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New features in
Enterprise Planning 2017.1.0.0

With the emergence and popularity of Omni-channel retail, retailers will now have opportunities and challenges to cater to more customers and localize the customer choices. This is where JDA Retail Planning suite benefits the retailers in keeping ahead of the competition. JDA Enterprise Planning solution helps Retail Organizations to align their business goals and strategic guidelines to execute operations successfully. It improves performance of the existing housekeeping server processes and ensures maximum return of margin with minimal investment on operations. The new version of Enterprise planning 2017.1, looks to engage and benefit planners with better UI, more security and easier plan creations.

EKB Enhancements

Batch performance improvement through new Housekeeping utility features. Cube building enhancements aimed to lower the Quartz cube build out process. Preventive action against known data corruption scenarios during the Quartz cube synchronization process

EKB Schema Housekeeping Utility - Ekbutil

Ekbutil has been enhanced to support two more utility functions Using the SHOWPENDINGFDR function user can quickly find out if any of the input source or granite tables are holding data that is no longer required or aged. This additional data in the tables could sometimes cause performance degradation. This function shows the number of rows that are available for deletion by the Foundation Data Remove process and the obsolete rows which are outside the specified aging rules definition.

The MARKSLATEOFFLINE function provides an optional batch parameter to mark specified slate tables offline, thereby improving the execution of the Foundation Data Update process. Slate tables could be brought online by running Slate Rebuild process, which is faster than updating those tables during the Foundation Data Update run.

This enhancement will identify the aged or unused transactional data and also improve the performance of solution and batch job execution

Quartz - Add locks to Foundation and Quartz

In many instances, Users accidentally initiate data sync while foundation data updates are running or vice versa. This results in mismatch between foundation and quartz data and hence a downtime for the customers until the data is corrected. In order to prevent this from happening, we have introduced restrictions to the foundation and quartz processes to abort when any dependent measures are undergoing an update.

For instance, if foundation data update(pkbfdatupd) is going on for ACTUALS fact table families and we trigger quartz data synchronization for PLAN_ACTUAL cube, it detects that the measures that are part of this cube are undergoing updates and will appropriately display a message and exit, avoiding any data corruption.

This feature will prevent data discrepancy between foundation and quartz data and also avoid the downtime of the solution availability to users.

Add derived measures using pkbqdbcreate

To lower the time taken to construct the Quartz cube building process, derived measures can now be optionally added using enhanced parameter definitions that work with the pkbqdbcreate utility. This allows the users to get the derived measures from the installation seed files and base measures from Foundation via the Variable structure file into the cube.

This enhancement will reduce the implementation effort to build Quartz Cube

EP Client Enhancements

Platform Enhancements

Microsoft deprecated an existing .Net framework 4.5.0. The EP2017.1 enhanced to support the new .Net Framework 4.6.2 and also it is certified by JDA Product management team. It provides more security and bug fixes than earlier versions.

Collaborative Plan Notes

This feature is an upgrade to an existing 2016.0 Plan Notes functionality. It has couple of user interface and work flow improvements to expand its collaboration scope and usability. It allows interactions between Top Down and Bottom up Planners across the planning organization. And also it supplements the existing plan notes. The messaging dialog box now includes a conversation Inbox and My Notes section for planner's own note taking. With the existing Plan selection and Reply messages pane, the new composite dialog box is now integrated into a single grid with collapsible panes. These user interface changes provide a friendly and intuitive real-time messaging paradigm with a My Notes space for a planner to make one’s own notes.

Import from Office Open XML (.xlsx)

It will expand the interoperability between Enterprise Planning and Excel. The Scenarios are arise When Planners may not access Enterprise Planning due to Network issues , Finance team members may review and update their data for Plans and backed up excel data from an EP view can be imported back into module.

Planner Activity, Log Tracking

It provides an extra arm to Planning Administrators who did- when did and which process ran on the module in whole the environment. All data submission steps using AppDB functions, SaveData and Transact commands are being reviewed and tracked by an Office Open XML (.xslx) file created and maintained by Enterprise Planning Client.

Usability - Style User Interface

This Simplified and Intuitive Style Process enables Planners to work On Style on Data and Cells as well. Manage Styles dialog box has a preview for selected style from the Style Name drop down. User can create and modify a style in one dialog box and also User can create and attach new style on the spread sheet view.

Maintenance of DMC members through Automation

New Planning automation commands that helps Planners remove/update/import all or specific dynamic calculator members in a module. It helps in Season changeovers and new plan creation in efficient manner. Planners can view the member descriptions of calculator expression in expression review dialog.

EPSAW Enhancements

The EP Server Administrator Workbench is enhanced with construction-friendly User Interface features that help the technical consultant accomplish the Quartz cube building process in an efficient manner.

Architect for foundation - Create Version Structure File

The new enhancement allows for the creation of a version structure file to structure information for the cube. This helps in syncing the cube data well with the foundation data saving rework activity (separately on foundation data). Version structure file will allow the admin to identify the data correctness easily. This will reduce the manual effort and time needed for data correction.

This enhancement will reduce the implementation effort needed to build Quartz Cube

Architect for foundation - select measures while cloning a fact table Family

This allows the planner the flexibility to choose the derived measures which exists in FTF majors (sales retail, sales unit, sales cost etc.) and clone only those for cube creation. Now EKB Administrators can pick and choose which majors they want to add and also this flexibility reduces the significant of extra work and time consumption for cube build time.

This enhancement will reduce the implementation effort required to build fact tables

Architect for Quartz - Column filters in Seeding dialog box

The User Interface dialog box now has column filter controls that allow the user to quickly search and select the desired measures the seeding process. In addition, a foundation fact table family column has been added to the dialog box to expand the selection criteria for a list of fact table families.

Architect for Quartz – Default Template Name

Architect for Quartz has been enhanced to create the default Fact table name as FT_&&_<Α><Β><C><T> (In case of 4 dimensions) on adding a new version template.

These enhancements will reduce the implementation effort for building Cube

“Retail is all about planning. If you get the planning right and make sure you get the right product in the right quantities at the right time, you’re going to be successful.” Michael Relich Chief Information Officer, Guess, Inc.

As the retail sector and the consumer market keeps growing in unison the need for dependable, flexible and easily customizable enterprise solutions will keep increasing. JDA, leading with its deep understanding of this need is keeping their products in sync and helping retailers worldwide to reach their sales goals in time, efficiently. Finding the right implementation partner to help you with the customized implementation of the solutions will ensure that the enterprise planning strategy is a success.

Author : Shreyasee Ghosh, Research Analyst

Practice Head: Chandra Rao, Retail Planning Solutions