Upstream refers to information about the target or destination, while downstream refers to information about the source.
The pair of key figures, TRANSPORT and TRANSPORTDS, is an example of upstream and downstream key figures. The downstream key figure is denoted by the suffix DS on its technical name.
In this example, the downstream key figure TRANSPORTDS shows the source location’s shipping date.
The upstream key figure has the target’s receipt date.
If both key figures are input key figures, you can input values for them before calling the planning operator. If you enter values for both key figures for the same period (taking into account any shift in lead time), the planning algorithm only considers the value entered for the upstream key figure. The downstream key figure will be ignored.
For this reason, be cautious about using both key figures on the same Microsoft Excel worksheet.
If you enter a value for either the upstream or downstream key figure and leave the other blank, the planning operator copies this value to the other key figure, that is, the one for which no value was entered.