Defining Product Flow Between Systems

You can define the product flow and flow behavior in the System Editor between two systems.

This task shows you how to:

Create Product Flow Links
Define Product Flow
Create Flow Connection
Use of Context Menus
Detail Product Flow and Flow Behavior between Two Systems

Create Product Flow Links

You can create the product flow links between two systems in the System Editor.

Select a system (for example, a Source system) in the System Editor.
Click Create a Product Flow .
Select Transfer system as second system.
A message Product Flow created successfully appears.
The product flow is created between the Source system and the Transfer system.
You can follow the same way to create product flow links between different systems in the System Editor.
Note: You can select any system as a second system.

Define Product Flow

You can define the product flow and flow behavior between the selected systems. You can create operations and ports, can link between ports, link between ports and operations, link between operations and ports, and edit the flow details (priority, proportion).

Click Define Product Flow .
The Define Product Flow dialog box appears.
Select the system From\To System list or click > and choose the source or target system in the PPR Context or the authoring window.
1. Select the system to define the product flow in the From System list.
2. Select the target system to define the product flow in the To System list.
  Note: The From System and To System cannot be same. A message appears if you specify the same system.
Select the routing order in which products are routed out of the system.
In the routing list, you can select:
- FIFO: First in First out
- LIFO: Last in First Out
- Priority: This is a system attribute.
Specify the route mode, to select the downstream system to which a product is routed, in Route Mode list.
The First Allowed, In Proportion, and With Priority are the attribute of system.
- First Allowed: A product or the request is routed to the destination (that is, any system that accepts the product).
- In Proportion: A product or a request is randomly routed to any of the allowed destination. You can choose the destination as per the given proportion.
- With Priority: A product or a request is routed to the highest priority destination that accepts the product at the given time. If the two product flow links have equal priority, then based on simulation behavior, the system which has first sent a request will receive the product.
Enter the Acceptance Mode to select the upstream system to accept the product.
Enter the Acceptance Order in which products are accepted at the system.
Enter the Operation (or enter a new operation name) for the selected systems.
1. Double-click the Operation row and choose operation of the system from the list.
2. Select Create Operation from the list to add a new operation for the selected system.
  The Create New Operation option is available for Buffer, Transfer, and Sink systems. Create General Operation and Create Loading Operation options are present for General and Transformation systems.
Note: The symbol is displayed on the modified and new rows till you click Apply .
Select or create a port for the chosen systems.
1. Double-click Port row and select required port of the selected system from the list.
  Port is an object through which the material flows.
2. Select Create IN Port\Create OUT Port from list and enter the port name in the cell to create a new port.
Double-click Priority/Proportion and edit the priority or proportion value.
The selected flow details are saved.

Create Flow Connection

You can create a flow connection between two objects. The link can be created between operation and port, between two ports, or between port and operation.

To link an operation to a port only for one system.
1. Select a system in From System and one in To System.
2. Select the cell in the Operation column and operation from the list.
3. Select the cell in the Port column and the port from the list.
To link an operation to a port between two systems.
1. Select a system in From System and To System.
2. Select the cell in the Operation column and an operation from the list.
3. Select the cell in the Port column and the required port from the list.
To link a port between two systems:
1. Select a system in From System and To System.
2. Select the cell in the Port column for both From\To System.
3. Select the port from the list.

Use of Context Menus

You can access more functionality through the context menu.

Right-click a row to access the following contextual menu.
- Properties: Opens the Properties dialog box, you can also use keyboard short-cut Alt+Enter.
- Add New Row: Inserts a new row.
- Delete Flow: Deletes the flow connection between operation and the port.
  Note: The : Appears in the row for the flow connection deleted.
- Undo: Cancels the last action. For example, if you have deleted the flow connection between operation and the port, you can restore it with Undo.
Right-click Port to access the Properties, Add New Row, Delete Flow, Undo and Delete Port contextual menu.
- Delete Port: Deletes the selected port. A confirmation message appears: If the selected port is reused by other connection objects.
Select context menu of the column header to customize the view.
Right-click the Operation column header to view Properties.

Detail Product Flow and Flow Behavior between Two Systems

You can preview and edit the product flow and flow behavior in the System Editor between two selected systems. The Detail Selected Material Flow Link command stops, if the selected system has no operations or if it is not connected to any of the downstream systems.

Double-click product flow link between two systems in the System Editor.
See Using the System Editor
The context toolbar appears.
Select Detail Selected Material Flow Link to update the changes.
The Define Product Flow dialog box appears.
Updates the change, for more information on defining the product flow and making changes, see Define Product Flow.