Data Import Guide

This page will guide you through the process of preparing and importing your data into Convect AI’s Integrated Business Planning (IBP) software. The input data is provided via an Excel spreadsheet, which contains the essential information for the optimization process.

Sample File

To help you get started quickly, download a sample Excel file that follows the required structure.

Download Sample File

Using this template, you can easily replace the sample data with your own. Ensure that the data in each sheet is properly formatted and that all required fields are filled out correctly before importing the file into Convect AI’s IBP tool.

Input Data Structure

The IBP tool accepts data in an Excel file with several key sheets, each covering different aspects of your supply chain. Below are details on how to structure each sheet and the necessary information.

1. Parameters

This sheet is used to define high-level planning parameters that guide the overall planning process.

Parameter Name: The name of parameter being set.
Parameter Value: The corresponding parameter value.

Currently supported parameter names include:

Planning Horizon
- Indicates the number of business cycles covered by this supply chain plan. Each cycle can represent a month, a week, or a day, depending on business needs.
- This parameter is a positive integer. If not specified, the system will default to 3.
- The "Period" column in Demand Plan or Special Demand must be within the range of this planning horizon. Demands outside this range will not be considered. The system will automatically ignore demands outside the planning horizon.
  - For example, if the planning horizon is set to 3, the values in the "Period" column can only be 1, 2, or 3. If there is a demand for period 4 or greater, the system will not process that demand.
Demand Objective
- Users can set the demand objective for the model when creating the supply chain plan. The model will set the weights in the demand fulfillment objective function based on the input.
- This parameter is an enumerated integer value ranging from 0 to 2, with the following meanings:
  - 0: Maximize the quantity of product demand fulfilled. Displayed as Quantity in the input view after import.
  - 1: Maximize the value of product demand fulfilled. Displayed as Amount in the input view after import.
  - 2: Minimize the procurement cost while maximizing the quantity of product demand fulfilled. Displayed as Min-New-Buy-Amount in the input view after import.

2. Products

This sheet captures details about each product and material in your supply chain.

Product Name: The name of each product or material (e.g., Spring Water, Ingredient A).
Product Type: A user-defined field where the user can specify the type of product (e.g., Raw Material, Finished Product).
Unit Price: The cost per unit of each product or material.
Allow New Purchase: A TRUE/FALSE value that indicates whether new purchases of this product or material are allowed during the planning period.

3. Sites

This sheet defines the locations of your production and distribution facilities.

Site Name: The name of the production facility or distribution center (e.g., Plant A, DC 1).
Site Type: The type of the site (e.g., Production, Distribution).
Holding Cost: The cost of holding inventory at the site.
Region: A user-defined region or zone where the site is located (e.g., West Coast, Midwest).
Latitude: The latitude of the site, used for geographical calculations.
Longitude: The longitude of the site, used for geographical calculations.

4. Demand Plan

This sheet defines the demand for each product at various sites, broken down by time periods.

Site Name: The location where demand is registered (e.g., San Diego, DC 1).
Product Name: The specific product being demanded.
Time Period: The time frame during which the demand occurs (e.g., Month 1, Week 2).
Quantity: The amount of the product required at the site.
Priority: The priority level for fulfilling this demand (lower values indicate higher priority).

5. Special Demand

This sheet tracks special or one-time demand occurrences that differ from regular demand.

Site Name: The location where special demand is registered.
Product Name: The specific product being demanded.
Time Period: The time period when the special demand is required.
Quantity: The amount of product required for the special demand.
Priority: The priority level of the special demand.
Active: A TRUE/FALSE field indicating whether this special demand is currently active or not.

6. Target Inventory

This sheet sets target inventory levels for products at specific sites and time periods.

Site Name: The location where inventory targets are set.
Product Name: The product for which inventory targets are defined.
Time Period: The time frame during which the target applies.
Target Inventory: The desired level of inventory for the product at the site during the time period.

7. BOH Inventory (Beginning on Hand Inventory)

This sheet tracks the current inventory levels at the beginning of the planning period.

Site Name: The location where the inventory is stored.
Product Name: The product in inventory.
Quantity: The amount of inventory on hand at the beginning of the planning period.

8. BOM (Bill of Materials)

This sheet defines the production relationships between inputs and outputs for each product.

BOM Code: Unique identifier for the bill of materials. All rows with the same BOM code represent a single BOM structure.
Product Name: The name of the product or material involved in the BOM.
Quantity: The quantity required or produced as part of the BOM.
Input/Output: Indicates whether the product is an input (1) or output (0). Each BOM code must have one output and one or more inputs.

9. Production Policy

This sheet specifies production policies for each product at different sites and on different production lines.

Site Name: The location where production occurs.
Production Line ID: The unique identifier for the production line.
Product Name: The product being produced on this line.
BOM Code: The BOM structure associated with this production process.
Production Cost: The cost to produce one unit of the product.
Production Rate: The number of units produced per hour on the production line.
Min Production Quantity: The minimum number of units that must be produced in each production run.
Active: A TRUE/FALSE value indicating whether this production policy is currently active.

