand Type has both PALLET and CASE selected as Unit fields, but Rebus will use only PALLET quantities to calculate the future labor costs and quantities.

Therefore, two identical Demand Types must be created where one contains PALLET as the Unit, and the other contains CASE.

Next

Setting Up Labor Definitions

Setting Up Labor Definitions

This procedure goes over setting up Labor Definitions. For background information on Labor Definitions, see Labor Definitions.

Prerequisites

You have determined and planned the Labor Definition(s).

Steps

1. From the Rebus menu, select Admin Tools > Labor Planning > Labor Definition. You’re at the Labor Definition screen.

2. Click ‘+New Labor Definition’.

3. Start filling in the fields needed to set up the Labor Definition.

   

   Labor Definition Fields

   Field	What You Enter…
   Activity Definition	Name of the Labor Definition.
   Labor Definition Source	One of the following sources from which the labor data will be retrieved: Standard Labor Collection: Select this option if you’re using the Labor Module. The ‘Labor Metadata’ section appears. Custom Widget: Select this option if you’re not using Rebus’s Labor Module. The ‘Custom Activity Widget’ appears.
   Custom Activity Widget	Custom widget. To do so, click the ‘Assign Active Widget’ button. The Assign Widget form appears. On the left-hand side, find the widget you want to assign. You can use the search to enter its name and to find it in its group. Click the group and then the ‘Assign’ button. Click ‘Done’. You are back to the Labor Definition screen, and the Labor Metadata section appears.

4. Fill in the rest of the fields.

   

   Labor Definition Fields Cont’d

   Field	What You Enter…
   Labor Control Date	Date parameter that Rebus will use to calculate the right offset. You can leave it as is or select another one.
   Labor Metadata	Fields that are going to be used for: Output: used for grouping the labor costs in the forecast results. UOM: stores the UOM of the activity. Quantity: stores the quantity value of the UOM.

5. Click ‘Save’. You have created a Labor Definition.

Repeat the steps if you need to set up more than one Labor Definition.

Next

Setting Up Plan Definitions

Setting Up Plan Definitions

This procedure goes over setting up Plan Definitions. For background information on Plan Definitions, see:

• Plan Definitions

• Mapping Methods

• Mapping Attributes

• Mapping Strength

• Offset

Here’s an overview of the procedure:

Labor Definition Fields Cont’d

Step	Why Do This?
Step 1: Adding a Plan Definition	A Plan Definition must exist in the application to set it up.
Step 2: Configuring Plan Mappings	A Plan Definition must hold all demands and all possible activities for which to forecast the labor costs. Plan Mappings combine Demand Types and Labor Definitions and define the mapping method.
Step 3: Configuring Plan Mapping Attributes	Mapping attributes help you get the most precise forecast results; they are a set of conditions that must be true for Rebus to calculate the historical labor costs associated to demand volume.

Prerequisites

You have:

• Planned the Plan Definition.

• Considered all direct activities needed to complete each demand.

Step 1: Adding a Plan Definition

1. From the Rebus menu, select Admin Tools > Labor Planning > Plan Definition. You’re at the Plan Definition screen.

2. Click ‘+New Plan Definition’.

3. Fill in the fields needed to add the plan definition.

   

   Plan Definition Fields

   Field	What You Enter…
   Plan Name	Plan’s name.
   Plan Description	Description for the Plan Definition.

4. Click ‘Save’. You’ve added a Plan Definition.

Step 2: Configuring Plan Mappings

1. From the Plan Definition screen, go to the ‘Plan Mappings’ tab.

2. Click ‘+New Mapping’.

3. Fill in the fields needed to configure the Plan Mapping.

   

   Plan Mapping Fields

   Field	What You Enter…
   Mapping Name	Name that can represent the association between a demand and an activity. In the above example, we want to associate the demand ‘outbound orders’ to the pallet picking activity. Therefore, the name represents this association.
   Demand Type	Demand Type.
   Labor Definition	Labor Definition.
   Mapping method	Fixed Percentage or Historical Demand.

4. Follow the steps according to the selected mapping method:

   Fixed PercentageHistorical Demand

   Fill in the fields needed to configure the Plan Mapping with the Fixed Percentage.

   

   Fixed Percentage Fields

   Field

   What You Enter…

   Fixed Percentage

   The percentage of the future demand quantities for which the activities’ future labor costs will be calculated. In the above example, 20% of future outbound order quantities will go through the quality assurance (QA) activity. The Mapping Name OUTBOUNDORDERS_TO_QA indicates a focus on using the data relevant to only the QA activity to calculate its future labor costs. You set up the conditions that identify the data relevant to the QA activity later (i.e., Step 3: Configuring Plan Mapping Attributes).

