Skip to main content
Release: CX-Jupiter (current)

CX-0145 Days of supply Exchange 1.0.0

ABSTRACT

Days of Supply (DoS) in logistics is a critical metric used to estimate how long current inventory levels will last under normal consumption patterns. This calculation is essential in supply chain management as it assists in forecasting when stock replenishment is needed, thereby preventing stock shortages or overstocking. It plays a significant role in ensuring efficient inventory turnover, maintaining a balance between having enough stock to meet demand and avoiding excess inventory that ties up capital.

To effectively address the challenges associated with manual calculation and estimation of Days of Supply, the standardization and interoperable exchange of this data among Catena-X business partners is essential. Establishing a standardized semantic definition to describe Days of Supply and a common API is a fundamental step to enable this exchange and foster compatibility. This approach maximizes the range of solutions available to mitigate potential supply shortages and supports precise inventory planning.

FOR WHOM IS THE STANDARD DESIGNED

COMPARISON WITH THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE STANDARD

This is the first version of the standard.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the intricate frameworks of supply chain management and manufacturing, the Days of Supply metric emerges as a critical tool for optimizing inventory levels and ensuring effective planning. It measures how long the current inventory will suffice to meet future demands under the assumption that no additional inventory is received. This key figure, calculated in days, is essential for maintaining efficient inventory turnover and preventing both shortages and excesses that can impact business operations.

Effective monitoring and calculation of Days of Supply are paramount for businesses to anticipate and mitigate potential inventory imbalances. However, accurately capturing and analyzing this data poses a significant challenge, as conventional methods and systems may not offer comprehensive support for this nuanced metric.

The necessity for a standardized and semantically precise definition of Days of Supply cannot be overstated. By establishing clear standards for this metric, supply chain participants can ensure interoperable data exchange, enhancing collaboration and operational efficiency across the board. This initiative not only aids in avoiding inventory-related issues but also contributes to more streamlined and responsive supply chain operations.

The initiative towards standardizing Days of Supply is aimed at providing businesses with the tools they need for more effective inventory and production planning, enabling them to improve process efficiency, minimize risks of inventory mismatches, and bolster overall supply chain resilience.

Days of Supply can be applied in various use cases in logistics and supply chain management:

  1. Manufacturing Sector : Manufacturers rely on it to maintain adequate levels of raw materials and components, ensuring uninterrupted production lines.
  2. Retail Industry : Retailers use it to manage inventory levels of fast-moving consumer goods. They can predict when they need to reorder items to avoid stockouts, especially during peak shopping seasons.
  3. Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals : It's crucial for managing the inventory of medicines and medical supplies, particularly those with short shelf lives or critical to patient care.

1.1 AUDIENCE & SCOPE

This section is non-normative

This standard is relevant for the following roles defined in [CX-OMW]:

  • Data Providers willing to provide Days of Supply data
  • Data Consumers interested in requesting and receiving Days of Supply data
  • Business Application Providers interested in providing solutions implementing this standard
  • Consulting Services Providers interested in supporting companies fulfilling the standard

The scope of this standard is only the Days of Supply aspect model and the corresponding API usage. It describes the exchange of Days of Supply data through a connector compliant with [CX-0018].

1.2 CONTEXT AND ARCHITECTURE FIT

This section is non-normative

In a typical item manufacturing and procurement process, a company determines the need to maintain stock levels to meet demand. As part of this process, Days of Supply typically refers to metrics or details about how long the existing inventory will last to satisfy current demand without additional delivery or production. It includes calculations on the number of days the current inventory is expected to meet demand based on average daily consumption. This metric provides key insights into inventory efficiency and assists in planning reorders to ensure continuous operation and is crucial for maintaining efficient inventory management and ensuring a smooth supply chain.

Within the framework of the Catena-X network, this standard defines the DaysOfSupply aspect model. Its purpose is to establish a consistent and uniform interpretation and handling of Days of Supply among all interested parties, ensuring that this data is understood and managed in the same manner by all stakeholders.

Figure 1 shows the high-level architecture of the Days of Supply exchange in the Catena-X dataspace and the services that are involved. Both the data provider and the data consumer must be members of the Catena-X network in order to communicate with each other. With the help of Credential Service and the Identity Access Management (IAM) each participant can authenticate itself, verify the identity of the requesting party and decide whether to authorize the request. The Days of Supply data is provisioned in accordance with [CX-0002].

Figure 1: High-level architecture of the Days of Supply in the Catena-X Figure 1: High-level architecture of the Days of Supply in the Catena-X

1.3 CONFORMANCE AND PROOF OF CONFORMITY

This section is non-normative

The sections marked as non-normative, all authoring guidelines, diagrams, examples, and notes in this specification are non-normative. Everything else in this specification is normative. The key words MAY , MUST , MUST NOT , OPTIONAL , RECOMMENDED , REQUIRED , SHOULD and SHOULD NOT in this document are to be interpreted as described in [BCP 14] [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

All participants and their solutions will need to prove that they are conform with the Catena-X standards. To validate that the standards are applied correctly, Catena-X employs Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs). The proof of conformity for a single semantic model is done according to the general rules for proving the conformity of data provided to a semantic model or the ability to consume the corresponding data. Furthermore participants agree to follow the normative language of this standardization document and to implement the required API-Endpoints described in Chapter 4.

1.4 EXAMPLES

The following JSONs provide an example of the value-only serialization of the "Days Of Supply" aspect model for Days of Supply for one (see example one) and multiple days of supply (see example too).

Value-only JSON serialization of the with present day values of days of supply - "DoS for one day only".

{
"materialGlobalAssetId": "urn:uuid:48878d48-6f1d-47f5-8ded-a441d0d879df",
"allocatedDaysOfSupply": [
{
"stockLocationBPNA": "BPNA1234567890ZZ",
"lastUpdatedOnDateTime": "2023-04-28T14:23:00.123456+14:00",
"amountOfAllocatedDaysOfSupply": [
{
"date": "2024-01-01T14:23:00+01:00",
"daysOfSupply": 3.51
}
],
"stockLocationBPNS": "BPNS1234567890ZZ"
}
],
"direction": "INBOUND"
}

Value-only JSON serialization of the with present day and two additional consecutive dates paired with days of supply values - "DoS for multiple days".

{
"materialGlobalAssetId": "urn:uuid:48878d48-6f1d-47f5-8ded-a441d0d879df",
"allocatedDaysOfSupply": [
{
"stockLocationBPNA": "BPNA1234567890ZZ",
"lastUpdatedOnDateTime": "2023-04-28T14:23:00.123456+14:00",
"amountOfAllocatedDaysOfSupply": [
{
"date": "2024-02-01T14:23:00+01:00",
"daysOfSupply": 3.51
},
{
"date": "2024-02-02T14:23:00+01:00",
"daysOfSupply": 4.25
},
{
"date": "2024-02-03T14:23:00+01:00",
"daysOfSupply": 2.78
}
],
"stockLocationBPNS": "BPNS1234567890ZZ"
}
],
"direction": "INBOUND"
}

1.5 TERMINOLOGY

This section is non-normative

NameAbrev.Description
Business Partner NumberBPNA BPN is the unique identifier of a partner within Catena-X as defined in [CX-0010].
Business Partner Number SiteBPNSA BPNS is the unique identifier of a partner site within Catena-X as defined in [CX-0010].
Business Partner Number AddressBPNAA BPNA is the unique identifier of a partner address within Catena-X as defined in [CX-0010].
Direction/Direction of the stock from data provider perspective.
Date/Date refers to the specific calendar day (current or projected) associated with the measured (or expected) inventory level. It serves as a timestamp for calculating Days of Supply, indicating when the inventory count was taken or projected.
Days of SupplyDoSAmount of days, before the current stock is expected to be exhausted.

