A big difference between ASCP and earlier planning methods is the option of planning to constraints. Although Oracle has supported simultaneous material and capacity planning for a long time, the planning engine has always planned to meet due dates; capacity planning has been unconstrained, or infinite. ASCP provides the option of constraint-based planning, or finite capacity planning.

Furthermore, you can choose to plan to capacity (including transportation capacity) constraints, material constraints (including modeling the capacity of suppliers to provide material), or both; and you can specify different constraints and different levels of granularity in the different periods of the planning horizon.

Oracle ASCP allows for the following options for generating plans.

1. Unconstrained
2. Resource Constrained
3. Material Constrained
4. Material and Resource Constrained
5. Optimized

Before discussing these options in the table below, please take note of the following key concepts.
Constraints
Oracle ASCP lets you prioritize how you enforce Capacity Constraints or Demand Due Dates. Whichever constraint takes precedence over the other is the hard constraint; the other is the soft constraint. You must choose one and only one type of constraint.

Enforce Demand Due Dates
If you choose to enforce Demand Due Dates (setting Demand Due Dates as a hard constraint), then primary resources are used and loaded to capacity to satisfy demand due dates. The system also evaluates alternate resources if additional capacity is required. If there is insufficient capacity to meet demand due dates, the primary resource is overloaded. The choice of whether to use an alternate resource or overload capacity depends on cost considerations if optimization is selected. Oracle ASCP returns exception messages if capacity is overloaded.

Enforce Capacity Constraints
If you choose to enforce Capacity Constraints (setting Capacity Constraints as a hard constraint), then resources are loaded to their limit to satisfy demand (if required). Unsatisfied demand is pushed into the future. In this case, Oracle ASCP returns late replenishment exception messages.

Optimization
Oracle ASCP allows for multiple levels of optimization in generating plans. These are described in the table below along with the situations under which each would be most useful.