Segments

Segments is a collection of SKU used either for filtering purpose or for inventory planning when combined with a business rule. To define a segment, a unique name for that segment and a query are required, an optional description can also be provided. The query is an SQL-like query that can use fields from both item and location objects. Note that segment are dynamic in the sense that whether an SKU belongs to a segment or not is automatically recomputed during a plan execution. Therefore SKU can get in (and out) of a segment if it matches (or no more matches) the segment query.

Available fields for item table are :

  • name
    category
    subcategory
    description
    cost
    owner_id : owner_id should be used though owner keyword is displayed in frePPLe.

Available fields for location table are :

  • name
    category
    subcategory
    description
    owner_id : owner_id should be used though owner keyword is displayed in frePPLe.

Excel spreadsheet segment

In this example, we have defined four segments :
  • All parts in RDC : This segment is composed of all SKUs in RDC.
    The query to define the segment is the following :
    location.name = ‘RDC’
  • Cheap parts in Paris : This segment is composed of parts having a cost less than 20 in the Tennis shop Paris location.
    The query to define the segment is the following :
    item.cost <= 20 and location.name = ‘Tennis shop Paris’
  • Expensive parts in Brussels : This segment is composed of parts with a price higher than 50 in Tennis shop Brussels location.
    The query to define the segment is the following :
    item.cost > 50 and location.name = ‘Tennis shop Brussels’
  • All parts in shops : This segment is composed of all parts in both Tennis shop Brussels and Tennis shop Paris.
    The query to define the segment is the following (Note that the % character should be used as wildcard) :
    location.name like ‘%shop%’

Any of the segments can be used for filtering purpose. For instance, in the Inventory Planning screen, a drop-down menu appears with the list of the defined segments to only display the collection of SKU belonging to that segment.