Days of supply of a customer:

Number of days where;
(Stock) - Σ(daily Demand) >= 0

Days of supply of a supplier:

Number of days where;
(Stock) - Σ(daily Outgoing Shipments) >= 0
Allocated Days of Supply/Defines the number of days with allocated supply for an item stock in a given location that is available for the use in production or deliveries. The allocated days of supply are not available for other customers.
Digital TwinDTDigital representation of an asset that provides data on aspects of the represented data following [CX-0002].
decentralized Digital Twin RegistrydDTRComponent providing registration and discovery API implementations following [CX-0002]. Sometimes referred to without the "decentralized" BUT in Catena-X those are always decentralized.
Asset Administration ShellAASTechnical concept for Digital Twins consisting of different standards. Application in Catena-X is described in Digital Twins in Catena-X standard ([CX-0002])
Shell DescriptorTechnical concept of the AAS API describing metadata of an Asset Administration Shell representing a Digital Twin. It holds identification information and metadata about which submodels are available and where to get the data from (see [CX-0002], [IDTA-01002-3-0]). There may exist multiple Shell Descriptor for the same represented Asset (see [CX-0126]).
Submodel DescriptorTechnical concept of the AAS API describing metadata of Submodels within a Shell Descriptor (Asset Administration Shell) (see [CX-0002], [IDTA-01002-3-0]).
Specific Asset IdsIdentifiers of the Shell Descriptor (Asset Administration Shell) that refer to common identification data for an asset/material at hand e.g., manufacturer part Id. Common specific asset ids used for identification are described in Industry Core Part Type Standard (see [CX-0126]).
Asset Administration Shell IdentifierAAS IDAlso referred to as Shell Descriptor id, is the technical identifier of the Shell Descriptor.
Global Asset IdAlso referred to as Catena-X Id, is the Catena-X identifier for assets represented by Digital Twins (see [CX-0126]).
AspectA domain-specific view on information and functionality associated with a specific Digital Twin with a reference to a concrete Aspect Model (see [CX-0002]). Within Catena-X, an aspect is formally described using the Semantic Aspect Meta Model (see [CX-0003]).
Semantic IdIdentifier including namespace to specify the semantic description of submodels using the Semantic Aspect Meta Model (SAMM). It allows partners to know the exact data format and semantics when e.g., browsing catalogs (see [CX-0003]).
Data Space ProtocolDSPA set of specifications designed to facilitate interoperable data sharing between entities governed by usage control and based on Web technologies. These specifications define the schemas and protocols required for entities to publish data, negotiate Agreements, and access data as part of a Dataspace. It is governed by the International Data Spaces Association. Connectors compliant to [CX-0018] support the Data Space Protocol.
Shared Asset ApproachDigital twin pattern in which each party has a twin for the same asset (Part Type). They share the same identification data in terms of specific asset ids and global asset id. The digital twins do have different technical identifiers.

Table 1: Terminology Days of Supply Exchange Standard

Additional terminology used in this standard can be looked up in the glossary on the association homepage.

2 RELEVANT PARTS OF THE STANDARD FOR SPECIFIC USE CASES

This section is normative

2.1 "DAYS OF SUPPLY"

2.1.1 LIST OF STANDALONE STANDARDS

NumberStandardVersion
[CX-0001]EDC Discovery API1.0.2
[CX-0002]Digital Twins in Catena-X2.2.0
[CX-0003]SAMM Aspect Meta Model1.1.0
[CX-0006]Registration and initial onboarding2.0.0
[CX-0010]Business Partner Number (BPN)2.0.0
[CX-0018]Dataspace Connectivity3.0.0
[CX-0126]Industry Core Part Type2.0.0

Table 2: List of mandatory standards

The usage of this standard may be complemented with the following Catena-X standards to further extend the range of shortage prevention possibilities:

NumberStandardVersion
[CX-0118]Delivery Information Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0120]Short-term Material Demand Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0121]Planned Production Output Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0122]Item Stock Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0146]Supply Chain Disruption Notifications1.0.0

Table 3: List of non-mandatory complementary standards

2.1.2 DATA REQUIRED

No additional data requirements.

2.1.3 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

CONVENTIONS FOR USE CASE POLICY IN CONTEXT DATA EXCHANGE

In alignment with our commitment to data sovereignty, a specific framework governing the utilization of data within the Catena-X use cases has been outlined. A set of specific policies on data offering and data usage level detail the conditions under which data may be accessed, shared, and used, ensuring compliance with legal standards.

For a comprehensive understanding of the rights, restrictions, and obligations associated with data usage in the Catena-X ecosystem, we refer users to

  • the detailed ODRL policy repository [CX-ODRL]. This document provides in-depth explanations of the terms and conditions applied to data access and utilization, ensuring that all engagement with our data is conducted responsibly and in accordance with established guidelines.
  • the ODRL schema template. This defines how policies used for data sharing/usage should get defined. Those schemas MUST be followed when providing services or apps for data sharing/consuming.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS REGARDING ACCESS POLICIES

A Data Provider may tie certain access authorizations ("Access Policies") to its data offers for members of Catena-X and one or several Data Consumers. By limiting access to certain Participants, Data Provider maintains control over its anti-trust obligations when sharing certain data. In particular, Data Provider may apply Access Policies to restrict access to a particular data offer for only one Participant identified by a specific business partner number.

  • Membership
  • BPNL
ADDITIONAL DETAILS REGARDING USAGE POLICIES

In the context of data usage policies (“Usage Policies”), Participants and related services MUST use the following policy rules:

  • Use Case Framework (“FrameworkAgreement”)
  • at least one use case purpose (“UsagePurpose”) from the above mentioned ODRL policy repository.

Additionally, respective usage policies MAY include the following policy rule:

  • Reference Contract (“ContractReference”).

Details on namespaces and ODRL policy rule values to be used for the above-mentioned types are provided via the ODRL policy repository [CX-ODRL].

REMINDER OF ANTITRUST

Notice and/or acknowledgement concepts to raise awareness of antitrust issues during use of this standard are RECOMMENDED, for example through the implementation of a help desk or pop-up info.

2.1.4 DIGITAL TWINS AND SPECIFIC ASSET IDs

This standard builds upon the Industry Core Part Type [CX-0126] and the Digital Twins in Catena-X [CX-0002] standards. It follows the following design patterns:

  • Usage of Digital Twins as shared assets to follow a pull approach for data.
  • Usage of the specific asset IDs and further identification data for the Digital Twin for the Part Type (see [CX-0126]).
  • Provisioning of the PartTypeInformation on supplier side (see [CX-0126]).

Because both parties may provide data regarding different aspects of the same Part Type Twin, they need to use the same identification data to pinpoint it.

  • The supplier of the part has a Digital Twin representation and is then able to offer Days of Supply data to customers.
  • The customer, who orders or uses the part, has a Digital Twin representation to offer Days of Supply data to a supplier.
  • Both twins refer to the same asset and provide complementary information. They share the same identification data in two partners' context.
    • The supplier
      • MUST create the Digital Twin first.
      • MUST generate the Catena-X ID and ensure that the customer-specific asset IDs and submodel descriptors are only accessible by the specific customer.
      • MAY use the Digital Twin for multiple customers.
    • The customer
      • MUST create one Digital Twin per supplier.
      • MUST use the Catena-X ID generated by the supplier.

The definition of identification data (Catena-X ID, Asset Administration Shell ID, specific asset ID) MUST follow the Industry Core Part Type [CX-0126]. Refer to Chapter 4.1.2 for further details.