10. Production Capacity

This sheet defines the production capacity limits for each production line.

Production Line ID: The unique identifier for the production line.
Min Capacity: The minimum number of units that can be produced on the line during a specific period.
Max Capacity: The maximum number of units that can be produced on the line during a specific period.

11. Product Limits

This sheet sets global production limits for each product, across all sites.

Product Name: The name of the product.
Min Production Quantity: The minimum number of units to be produced for this product during the planning period.
Max Production Quantity: The maximum number of units to be produced for this product during the planning period.

12. Site Product Limits

This sheet sets production limits for specific products at specific sites.

Site Name: The location where production occurs.
Product Name: The product being produced.
Min Production Quantity: The minimum number of units to be produced for this product at this site during the planning period.
Max Production Quantity: The maximum number of units to be produced for this product at this site during the planning period.

13. Transportation Policy

This sheet defines the transportation costs and constraints between origin and destination sites.

Origin Site Name: The site from which the product is shipped.
Destination Site Name: The site receiving the product.
Transportation Cost: The cost to transport one unit of the product between the origin and destination.
Min Transport Quantity: The minimum number of units that must be shipped in one delivery.
Active: A TRUE/FALSE value indicating whether the transportation policy is active.

14. Regional Flow Limits

This sheet defines the flow constraints for specific regions.

Region: The user-defined region to which the flow constraints apply.
Min Inbound Flow: The minimum amount of product that must flow into the region during the planning period.
Max Inbound Flow: The maximum amount of product that can flow into the region during the planning period.
Min Outbound Flow: The minimum amount of product that must flow out of the region during the planning period.
Max Outbound Flow: The maximum amount of product that can flow out of the region during the planning period.

15. Prohibited Routes

This sheet defines restrictions on transportation routes for specific products.

Origin Site Name: The site from which the product is shipped.
Destination Site Name: The site receiving the product.
Product Name: The product that is prohibited from being shipped on this route.
Prohibited: A TRUE/FALSE value indicating whether the route is prohibited for the specified product.

16. New Buy Policy

This sheet defines the new buy cost and lead time for each site-product combination. It supplements the procurement strategy information for products allowed to be procured in the "Products" input. This table is optional. If a site-product combination allowed for procurement is not listed in this table, the system will set the Lead Time to 0 and the procurement price to the unit price in the "Products" input.

Required columns:

Site Name
The site name must exist in the site list.
Product Name
The product name must exist in the product list.
Purchasing Cost
The unit price for procurement, a positive floating-point number. The default value is the unit price in the "Products" input.
Lead Time
The number of periods from ordering to receiving the goods, consistent with the planning period unit in the model parameters. An integer, must be greater than or equal to 0, default is 0.
Active
Whether this procurement policy is active, 1 for active, 0 for inactive.

Note:

A product can only be procured if it is allowed in the "Products" input and the procurement policy is active. If the procurement policy is marked active but the product is not allowed in the "Products" input, the product will still not be allowed for procurement in the system.
The combination of site name and product name must be unique, i.e., procurement policies cannot be defined multiple times for the same combination.
The system will use the lead time to connect different spatiotemporal nodes for optimization. For example, if the lead time is 1, the decision to procure the product is made in period t, and the product will arrive at the site in period t+1.

17. External Flow

This sheet defines the external flow considered by the model, such as in-transit purchase orders or transfer orders. This table is optional.

Required columns:

Site Name
The site name must exist in the site list.
Product Name
The product name must exist in the product list.
Period
The period when the external flow enters the system, such as the period when in-transit inventory arrives at the destination site. The period must be within the planning horizon.
External Flow
The amount of external flow arriving in the corresponding period, can be positive or negative. Positive values represent inflows to the spatiotemporal node (site, product, period), such as inbound inventory, while negative values represent outflows, such as outbound inventory.
Active
Whether this external flow is active, 1 for active, 0 for inactive.

Note:

The combination of site name, product name, and period must be unique.
Users can use external flow to implement specific strategies, such as simulating in-transit inventory or orders in actual business scenarios.
The system will incorporate external flow into the network flow balance equation.

Instructions for Uploading Data

Once you’ve prepared your data using the template, follow these steps to upload it into Convect AI’s IBP software:

Sign in to Convect AI
- Go to https://flow.convect.ai and log in to your account.
Open the IBP Application
- On the dashboard, find and open the Integrated Business Planning app.
Create a New File
- Click on the Create File button at the top-right corner of the screen.
- Enter a name for your file (e.g., “IBP Plan”).
- Upload the completed Excel data template by selecting the file from your computer.
Submit and Wait for Processing
- After selecting the file, click Create to begin the data import process. Wait for the system to validate and upload your data. This may take a few moments.
Review Data in the Input View
- Once the import is complete, navigate to the Input View. Review the data to ensure everything is correctly uploaded.
Run the Optimization
- After reviewing the data, click the Solve button to start the optimization process. This will generate your production, material, and distribution plans based on the data you’ve provided.