Explaining Equipment Packages (EPA)

The purpose of the Equipment Package is to move a group of items through the supply chain as a package.

The initiating request is placed for the Kit, Package, or Module - the Package may be comprised of many components. The Equipment Package (or EPA) provides the template or recipe for what components are required.

The Package may be assembled in advance, or assembled on request.

The package is then transported through the supply chain as a sealed package.

When received by the requesting unit, the Equipment Package can remain as a sealed package or be unpacked.

If the Equipment Package remains sealed, it can be moved to other locations as required (or even returned as a package).

We will go through the following steps in the end-to-end process, from the initial structural setup and the master data required to enable the process, through to the actual process of requesting, assembling, delivering, and receiving the HU.

In this first step, we will look at the structural setup – what is required to enable Equipment Packages to be moved as a sealed package without being broken apart into component items.

For Inventory Management (MM-IM) managed locations, HU (Handling Unit) managed storage locations are required to hold packed materials (that is, Handling Units).

A HU which is moved to a storage location which is not HU-managed will be unpacked.

In Defense and Security, HU-managed Storage Locations are created like normal Storage Locations, but they need to be linked to a Storage Location as a 'partner storage location'.

This link provides the connection between the HU-managed Storage Location and where the components will be drawn from when assembling the HU.

When the HU is unpacked, the components are put into the partner storage location.

In the example provided, Storage Location 000D holds component items. Storage Location 0012 will hold only packaged items.

HU-managed storage location can only hold packed materials (never components).

Non-HU-managed storage location can only hold components (never packed materials).

A HU which is moved to a storage location that is not HU-managed will be unpacked.

As such, that means that for each unit in the route from sending unit to receiving unit there needs to be a HU-managed Storage Location. Otherwise the HU will be unpacked.

In this next step, we will look at the master data which is required for the Equipment Package.

The EPA is made up of two Master Data components:

• A Flexible Material Planning Object (FMPO) with a Packing Instruction assigned.
• The Packing Instruction itself, which contains the 'recipe' of components that make up the EPA.

The example FMPO that will be demonstrated here consists of two component materials - Beds and a Tent.

The component materials (*300) and (*301) are examples of normal inventory items - they could be valuated or non-valuated, NSN-managed or MPN-managed.

The top-level material (*302) is assigned as the Model when defining the FMPO. This material represents the container or wrapper around the components. It is a non-stocked item.

You can see that this FMPO is linked to a Packing Instruction. This can be maintained from within the Manage Flexible Material Planning Object app (through the three dots . . . in the top-right corner), or maintained separately.

You will also note that a FMPO Product has been generated. This is generated is for technical reasons. It serves as a 'binding' in order to request the Equipment Package. This can also be generated using an option under the three dots . . . in the top-right corner.

The top-level material of the Equipment Package (*302) is assigned as the Model when defining the FMPO. This material represents the container or wrapper around the components. It is a non-stocked item.

The Packing Instruction can be maintained either from the Manage Flexible Planning Object App or using its own transaction (POP1/POP2).

The top-level material of the EPA (which is the assigned as the Model in the Equipment Package) needs to be defined as the leading item of the Packing Instruction.

The component lines are then listed below.

There is no concept of Mandatory / Optional components.

Note that there is functionality to nest Packing Instructions in order to create a multi-level (or nested) HU, but Defense and Security does not currently support this task. It is planned to resolve this as a roadmap item but the timing is to be confirmed.

We have maintained the HU-managed storage locations to prevent our Equipment Package from being automatically unpacked. We have also created an Equipment Package. Therefore, we can now initiate a request for this Equipment Package.

The initiating request can only begin from the Create Purchase Requisition app. It cannot be initiated from the Authorized / Actual Comparison (this will be explained further during this training topic)

The Receiving Force Element must be entered.

The FMPO and Variant ID for the Equipment Package must be specified.

The Supplying Force Element is defaulted based on the Supply Relationships.

Note that the system will determine the relevant HU-managed Storage Locations to be used.

It is also possible to see the breakdown of EPA components that will be ordered by selecting the Packaging Instruction tab.

The resulting Stock Transport Requisition (STR) will contain the Model (the top level, virtual item) and all of the Component lines.

The NCG Planning Workbench is then used to convert the STR into the STO (Stock Transport Order). When this happens, the Component lines are transferred but not the top-level item. This is because the top-level item is virtual and is not actually picked. This top-level item is marked for deletion in the STR, so that it is not processed further. The use of the NCG Planning Workbench will be covered later in more detail during this DFPS67 training course.

It is worth noting that Prioritized Planning transactions such as DFS_PRPLD and DFS_PRPLB cannot be used to process Equipment Package transactions. They are deliberately excluded. This is also a roadmap item because the NCG Planning Workbench is a dialog transaction that can only be run in foreground. There are options for automatically converting Equipment Package STRs into STOs, but they have limited selection criteria.

At this point in the process the Equipment Package has been requested using a STR (Stock Transport Requisition) and processed into a STO (Stock Transport Order).

We will now look at the process of assembling the Equipment Package.

Assembling the Equipment Package does not need to wait for a STR/STO to be created. Equipment Packages can be assembled in advance (that is, make-to-stock as opposed to make-to-order).