Note: The Part Type Twin's data is considered sensitive. Data providers MUST implement appropriate measures ensuring that competitors-specific asset IDs and/or information about submodels is accessible only to the data consumers it concerns, but not to their competitors.

Figure 2 shows how the shared asset approach is realized. The orange lines show which submodels belong to the respective AAS. All Days of Supply specific submodels are bound to the specific Part Type's context e.g., meaning that the Days of Supply aspect is described for the specific catalog item on supplier and customer side represented by the AASs. The orange submodels are the submodels used within this standard's context. The grey submodels are used within the Industry Core [CX-0126](PartTypeInformation, SingleLevelBomAsPlanned, SingleLevelUsageAsPlanned). The blue dashed lines show the references between DTs based on Catena-X UUIDs and BPNL information that may be resolved by the Item Relationship Service (see [CX-0126]).

Figure 2: Conceptual levels of provisioning digital twins in the shared asset approach. Figure 2: Conceptual levels of provisioning digital twins in the shared asset approach.

Figure 2 details two conceptual levels:

  • The Asset level contains the asset (Industry Core Part Type) represented by a Digital Twin. The latter is provisioned as an Asset Administration Shell (AAS) within the decentralized Digital Twin Registry (dDTR) of the data provider (supplier or customer).
  • The Submodel level represents the actual information that are held by a Digital Twin (DT). Those submodels follow the respective definition of the in Semantic Aspect Meta Model (SAMM) format (see Chapter 3). The dDTR only holds metadata about the Submodel (e.g. kind of submodel via semantic ID or connector endpoint information).

3 ASPECT MODELS

This section is normative

3.1 "DAYS OF SUPPLY" ASPECT MODEL

3.1.1 INTRODUCTION

This section describes the Days Of Supply semantic model used in the Catena-X network. For the complete semantics and detailed description of its properties refer to the SAMM model in Chapter 3.1.5.1.

3.1.2 SPECIFICATIONS ARTIFACTS

The modeling of the semantic model specified in this document was done in accordance to the "semantic-driven workflow" to create a submodel template specification [SMT].

This aspect model is written in SAMM 2.1.0 as a modeling language conformant to [CX-0003] as input for the semantic driven workflow.

Like all Catena-X data models, this model is available in a machine-readable format on GitHub conformant to [CX-0003].

3.1.3 LICENSE

This Catena-X data model is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) license, which is available at Creative Commons.

3.1.4 IDENTIFIER OF SEMANTIC MODEL

The semantic model has the unique identifier

urn:samm:io.catenax.days_of_supply:2.0.0

This identifier MUST be used by the data provider to define the semantics of the data being transferred.

3.1.5 FORMATS OF SEMANTIC MODEL

3.1.5.1 RDF TURTLE

The RDF turtle file, an instance of the Semantic Aspect Meta Model, is the master for generating additional file formats and serializations. It can be found under the following link:

https://github.com/eclipse-tractusx/sldt-semantic-models/blob/4d239fc5709f71f39c3cf13581b5bcf960905157/io.catenax.days_of_supply/2.0.0/DaysOfSupply.ttl

The open source command line tool of the Eclipse Semantic Modeling Framework is used for generation of other file formats like for example a JSON Schema, aasx for Asset Administration Shell Submodel Template or a HTML documentation.

3.1.5.2 JSON SCHEMA

A JSON Schema can be generated from the RDF Turtle file. The JSON Schema defines the Value-Only payload of the Asset Administration Shell for the API operation "GetSubmodel".

3.1.5.3 AASX

An AASX file MUST be generated from the RDF Turtle file. The AASX file defines one of the requested artifacts for a Submodel Template Specification conformant to [SMT].

4 APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES

4.1 API USED TO EXCHANGE "DAYS OF SUPPLY" INFORMATION

As described in Chapter 2.1.4 this standard builds upon the [CX-0002] Digital Twins in Catena-X and [CX-0126] Industry Core Part Type standards. Therefore, the APIs provided by the Digital Twin standard are combined with the part identification defined in the Industry Core standard. This chapter defines how the aforementioned standards and the [CX-0018] standard MUST be used to facilitate the provisioning of Days of Supply data. The usage of the Discovery Services defined in [CX-0001], [CX-0053] is not mandatory, because this standard assumes an already existing business relationship between the involved parties.

The sequence diagram in Figure 3 provides an overview of the interactions required to register the Part Type Twin following the shared asset approach.

  • Steps 1 & 2: Register the dDTR access for the partner at the connector
  • Steps 3 & 4: When using the repository pattern, create the submodel (and twin)
  • Steps 5 & 6: Register the submodel endpoint for the partner at the connector
  • Steps 7 & 8: Register or update the twin Shell Descriptor relying on the registered Connector asset for the submodel endpoint and the identification data of the partners.

Note: This sequence diagram is simplified and does not cover the generation of the Part Type Twin on supplier side and the handling of the identification data needed. Both partners need to create a Part Type Twin of the shared asset as well as provide Days of Supply data.

Figure 3: Flow to create and register a digital twin Figure 3: Flow to create and register a digital twin

The sequence diagram in Figure 4 provides an overview of the interactions required when a customer (acting as data provider) provisions Days of Supply data to a supplier (acting as data consumer).

The flow "Supplier reads (updated) Submodel from Customer" visualizes the sequence of calls when consuming data:

  • Steps 3 - 8: Contract dDTR usage in the connector.
  • Steps 9 - 12: Lookup the Industry Core Part Type Twin for a Part Type based on the common identification data.
  • Steps 13 - 18: Read the Shell Descriptor of the Industry Core Part Type Twin to extract the Days of Supply submodel endpoint (registered at the connector).
  • Steps 19 - 24: Contract the Days of Supply data usage in the connector.
  • Steps 25 - 29: Consume and use the Days of Supply data.

Figure 4: Flow to lookup a digital twin and get a submodel. Figure 4: Flow to lookup a digital twin and get a submodel.

Note: Depending on the use of repository patterns and the design of the Digital Twins, the data may be updated manually in the Submodel endpoint.

4.1.1 CONNECTOR DATA ASSET STRUCTURE

The endpoints for the dDTR and the Submodel Endpoint MUST be made available BUT they MUST NOT be directly called data consumer. Rather, for access to dDTRs and Submodels, there MUST be contracts negotiated in accordance with the DSP. Therefore, the endpoints MUST be offered as connector data assets. To make these assets easily identifiable in the connector's catalog, each asset MUST be configured with a set of properties as described in the corresponding sections below.

The following table provides an overview of the connector data assets that the parties MUST offer to be able to provision and/or consume Days of Supply data.

PartyREQUIREDAssetPurpose
ProviderYes"Digital Twin Registry"Allows a consumer to query for Part Type Twins and their Days of Supply submodels.
ProviderYes"Submodel Days of Supply"Allows a consumer to read actual Days of Supply information related to a Part Type Twin.
ConsumerYes"Digital Twin Registry"Allows a consumer to query for Part Type Twins and their Days of Supply submodels.
ConsumerYes"Submodel Days of Supply"Allows a consumer to read actual Days of Supply information related to a Part Type Twin.

Table 4: Connector data assets

In the sections below the asset definitions of the two different kinds of assets are defined.

CONNECTOR DATA ASSET STRUCTURE FOR "Digital Twin Registry"

To allow partners to find the "Days of Supply" data for a specific Industry Core Part Type Twin, the provider MUST register a connector data asset (see details in [CX-0018]) specifying the address of the Digital Twin Registry of the provider (see [CX-0002]).

The data asset MUST be configured with the set of properties as defined in the table below.