5. Click ‘Save’. You’ve configured a Plan Mapping.

Repeat all the steps for each Plan Mapping you want to configure.

Step 3: Configuring Plan Mapping Attributes

1. Go to the Plan Mapping Attributes tab.

2. Configure the conditions to specify the activity and the fields that map it to the demand. You can create multiple conditions and put them together using ‘OR’ and ‘AND’ logical operators.

   

3. Click ‘Save’. You have configured the Plan Mapping Attributes for its Plan Mapping.

Next

Setting Up Forecast Definitions

Setting Up Forecast Definitions

This procedure goes over setting up Forecast Definitions. This the last step for setting up the Labor Planning Module before forecasting labor costs. For background information on Forecast Definitions, see Forecast Definitions.

Tip

To create a Forecast Definition similar to an existing one, you can clone it and make the necessary changes.

Constraints

Once a Forecast Definition is activated, you can’t add, edit, nor delete Widget Builder stages of the widgets used for forecasting labor costs (i.e., the Demand Type’s Historical Widget, and the Labor Definition’s custom widget).

Note

You can deactivate a Forecast Definition any time.

Prerequisites

You have:

• Planned your Forecast Definition(s).

• Defined how many Forecast Definitions to set up.

Steps

1. From the Rebus menu, select Admin Tools > Labor Planning > Forecast Definition. You’re at the Forecast Definition screen.

2. Fill in the fields needed to set up the Forecast Definition.

   

   Forecast Definition Fields

   Field	What You Enter…
   Forecast Name	Name of the Forecast Definition.
   Description	Description for the Forecast Definition.
   Plan	Plan Definition.
   Auto Scheduled	Whether to have Rebus automatically execute forecast instances according to a set schedule.
   Schedule	Frequency at a forecast instance will be executed. You have two options: Quick schedule: select one of the predefined schedules: HOURLY EVERY 2 HOURS DAILY WEEKLY MONTHLY Advanced schedule: specify a precise schedule by entering the appropriate numbers under ‘Minute’, ‘Hour’, ‘Day’, ‘Month’, and ‘Week’. To get the guidelines for entering a precise schedule, hover over the information icon .
   Utilization	The percentage of total time all warehouse staff is spending in essential activities.
   Plan Historical Parameters	Historical Parameters and their values under two sections: Global Parameters: historical parameters apply to all the plan’s mappings. Override Parameters: historical parameters apply only to a particular Plan Mapping. To add an override parameter, click ‘Add Override Parameter’. Then, selected the Plan Mapping and parameters, and then enter the desired value.

3. Click ‘Save’. You’ve created a Forecast Definition.

Result

You’ve completed the Labor Planning setup. The Forecast Definition is inactive by default after creating it. It needs to be active to execute it. To activate it, turn on the ‘Active’ toggle:

Note

The ability to set up forecast shifts will be implemented in a future release. This functionality provides the option to specify the shifts during which a warehouse operates if it doesn’t operate continuously.

Cloning Forecast Definitions

You can clone Forecast Definitions, Plan Definitions, Plan Mappings, Demand Types, and Labor Definitions. Doing so speeds up the creation of similar Forecast Definitions, Plan Definitions, Demand Types, and Labor Definitions.

Steps

1. From the Rebus menu, go to Admin Tools > Labor Planning > Forecast Definition.

2. From the Forecast Definitions panel, select the Forecast Definition that you want to clone.

3. Click ‘Clone’. The Forecast Definition Clone form appears with two columns: Original and Clone.

4. Do one of the following:

   Clone only the Forecast Definition

   Forecast Definition and its corresponding Plan Definition, Demand Types, and Labor Definitions

   Under the Clone column, enter the new Forecast Definition name.

   Click ‘Full Clone’. The Original and Clone columns expand to display the names of the Plan Definition, Plan Mappings, Demand Types, and Labor Definitions. Under the Clone column, enter the new names of the following: Forecast Definition Plan Definition Optional: Plan Mapping Demand Types Labor Definitions If a Demand Type or Labor Definition name is displayed under different Plan Mappings, the new name instantly updates across the different Plan Mappings as you enter it once in the form.

5. Click ‘Done’.

Result

You have cloned a Forecast Definition. The results are different depending on what you have cloned.

You have cloned…	Result
Only the Forecast Definition.	The cloned Forecast Definition’s associated Plan Definition, Plan Mappings, Demand Types, and Labor Definitions are identical to the originals.
The Forecast Definition and its corresponding Plan Definition, Demand Types, and Labor Definitions.	The cloned Plan Definition, Plan Mappings, Demand Types, and Labor Definitions appear in their respective configuration screens.

In both cloning scenarios, the plan mapping attributes are cloned.