Equipment Packages can be created in response to demand (make-to-order), or created in advance (make-to-stock).

In either scenario, transaction DFS_PI_HU is used to execute this process.

When assembling the Equipment Package, the FMPO ID and Variant ID need to be specified, and also the Force Element where the assembly is being done.

Based on the FMPO ID and Variant ID that were entered in the Selection screen, this transaction reads the linked Packing Instruction and identifies the components which are required.

A new Handling Unit is created and the component lines are packed into the HU.

When this transaction is saved, the quantities of items are automatically moved from the component storage location to the HU-managed storage location. This is shown on the next figure.

This figure illustrates what happens when DFS_PI_HU is executed and the component lines are withdrawn from Storage Location 000D (the component store).

In the top part of the figure, there were 9 5p Tents and 45 Beds in inventory, held in Storage Location 000D.

After the transaction is executed, 1 5p Tent and 5 Beds are withdrawn from Storage Location 000D.

These are then moved to the HU-managed storage location 0012. They can be seen as part of Handling Unit 1000000352.

This completes the assembly process.

If there is an available Equipment Package in stock (either prepared in advance or recently assembled in response to the demand), the delivery process can commence.

Transaction VL10B is used to create the Outbound Deliveries. This is typically done periodically (for example: daily) to prepare the deliveries for picking and packing.

The Outbound Deliveries are then changed via transaction VL02N in order to pick and pack the items. The Handling Unit can be entered directly into the packing screen.

Upon Post Goods Issuing the Outbound Delivery, an Output should be triggered to create a corresponding Inbound Delivery that can be used by the requesting unit to receipt against. The reason why the Inbound Delivery is important is that it copies the HU structure from the Outbound Delivery - and hence facilitates receipt by the receiving unit and maintains the integrity of the HU.

When the Outbound Delivery has been Post Goods Issued, the inventory levels for Storage Location 0012 are updated.

HU 1000000352 no longer appears in stock because it is now in transit.

Now that the Equipment Package has been picked, packed and issued from the sending unit, the next step is to receive the HU at the receiving unit.

The Inbound Delivery was created from the Outbound Delivery that was created by the sending unit.

The reason why the Inbound Delivery is important is that it copies the HU structure from the Outbound Delivery.

Upon Post Goods Receipt, the HU is transferred from 'in transit' into the inventory holdings at the receiving unit.

Note that the HU is now in the Stock storage location of the requesting unit (A00U).

It could be unpacked into the linked Stock storage location for components (A005), or it could remain in a packed state.

If it remains in a packed state, the HU can be moved to other locations if required (for example to be returned).

The final area that we will look at as part of this process is to look at the Authorized/Actual Comparison (AAC).

The Authorized Actual Comparison is used to compare unit entitlements against their actual holdings. If a Force Element has a FMPO assignment, the Authorized/Actual Comparison App will display the status.

In the example shown here, the Force Element has an entitlement for FMPO 2000000306 (AUS Field Hospital 5p Tent) which is why it appears on the AAC report.

The AAC can evaluate the contents of HUs as long as there is a FMPO for the material. How to do this explained further on the following figure, Reviewing the Authorized Actual Comparison (AAC) (2 of 2).

The HU-managed Stock Storage Location (SLOC_S) is not directly linked to a specific Force Element. Therefore, in order for inventory held within HUs to be considered, the Evaluation Area must be performed at the MRP Area. Consequently, it is possible to include or exclude the inventory which is held in HU-managed storage locations.

It is important to note that Equipment Packages are excluded from the AAC. Any FMPO with an assignment to a Packing Instruction will be excluded.

Therefore, this has implications for structuring Equipment Packages. The important components themselves can assigned to a FMPO and hence can appear on the AAC.

The Model that is assigned to the Equipment Package (in this case Material *302) is virtual and will never be stocked, and hence it is not appropriate to assign to a Force Element as a FMPO.

However, it would be possible to create a component line which represents the complete Equipment Package and assign this (if this was required).

This concludes the end-to-end process walk through. We now move onto items of note.

1. EPA functionality currently only supports IM-managed locations. The requirement for supporting EWM locations is understood and is being considered for inclusion in the Defense and Security roadmap.
2. There is no report to assess whether a HU is complete when compared against the current EPA 'recipe.' For example, the EPA recipe may change, but what items need to be added / subtracted from the HU to make it complete?
3. FMPOs with assignment to Packing Instructions are excluded from the AAC. This is by design. Important component lines with their own FMPO assignment will appear on the AAC. If there is a requirement to show the Equipment Package itself on the AAC, a component could be included to represent the 'complete' EPA.
4. Nested Packing Instructions are not supported. The requirement is understood and is being considered for inclusion in the Defense and Security roadmap.

In summary:

• The initiating request is placed for the Kit, Package or Module - the Package may be comprised of many components. The Equipment Package (or EPA) provides the template or recipe for what components are required.
• The Package may be assembled in advance, or assembled on request.
• The package is then transported through the supply chain as a sealed package.
• When received by the requesting unit, the Equipment Package can remain as a sealed package or be unpacked.
• To support this process, HU-manage storage locations will be required at the requesting unit, at the sending unit and at all units along the supply route.