ObjectPropertyPurposeUsage & Constraints
@idIdentifier of the assetThe asset ID MUST be unique and therefore MUST NOT be reused elsewhere.
propertieshttp://purl.org/dc/terms/typeDefines the "Digital Twin Registry" according to the Catena-X taxonomy.MUST be set to {"@id": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#DigitalTwinRegistry"} to allow filtering the data assets catalog for the respective "Digital Twin Registry".
propertieshttps://w3id.org/catenax/ontology/common#versionThe version of the standard defining the implemented API of the "Digital Twin Registry"MUST correspond to the version of the standard defining the Interfaces of the "Digital Twin Registry". The value MUST be set to "3.0" for "Digital Twin Registries" used by this standard.
dataAddress@typeType of the DataAddress node.MUST be set to "DataAddress".
dataAddressbaseUrlDefines the HTTPS endpoint of the corresponding "Digital Twin Registry Endpoint".The {{ DIGITAL_TWIN_REGISTRY_ENDPOINT }} refers to an URL under which the API of the "Digital Twin Registry" endpoint is available. HTTPS transport protocol MUST be used.
dataAddressproxyBodyDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy the HTTPS bodySHOULD be set to "false" to not allow the API endpoint to receive a HTTPS body via the HTTPS request.
dataAddressproxyMethodDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy the HTTPS methodSHOULD be set to "false" to only allow the API endpoint to receive GET requests.
dataAddressproxyPathDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy paths for the URLMUST be set to "true" to allow the API endpoint to receive appended paths of the HTTPS request.
dataAddresstypeDefines the type of data plane extension handling the data exchangeMUST be set to "HttpData" to provide an API via an HTTPS proxy endpoint.

Table 5: Connector data assets request properties

Additionally security identification information MAY be added to secure the "Decentralized Digital Twin Registry".

When searching the Catalog of a provider, a consumer SHOULD use the following properties AND their values to identify the Data Asset specifying "Digital Twin Registry". In the connector Data Asset descriptions the API version valid for this standard is mentioned for the property https://w3id.org/catenax/ontology/common#version. The requester of a Data Asset MUST be able to handle multiple Data Asset for this endpoint, being differentiated only by the version. The requester SHOULD choose the Data Asset set with the highest compatible version number implemented by themselves. If the requester cannot find a compatible version with their own, the requester MUST terminate the data transfer.

PropertyValue
http://purl.org/dc/terms/type{"@id": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#DigitalTwinRegistry"}

Table 6: Connector data assets request properties values.

An example connector data asset definition is given below.

Note: Expressions in double curly braces {{}} must be substituted with a corresponding value.

{
"@context": {
"@vocab": "https://w3id.org/edc/v0.0.1/ns/",
"cx-common": "https://w3id.org/catenax/ontology/common#",
"cx-taxo": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#",
"dct": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
},
"@id": "{{CONNECTOR_ASSET_ID}}",
"properties": {
"dct:type": {"@id": "cx-taxo:DigitalTwinRegistry"},
"cx-common:version": "3.0"
},
"privateProperties": {
},
"dataAddress": {
"@type": "DataAddress",
"type": "HttpData",
"baseUrl": "{{ DIGITAL_TWIN_REGISTRY_ENDPOINT }}",
"proxyQueryParams": "true",
"proxyBody": "false",
"proxyPath": "true",
"proxyMethod": "false",
}
}
CONNECTOR DATA ASSET STRUCTURE FOR "Submodel"

To allow partners to receive the "Days of Supply" data as defined in Chapter 3, the provider MUST register a connector data asset (see details in[ CX-0018]) specifying the address of the submodel endpoint (see [CX-0002]) providing the actual data.

The data asset MUST be configured with the set of properties as defined in the table below.

ObjectPropertyPurposeUsage & Constraints
@idIdentifier of the assetThe asset ID MUST be unique and therefore MUST NOT be reused elsewhere.
propertieshttp://purl.org/dc/terms/typeDefines the "Submodel API" according to the Catena-X taxonomy.MUST be set to {"@id": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#Submodel"} to allow filtering the data assets catalog for the respective "Submodel API".
propertieshttps://admin-shell.io/aas/3/0/HasSemantics/semanticIdThe semantic identifier of the "Days of Supply" SAMM.MUST be set to {"@id": "urn:samm:io.catenax.days_of_supply:2.0.0#DaysOfSupply"} to externally define how the Submodel must be interpreted. MUST NOT be set, if different submodels may be returned by this API.
propertieshttps://w3id.org/catenax/ontology/common#versionVersion of the Submodel Interface SpecificationMUST be set to "3.0" in accordance to [CX-0002].
dataAddress@typeType of the DataAddress node.MUST be set to "DataAddress".
dataAddressbaseUrlDefines the HTTPS Submodel endpoint provisioning the Days of Supply dataThe {{ SUBMODEL_ENDPOINT }} refers to an URL under which the Submodel API Endpoint ([CX-0002]) is available to provide the "Days of Supply" . HTTPS transport protocol MUST be used.
dataAddressproxyBodyDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy the HTTPS bodySHOULD be set to "false" to not allow the API endpoint to receive a HTTPS body via the HTTPS request.
dataAddressproxyMethodDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy the HTTPS methodSHOULD be set to "false" to only allow the API endpoint to receive GET requests.
dataAddressproxyPathDefines whether the endpoint allows to proxy paths for the URLMUST be set to "true" to allow the API endpoint to receive appended paths of the HTTPS request. Setting this parameter depends on the implementation of the submodel lookup.
dataAddresstypeDefines the type of data plane extension handling the data exchangeMUST be set to "HttpData" to provide an API via an HTTPS proxy endpoint.

Table 7: Connector data assets request properties

Additionally security identification information MAY be added to secure the "Submodel API".

When searching the data assets catalog of a provider, a consumer SHOULD use the assetId previously determined via subprotocolBody of the SubmodelDescriptor's endpoint definition of subprotocol type "DSP". Refer to Chapter 4.1.2 for the definition of the subprotocolBody.

PropertyValue
https://w3id.org/edc/v0.0.1/ns/id{{CONNECTOR_ASSET_ID}} specified in the DSP endpoint of the SubmodelDescriptor (see Chapter 4.1.2)

Table 8: Connector data assets request properties values

An example connector data asset definition is given below.

Note: Expressions in double curly braces {{}} must be substituted with a corresponding value.

{
"@context": {
"@vocab": "https://w3id.org/edc/v0.0.1/ns/",
"cx-common": "https://w3id.org/catenax/ontology/common#",
"cx-taxo": "https://w3id.org/catenax/taxonomy#",
"dct": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/",
"aas-semantics": "https://admin-shell.io/aas/3/0/HasSemantics/"
},
"@id": "{{CONNECTOR_ASSET_ID}}",
"properties": {
"dct:type": {"@id": "cx-taxo:Submodel"},
"cx-common:version": "3.0",
"aas-semantics:semanticId": {"@id": "urn:samm:io.catenax.days_of_supply:2.0.0#DaysOfSupply"}
},
"privateProperties": {
},
"dataAddress": {
"@type": "DataAddress",
"type": "HttpData",
"baseUrl": "{{ SUBMODEL_ENDPOINT }}",
"proxyQueryParams": "false",
"proxyBody": "false",
"proxyPath": "true",
"proxyMethod": "false",
}
}

4.1.2 INDUSTRY CORE PART TYPE TWIN REGISTRATION AND DEFINITION

4.1.2.1 SHELL DESCRIPTOR REGISTRATION

To allow partners to receive the actual "Days of Supply" data as defined in Chapter 3, the provider MUST register a Shell Descriptor in the dDTR (see [CX-0002]) so that a partner:

  • May lookup the Industry Core Part Type Twin based on known identification data.
  • May identify the connector endpoint providing access to the "Days of Supply" submodel data.

