Scheduling periodical jobs

The IC control file contains field information that is related to the job schedule function. These fields are normally not maintained manually through the IC control file maintenance program. Instead, then they are updated by running the corresponding job in the system:

Period calculated

Displays a period indicating when the Inventory calculation was last executed. If this period differs from the forecast period displayed in the Active periods generated field, then it can be updated by running the inventory calculation.

Period purch sugg 3

Displays a period indicating when the Create purchase suggestion program was last run for items with purchase type 3. If this period differs from the forecast period displayed in the Active periods generated field, then it can be updated by running the purchase suggestion creation.

Active periods generated

Displays the forecast period in which the system last updated the Active forecast periods file. It is updated when you run the Job schedule batch program.

Period stock level

Displays a period indicating when the Average stock level calculation was last run. If this period differs from the forecast period displayed in the Active periods generated field, then it can be updated by running the Average stock level calculation.

See Setting up DC1 Inventory Control for more information about the IC control file.

The job schedule batch program should be executed every day to ensure that the active forecast periods always are accurate. The program checks what calculation jobs need to be executed at any given time. The result of the batch job is displayed in the Job schedule file.

See section Job schedule batch processes for detailed information about what fields are updated and what controls are made when the batch job is executed. See also Run the job schedule batch program for information about how to run the batch job.

This file helps you manage the calculation jobs effectively by informing you when it is time to run each job. From this file you can execute, maintain and delete jobs. See Execute a job in the Job schedule file for information about how to run the calculation jobs from this file.

The following jobs must be run on a regular basis:

• Inventory calculation

See About working with inventory calculations for more information.

• Purchase suggestion creation, purchase type 2 and 3 items

See About working with purchase suggestions for more information.

• Average stock calculation

See About working with average stock level calculations for more information.

• Supply plan calculation

See About supply planning for more information.

The following forecast periods are updated when the job schedule batch program is executed:

• The system checks the period ID in Active periods generated in the IC control file against the actual present period. The actual present period is calculated from today’s date, week number and month, reading from the Forecast period file to identify the actual present forecast period.
• If the period ID in Active periods generated differs from the actual present period, then the job schedule batch program will update the field.

Note: This only happens when you enter a new forecast period.

• The system re-creates the Active forecast period file, deleting the oldest record and creating a new one for the current period.

See section Active forecast period file for more information.

New records are created in the Job schedule file in the following circumstances when the job schedule batch program is executed:

• If the period ID in Period calculated differs from the actual present period, then the system sends a record to the Job schedule file telling you to start the inventory calculations program for the entire stock.
• If the period ID in Period purch sugg 3 differs from the actual present period, then the system sends a record to the Job schedule file telling you to start the purchase suggestion creation program for items with purchase type 3.
• If the period ID in Period stock level differs from the actual present period, then the system sends a record to the Job schedule file telling you to start the average stock level calculation program.
• The records in Work with periodic purchase & order targets are checked to see if the purchase suggestion creation program needs to be run for items with purchase type 2. If that is the case, the system sends a record to the Job schedule file telling you to start the purchase suggestion creation program for items with purchase type 2.

Note: This job differs from the other periodical jobs described. In this case, there is no fixed time schedule for when to run the job. It depends on how/when you want to create purchase suggestions for certain suppliers. The time interval is defined in Work with periodic purchase & order targets. See About working with purchase suggestions for more information.

Caution: If you set up a record in Work with periodic purchase & order targets for an item with purchase type 2, and no item/warehouse record in the Item file is connected to it, the purchase suggestion creation program cannot update Last suggestion date in Work with periodic purchase & order targets.

The result of this is that when the Job schedule batch program checks the Last suggestion date in Work with periodic purchase & order targets, it assumes that there are some periodic purchases that need to be made, and creates an erroneous record in the Job schedule file. To avoid this, make sure that all records in Work with periodic purchase & order targets are connected to a record in the Item file.

During the job schedule batch execution, the system checks that no duplicate records are added to the Job schedule file.

When a new record is to be added, then the system first checks if a record with that specific job type and period already exists in the Job schedule file. If the system finds a match, it will look at the value in Executed. If this field is set to NO, then the system knows that a duplicate record exists and that the job associated with that record has not been executed yet. In this case, no new record is created.