The Shell Descriptors represent an Industry Core Part Type Twin and MUST follow the rules as defined in Chapter 2.1.4.

The Shell Descriptor MUST be configured with the set of properties as defined in the table below.

Object in ShellDescriptorPropertyPurposeUsage & Constraints
idDefines the technical ID of the Asset Administration Shell representing a partner's twin.MUST be unique following Industry Core Part Type standard ([CX-0126]) and is a technical Id randomly assigned as multiple Part Type Twins may be created for one Part Type. E.g. this number differs for the twins created at supplier and customer side.
globalAssetIdDefines the Catena-X ID of the twin.MUST be aligned with the partner's material. When referring to the same Part Type Twin, the same number MUST be used (see [CX-0126]).
specificAssetIdsIdentifiers that may be used to lookup Part Type Twins.MUST be set to according to the Industry Core Part Type standard ([CX-0126]). See Table 10 for respective specific asset IDs. The "customerPartId" MUST be set by Customers and SHOULD be set by Suppliers.
submodelDescriptoridTechnical identifier of a SubmodelDescriptor.MUST be set to a unique identifier.
submodelDescriptorsemanticIdThe semantic identifier of the "Days of Supply" SAMM.MUST be set to { "type": "ExternalReference", "keys": [{ "type": "GlobalReference", "value": "urn:samm:io.catenax.days_of_supply:2.0.0#DaysOfSupply" }] } to externally define how the Submodel must be interpreted.
submodelDescriptor > endpointinterfaceDefines the Submodel Interface [CX-0002] and the version.MUST be set to "SUBMODEL-3.0" to rely on current specification.
submodelDescriptor > endpoint > protocolInformationhrefDefines the direct link to the public API of the connector's data plane with a path that SHOULD be appended by the proxy, if needed.MUST be set to the public API of the dataplane providing the data with the path appended to directly access the submodel.
submodelDescriptor > endpoint > protocolInformationsubprotocolDefines the usage of the connector based on DSP to access and use the submodel.MUST be set to "DSP" to define the connector endpoint of the subprotocol.
submodelDescriptor > endpoint > protocolInformationsubprotocolBodyDefines the asset id in the connector and the connector address to access and use the submodel.MUST be set to "id={{CONNECTOR_ASSET_ID}};dspEndpoint={{SUPPLIER_CONNECTOR_DSP_ENDPOINT}}" to provide the necessary information for contracting the submodel endpoint. Refer to Chapter 4.1.2 for the definition of the asset of the subprotocolBody.

Table 9: Properties relevant for the Shell Descriptor definition

When searching the submodel in the dDTR of a provider, a consumer SHOULD use the specific asset IDs as defined in [CX-0126]. Table 10 gives an overview of the specific asset IDs that the data provider added to the ShellDescriptor so that the data consumer may find the Industry Core Part Type Twin.

Specific Asset IdValue
digitalTwinType"PartType". Set to identify twins compliant to the Industry Core Part Type (see [CX-0126]).
manufacturerIdSupplier / Manufacturer partner BPNL (see [CX-0010])
manufacturerPartIdSupplier / Manufacturer partner identification number of the part.
customerPartIdCustomer partner identification number of the part.

Table 10: Specific asset IDs of Industry Core Part Type Twins proposed to be used to lookup a twin in the dDTR

The Shell Descriptor defines the metadata of the Industry Core Part Type Twin. The following example Shell Descriptor represents a supplier's Shell Descriptor of a supplier who provides two customers access to an "Days of Supply" submodel. For further information on the creation of Part Type Twins, refer to Chapter 2.1.4.

Following [CX-0002], when searching the data assets catalog of a provider, a consumer SHOULD use the assetId determined via subprotocolBody of the SubmodelDescriptor's endpoint definition of subprotocol type "DSP" of the Submodel Descriptor of interest.

Note: Expressions in double curly braces {{}} must be substituted with a corresponding value.

{
"id": "{{TECHNICAL_TWIN_ID}}",
"globalAssetId": "{{MATERIAL_NUMBER_CX}}",
"idShort": "Semiconductor",
"specificAssetIds": [
{
"name": "digitalTwinType",
"value": "PartType",
"externalSubjectId": {
"type": "ExternalReference",
"keys": [
{
"type": "GlobalReference",
"value": "{{SUPPLIER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{OTHER_CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
}
]
}
},
{
"name": "manufacturerPartId",
"value": "{{MATERIAL_NUMBER_SUPPLIER}}",
"externalSubjectId": {
"type": "ExternalReference",
"keys": [
{
"type": "GlobalReference",
"value": "{{SUPPLIER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{OTHER_CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
}
]
}
},
{
"name": "manufacturerId",
"value": "{{SUPPLIER_BPNL}}",
"externalSubjectId": {
"type": "ExternalReference",
"keys": [
{
"type": "GlobalReference",
"value": "{{SUPPLIER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{OTHER_CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
}
]
}
},
{
"name": "customerPartId",
"value": "{{MATERIAL_NUMBER_CUSTOMER}}",
"externalSubjectId": {
"type": "ExternalReference",
"keys": [
{
"type": "GlobalReference",
"value": "{{SUPPLIER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
}
]
}
},
{
"name": "customerPartId",
"value": "{{MATERIAL_NUMBER_OTHER_CUSTOMER}}",
"externalSubjectId": {
"type": "ExternalReference",
"keys": [
{
"type": "GlobalReference",
"value": "{{SUPPLIER_BPNL}}"
},
{
"type":"GlobalReference",
"value":"{{OTHER_CUSTOMER_BPNL}}"
}
]
}
}
],
"submodelDescriptors": [
{
"id": "e5c96ab5-896a-482c-8761-efd74777ca97",
"semanticId": {
"type": "ExternalReference",
"keys": [
{
"type": "GlobalReference",
"value": "urn:samm:io.catenax.days_of_supply:2.0.0#DaysOfSupply"
}
]
},
"endpoints": [
{
"interface": "SUBMODEL-3.0",
"protocolInformation": {
"href": "{{SUPPLIER_CONNECTOR_DATAPLANE_PUBLIC_API}}/{{PATH_IF_NEEDED}}",
"endpointProtocol": "HTTP",
"endpointProtocolVersion": [
"1.1"
],
"subprotocol": "DSP",
"subprotocolBody": "id={{CONNECTOR_ASSET_ID}};dspEndpoint={{SUPPLIER_CONNECTOR_DSP_ENDPOINT}}",
"subprotocolBodyEncoding": "plain",
"securityAttributes": [
{
"type": "NONE",
"key": "NONE",
"value": "NONE"
}
]
}
}
]
},
{
"id": "a6c96ab5-896a-482c-8761-efd74777ca99",
"semanticId": {
"type": "ExternalReference",
"keys": [
{
"type": "GlobalReference",
"value": "urn:samm:io.catenax.days_of_supply:2.0.0#DaysOfSupply"
}
]
},
"endpoints": [
{
"interface": "SUBMODEL-3.0",
"protocolInformation": {
"href": "{{SUPPLIER_CONNECTOR_DATAPLANE_PUBLIC_API}}/{{PATH_IF_NEEDED}}",
"endpointProtocol": "HTTP",
"endpointProtocolVersion": [
"1.1"
],
"subprotocol": "DSP",
"subprotocolBody": "id={{CONNECTOR_ASSET_ID}};dspEndpoint={{SUPPLIER_CONNECTOR_DSP_ENDPOINT}}",
"subprotocolBodyEncoding": "plain",
"securityAttributes": [
{
"type": "NONE",
"key": "NONE",
"value": "NONE"
}
]
}
}
]
}
]
}
4.1.2.2 LOOKING UP A PART TYPE TWIN IN THE DDTR

To query the dDTR of a data provider, after contracting the usage via the data provider's connector (see [CX-0018]), the lookup API (see [CX-0002]) can be used relying on the specific asset IDs defined by the Industry Core Part Type (see [CX-0126]) that can be seen in Table 10 (table of shellDescriptorRegistration with specific asset IDs).

An example call relying on all information is given in the code sample below.

Note: Expressions in double curly braces {{}} must be substituted with a corresponding value.

GET: {{PARTNER_CONNECTOR_DATA_PLANE}}/lookup/shells?assetIds={"name":"digitalTwinType", "value": "PartType"},{"name":"manufacturerPartId", "value": "{{MATERIAL_NUMBER_SUPPLIER}}"},{"name":"manufacturerId", "value": "{{SUPPLIER_BPNL}}"},{"name":"customerPartId", "value": "{{MATERIAL_NUMBER_CUSTOMER}}"}

As a result identifiers of the ShellDescriptors will be returned. With this data, a data provider can read the ShellDescriptor to extract the endpoint data of the data provider. An example is given in the code sample below.

Note: Expressions in double curly braces {{}} must be substituted with a corresponding value.

GET: {{PARTNER_CONNECTOR_DATA_PLANE}}/shell-descriptors/{{AAS_IDENTIFIER}}
4.1.2.3 FETCHING SUBMODEL DATA

To fetch the Days of Supply Submodel data at the submodel endpoint of a data provider, after contracting the usage via the data provider's connector (see [CX-0018]), the submodel API (see [CX-0002]) can be used.

An example call relying on all information is given in the code sample below.

Note: Expressions in double curly braces {{}} must be substituted with a corresponding value.

GET: {{HREF_PATH}}/$value

5 PROCESSES

This section is normative

5.1 DAYS OF SUPPLY PROCESS

The determination of Days of Supply, the measure of how long stocks and projected stock will cover demand, is predicated on the establishment and allocation of inventories to specific customers or suppliers, following an existing order or call-off (Build-to-Order). This standard must not be applied in situations where inventory is built up without a specific allocation to a customer or supplier (Build-to-Stock).

This information pertains to planning periods of about 1 to 4 weeks. This approach ensures a comprehensive view that supports short-term operational planning without excluding considerations for future supply projections. Thus, this standard facilitates a balanced perspective that includes immediate availability as well as anticipated supply levels.

Consequently, neither long-term planning nor strategic planning is included in its scope.

We distinguish exactly two scenarios:

  1. On one hand, the exchange of information from supplier to customer and,
  2. on the other hand, from customer to supplier.

In both scenarios, information must not be shared horizontally under any circumstances. This means that the Days of Supply in relation to other customers or suppliers must not be shared.

The data exchange among C-X participants refers to the direct business relationship between them. In the case of consignation, the warehouse is identified through the actual location - the customer/supplier site. In this instance, the allocated stock is not considered as taken and, according to our definition, not delivered (has not yet been shipped)

5.2 DAYS OF SUPPLY PROVISIONING WITHIN SINGLE SOURCING AND SINGLE CUSTOMER SCENARIOS

5.2.1 ACTORS AND ROLES

The following actors and roles occur in the described processes. The common definitions are found in Chapter 1.5. This section describes respective scenarios.

ActorsRoleDescription
CustomerThe customer acts as the data consumer and provider in this standard.A business partner that procures items from its supplier and processes inquiries about its Days of Supply metrics related to the allocated stock/inventories. The customer shares information regarding its own Days of Supply in the context of the designated supplier.
SupplierThe supplier acts as the data consumer and provider in this standard.A business partner that supplies items to a customer and requests information on the Days of Supply for allocated stock/inventories. The supplier shares details about the Days of Supply for items already produced for the customer, irrespective of the location of these stock/inventories.

Table 11: Actors and roles 1

5.2.2 PROCESS REPRESENTATION

The exchange of information regarding Days of Supply occurs in both directions between the customer and the supplier, meaning, information is shared from the customer to the supplier and vice versa. The following example demonstrates how the object Days of Supply indicates the duration for which the projected stock of a period would be sufficient to meet the demands of subsequent periods, assuming no additional receipts occur during these periods. Thus, the exchange of Days of Supply information early on reveals potential issues, allowing the customer to adjust its production planning accordingly.

Note: The Days of Supply information for both supplier and customer always refers to the value at the end of the business day. The supplier's production output, determined at the end of the business day, influences the Days of Supply for deliveries and the build up of stock for the following day.

Recommended procedure in case of single sourcing with information about Days of Supply from customer to supplier and vice versa

Customers' Days of Supply

This option provides a day-by-day forecast of the Days of Supply, incorporating the concept of dynamically adjusting the planned stock against future demands in order to anticipate material shortages. As the following table shows, in the customers' Days of Supply view, the stock decreases through internal demand and increases through incoming deliveries.

Note: In this example the calculations are as follows:

Customers' Days of SupplyKey FiguresDay 0Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6
Production ends at 23:59:57Demand406050506050
Deliveries arrive at 23:59:58Delivery (incoming)0601000040
Stock Stand at 23:59:59Projected Item Stock1006060110600-10
Days of Supply2.001.001.202.001.000.80

Table 12: Single sourcing customer example

It is assumed that the customer has an initial inventory of 100 items in the warehouse, which are relevant for the calculation of customers' Days of Supply for the following day(s). On day 1, a demand of 40 items is fully met by the existing inventory, leaving 60 items. This remaining stock is exactly enough to satisfy the demand on day 2 of 60 items (Demand day 1: 40 + Demand day 2: 60), resulting in a Days of Supply of 2.00 days.

Days of Supply on Day 1

On Day 1, due to no further deliveries, the projected item stock is insufficient to meet the outgoing demand expected on day 3. As a result, the Days of Supply, calculated based on the inventory at the end of day 1, is 1.00 day.

Days of Supply on Day 2

On day 1, 60 remained in stock. These are enough to meet the demand of 60 on day 2. With the addition of new planned receipts/stocks of 60 items on day 2, the Projected Item Stock at the end of the day remains at 60. This is sufficient to completely cover the demand for the third day (50). The remaining 10 are sufficient to cover 20 percent (10/50 = 0.2) of the demand of 50 on Day 4. The Days of Supply on day 2 is 1.20 days.

Days of Supply on Day 3

At the end of Day 3, the Projected Item Stock is 110. This is sufficient for day 4 (Demand day 4: 50 + Demand day 5: 60). The Days of Supply is therefore 2.00 on the third day.

Days of Supply on Day 4

At the end of day 4, the Projected Item Stock is 60. No further deliveries are expected/No deliveries of goods have arrived. Thus, the Days of Supply on day 4 is 1.00.

Days of Supply on Day 5

At the end of day 5, the Projected Item Stock is 0. The demand on day 5 (60) was met by the previous day's Projected Item Stock (60). Thus, the Days of Supply on day 5 is 0.80

Days of Supply on Day 6

At the end of day 6, the Projected Item Stock is 0, and therefore cannot cover any demands in the subsequent periods.

Suppliers' Days of Supply

This option provides a day-by-day forecast of the Days of Supply, incorporating the concept of dynamically adjusting the planned stock against future demands in order to anticipate material shortages. As the following table shows, in the suppliers' Days of Supply view, the stock decreases through outgoing deliveries and increases through internal production.

Note: In this example the calculations are as follows:

Suppliers' Days of SupplyKey FiguresDay 0Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6
Shipment ends at 23:59:57Delivery (outgoing)406050506050
Internal Production at 23:59:58Production Output0601000040
Stock Stand at 23:59:59Projected Item Stock1006060110600-10
Days of Supply2.001.001.202.001.000.80

Table 13: Single sourcing supplier example

It is assumed that the supplier has an initial inventory of 100 items in the warehouse, which are relevant for the calculation of suppliers' Days of Supply for the following day(s). On day 1, a delivery (outgoing) of 40 items is fully met by the existing inventory, leaving 60 items. This remaining stock is exactly enough to satisfy the delivery (outgoing) on day 2 of 60 items (Delivery (outgoing) day 1: 40 + Delivery (outgoing) day 2: 60), resulting in a Days of Supply of 2.00 days.

Day 1

On Day 1, due to no production output, the projected item stock is insufficient to meet the delivery (outgoing) expected on day 3. As a result, the Days of Supply, calculated based on the inventory at the end of day 1, is 1.00 day.

Day 2

On day 1, 60 remained in stock. These are enough to meet the delivery (outgoing) of 60 on day 2. With the addition of new planned receipts/stocks of 60 items on day 2, the Projected Item Stock at the end of the day remains at 60. This is sufficient to completely cover the delivery (outgoing) for the third day (50). The remaining 10 are sufficient to cover 20 percent (10/50 = 0.2) of the delivery (outgoing) of 50 on Day 4. The Days of Supply on day 2 is 1.20 days.

Day 3

At the end of Day 3, the Projected Item Stock is 110. This is sufficient for day 4 (Delivery (outgoing) day 4: 50 + Delivery (outgoing) day 5: 60). The Days of Supply is therefore 2.00 on the third day.

Day 4

At the end of day 4, the Projected Item Stock is 60. No further production output is expected/There is no production output. Thus, the Days of Supply on day 4 is 1.00.

Day 5

At the end of day 5, the Projected Item Stock is 0. The delivery on day 5 (60) was met by the previous day's Projected Item Stock (60). Thus, the Days of Supply on day 5 is 0.80

Day 6

At the end of day 6, the Projected Item Stock is 0, and therefore cannot cover any delivery (outgoing) in the subsequent periods.

Important Note:

  • For more information on how to calculate the allocated Item Stock please see below in the Annex.

5.3 DAYS OF SUPPLY MANAGEMENT WITHIN MULTI-SOURCING SCENARIOS

5.3.1 ACTORS AND ROLES

The following actors and roles occur in the described processes. The common definitions are found inChapter 1.5. This section describes respective scenarios.

ActorsRoleDescription
CustomerThe customer acts as the data provider in this standard.A business partner that procures items from its supplier and provides information about its own Days of Supply in relation to the assigned supplier.
Supplier AThe supplier A acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that supplies items to a customer and requests information on the Days of Supply for allocated stock/items from the customer. Regardless of the warehouse in which the inventory is held. Supplier A has no knowledge of the business relationship between the customer and Supplier B.
Supplier BThe supplier B acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that supplies items to a customer and requests information on the Days of Supply for allocated stock/items from the customer. Regardless of the site in which the inventory is located. Supplier B has no knowledge of the business relationship between the customer and Supplier A.

Table 14: Actors and roles 2

5.3.2 PROCESS REPRESENTATION

Note: Multi-sourcing: In this case one customer has more than one supplier for one item. Customer MUST make sure that allocated Days of Supply based on Allocated Item Stock are sent to the particular supplier and MUST avoid horizontal exchange of competitive sensible information. On how to calculate Allocated Item Stock please see the Annex 1. Once the allocated item stock is calculated, the Days of Supply allocation is calculated using the process described in Chapter 5.2.2.

5.4 DAYS OF SUPPLY MANAGEMENT WITHIN MULTI-CUSTOMER SCENARIO

5.4.1 ACTORS AND ROLES

The following actors and roles occur in the described processes. The common definitions are found in Chapter 1.5. This section describes respective scenarios.

ActorsRoleDescription
Customer AThe customer acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that procures items from its supplier and requests information about the supplier's allocated item stock information.
Customer BThe customer acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that procures items from its supplier and requests information about the supplier's allocated item stock information.
SupplierThe supplier acts as the data provider in this standard.A business partner that supplies items to more than one customer. It provides the item stock already produced for the customer. Regardless of the site in which the item stock is located.

Table 15: Actors and roles 3

5.4.2 PROCESS REPRESENTATION

Note: Multi-customer: In this case one supplier delivers the same item to more than one customer. Supplier MUST make sure that allocated DoS based on allocated Item Stock are sent to the particular customer and MUST avoid horizontal exchange of competitive sensible information. On how to calculate Allocated Item Stock please see the Annex 2. Once the allocated item stock is calculated, the Days of Supply allocation is calculated using the process described in Chapter 5.2.2.

5.5 DAYS OF SUPPLY USE OF ASSIGNMENT TO SITES AND ADDRESSES

5.5.1 ACTORS AND ROLES

The following actors and roles occur in the described processes. The common definitions are found in Chapter 1.5. This section describes respective scenarios.

ActorsRoleDescription
CustomerThe customer acts as the data consumer and provider in this standard.Is a business partner that procures items from its supplier and requests information about its allocated Days of Supply. The customer provides information about its own Days of Supply in relation to the assigned supplier.
SupplierThe supplier acts as the data consumer and provider in this standard.Is a business partner that supplies items to a customer. It requests information on the Days of Supply for allocated stock/items from the customer and provides information on the Days of Supply for items already produced for the customer. Regardless of the site in which the inventory is located.

Table 16: Actors and roles 4

5.5.2 PROCESS REPRESENTATION

The distinction between customer and supplier locations must be made via the unique breakdown to BPNS and BPNA. This means that a legal entity can have several sites and addresses with its BPNL and these are mapped via the BPNS and BPNA. This distinction is used because a location is always assigned to the customer and supplier via the site with its BPNS. However, a site can have several addresses, e.g. for delivery. Furthermore, additional addresses can belong to a site via consignation and external warehouses. It is therefore also possible that, for example, the customer address is the same as the address of the external warehouse which is assigned to the supplier. In addition, the delivery information may also be enriched in this way, because a delivery time results from the respective location with its address.

6 REFERENCES

6.1 NORMATIVE REFERENCES

NumberStandardVersion
[CX-0001]EDC Discovery API1.0.2
[CX-0002]Digital Twins in Catena-X2.2.0
[CX-0003]SAMM Aspect Meta Model1.1.0
[CX-0006]Registration and initial onboarding2.0.0
[CX-0010]Business Partner Number (BPN)2.0.0
[CX-0018]Dataspace Connectivity3.0.0
[CX-0053]Discovery Finder and BPN Discovery Service APIs1.1.0
[CX-0118]Delivery Information Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0120]Short-term Material Demand Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0121]Planned Production Output Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0122]Item Stock Exchange2.0.0
[CX-0126]Industry Core Part Type2.0.0
[CX-0128]Demand and Capacity Management2.0.0
[CX-0146]Supply Chain Disruption Notifications1.0.0

6.2 NON-NORMATIVE REFERENCES

This section is non-normative

ContextLink
[CX-OMW]Catena-X Operating Model Whitepaper. Download from: Operating Model v2.pdf
[CX-ODRL]Catena-X ODRL Profile repository: https://github.com/catenax-eV/cx-odrl-profile
[RFC2119]Bradner, S. Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels. Available online: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2119
[RFC8174]Leiba, B. Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words. Available online: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8174
[SMT]How to create a submodel template specification. Guideline. Download from: https://industrialdigitaltwin.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/I40-IDTA-WS-Process-How-to-write-a-SMT-FINAL-.pdf
[IDTA-01002-3-0]Specification of the Asset Administration Shell Part 2: Application Programming Interfaces. Download from: https://industrialdigitaltwin.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IDTA-01002-3-0_SpecificationAssetAdministrationShell_Part2_API.pdf

6.3 REFERENCE IMPLEMENTATIONS

This section is non-normative

Not applicable.

ANNEXES

Multi-Sourcing and Multi-Customer scenarios for Allocated Item Stock

Here are some examples on how to calculate allocated item stock in the multi-sourcing and multi-customer scenarios:

1 ITEM STOCK PROVISIONING WITHIN MULTI-SOURCING SCENARIOS

1.1 ACTORS AND ROLES

The following actors and roles occur in the described processes. The common definitions are found in Chapter 1.5. This section describes respective scenarios.

ActorsRoleDescription
CustomerThe customer acts as the data provider in this standard.A business partner that procures items from its supplier and provides information about its own stock in relation to the assigned supplier.
Supplier AThe supplier A acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that supplies items to a customer and requests the allocated Item Stock from the customer. Regardless of the warehouse in which the Item Stock is located. Supplier A has no knowledge of the business relationship between the customer and Supplier B.
Supplier BThe supplier B acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that supplies items to a customer and requests the allocated Item Stock from the customer. Regardless of the site in which the Item Stock is located. Supplier B has no knowledge of the business relationship between the customer and Supplier A.

Table A1.1: Actors and roles 2

1.2 PROCESS REPRESENTATION

Multi-sourcing is a common scenario in the field. Suppliers usually supply several customers with the same material. And customers purchase the same material from different suppliers. Because of that, in the case of multi-sourcing, when there is no possibility of differentiating the items received from different suppliers (i.e. by using different item numbers for each supplier), the customer must be aware that competition sensitive information from one supplier must not be shared with other suppliers. After evaluating different alternatives, the following procedure is the one recommended from the item stock standardization team and legal advisors to all users in order to ensure a compliant exchange of information from customer to suppliers in the case of multi-sourcing.

In this example, the shortage situation occurs at supplier B on days 5 and 6 and at supplier A on days 8 and 9. To alleviate the shortage, a larger quantity is requested from supplier A on day 5 and from supplier B on day 9. This ensures that the bottleneck situation has no effect on the customer's production.

Recommended procedure in case of multi-sourcing with information exchange from customer to supplier: quoting consumption, keeping track of deliveries

Note 1: in this example Item Stock A and Item Stock B make reference to the Item stock at the customer's site that is allocated respectively to supplier A and B.

Note 2: in this example the calculations are as follows (example on Supplier A, also applies to Supplier B):

Item Stock A (day n) = Item Stock A (day n-1) + Delivery A (day n) - Allocated consumption A (day n);

if Stock B (day n) ≤ 0 then Allocated consumption A (day n new) = Allocated consumption A (day n old)+ |Stock B (day n)|

and Stock B (day n new)= 0

Note 3: This quote is only necessary in case keeping track of the parts supplied by different suppliers is not possible (i.e. by using different item numbers for each supplier):

Table A1.2: Multi-source customer example Table A1.2: Multi-source customer example

Note: In this standard, only current/actually Item Stock quantities are transmitted.

This procedure (quoting consumption, keeping track of deliveries) takes in consideration the following aspects:

  • The customer may share with the supplier A the following information on a daily basis:

    • Information on the volumes called off by the customer but only in relation to the specific supplier ("Allocated call-off A")
    • the supply volumes delivered in response to this call off ("Delivery A") (covered by the standard [CX-0118])
    • the consumption allocated to the supplier's products ("Allocated consumption A") (covered by the standard [CX-0120])
    • the actual Item Stock at the customer ("Item Stock A"), (covered in this standard)
  • The customer must not share the following information with the supplier and the supplier must not otherwise be able to derive this information from the information available to it:

    • Capacity data of other suppliers,
    • the overall volumes called off by the customers ("Call off customer TOTAL"),
    • information on the volumes called off by the customer in relation to another supplier ("Allocated call off B"),
    • the supply volumes delivered by another supplier ("Delivery B"),
    • the overall consumption delivered by all suppliers ("Consumption customer TOTAL"),
    • the consumption allocated to another supplier ("Allocated consumption B"),
    • the customer's total Item Stock("Item stock customer TOTAL"), (covered in this standard)
    • the Item Stock from another supplier at the customer ("Item Stock B"). (covered in this standard)

Note: For Supplier B, the same procedure applies in reverse.

2 ITEM STOCK PROVISIONING WITHIN MULTI-CUSTOMER SCENARIO

2.1 ACTORS AND ROLES

The following actors and roles occur in the described processes. The common definitions are found in Chapter 1.5. This section describes respective scenarios.

ActorsRoleDescription
Customer AThe customer acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that procures items from its supplier and requests information about the supplier's allocated Item Stock information.
Customer BThe customer acts as the data consumer in this standard.A business partner that procures items from its supplier and requests information about the supplier's allocated Item Stock information.
SupplierThe supplier acts as the data provider in this standard.A business partner that supplies items to more than one customer. It provides the Item Stock already produced for the customer. Regardless of the site in which the Item Stock is located.

Table A2.1: Actors and roles 3

2.2 PROCESS REPRESENTATION

In this scenario, two customers procure the same item from one supplier. In addition to the Item Stock, the call-offs and the actual delivery quantity are displayed once for each day. There is a distribution of the supplier's total production output in a ratio of 1:3, i.e. each customer receives 1/3 of the planned production quantity and 1/3 is left in the supplier's warehouse. The information transmitted must be separated for each customer. The information must not be shared horizontally under any circumstances. This means that the Item Stock in relation to other customers must not be shared. On day 5 and 6, a complete production downtime occurs at the supplier. The supplier now supplies its customers from its own stock and transmits the Item Stock information in the corresponding ratio. From day 7, production continues as planned.

Recommended procedure in case of multi customer with single sourcing

Table A2.2: Single supplier to multi customer example Table A2.2: Single supplier to multi customer example

A suitable measure must be found for the allocation and provision of information. We recommend the use of the ratio or the quoting of the call-off.

Note: In this standard, only current/actual Item Stock quantities are transmitted.

This procedure takes in consideration the following aspects:

  • The customer may share with the supplier the following information on a daily basis:

    • Information on the volumes called off by the customer
    • the supply volumes delivered in response to this call-off (covered by the standard [CX-0118])
    • the consumption allocated to the supplier's products (covered by the standard [CX-0120])
    • the actual Item Stock of its products at the customer's site (covered in this standard)
  • The supplier may share with the customers the following information on a daily basis:

    • the supply volumes delivered in response to the customer's call off (covered by the standard [CX-0118])
    • the production output allocated to the customer's material or products (covered by the standard [CX-0121])
    • the actual Item Stock of its material or products at the supplier site (covered in this standard)
  • The supplier must not share the following information with the customer and the customer must not otherwise be able to derive this information from the information available to it:

    • Capacity and delivery data of other customer,
    • the overall volumes called off by the customers,
    • the supply volumes delivered to another customer,
    • the supplier's total Item Stock (covered in this standard),
    • the supplier Item Stock allocated for another customer (covered in this standard)

REFERENCES

Number / ReferenceStandard / Context
Chapter 5.2.2 / Calculation Days of SupplyInformation on SAP's Calculation of Days of Supply https://help.sap.com/saphelp_snc70/helpdata/en/c8/96cb530898214be10000000a174cb4/content.htm

Copyright © 2024 Catena-X Automotive Network e.V. All rights reserved. For more information, please visit here.