Manufacturing-Cloud-Professional Manufacturing Cloud Accredited Professional (AP-213) Questions and Answers

 The error “System.CalloutException: Unauthorized endpoint” indicates that the external endpoint is not whitelisted in Salesforce. To allow Apex callouts to access an external endpoint, the administrator or the developer must register the URL in Remote Site Settings. This is a security feature that prevents unauthorized access to external resources from Apex code. Creating a connected app for the external system or ensuring that the integration user has the necessary permissions to perform the callout are not sufficient to fix this error, as they do not address the issue of whitelisting the endpoint12. References: Apex Developer Guide: Making HTTP Callouts, Apex Developer Guide: Remote Site Settings

 You can recalculate payouts for closed periods in two situations: when the member benefits change due to changed requirements, or when the member submits transactions after the payout period is closed, or there is an error in the payout calculation. In both cases, you need to modify the payout records and run the rebate flow again to recalculate the payouts. The first method is to recalculate payouts due to changed benefits, which means that the benefit structure and terms have changed after the payout was calculated for a period. The second method is to recalculate payouts with no charge in benefits, which means that the benefit structure and terms have not changed, but the transactions or the payout calculation have changed. References: Recalculate Payouts for Closed Periods, Rebate Management

When an administrator changes the team member hierarchy type for account manager targets, the existing targets are affected by this change. The status of all existing targets becomes read-only, which means that they cannot be edited or deleted. This is to prevent any inconsistency or data loss due to the change in hierarchy. The new hierarchy type will apply only to the new targets that are created after the change. References: Choose Team Member Hierarchy for Account Manager Targets

 A sales agreement can be renewed only when it is in the renewal period, which is defined by the number of days before the end date of the agreement. A sales agreement that is expired or approved can be renewed if it is within the renewal period. However, a sales agreement that is activated cannot be renewed, because it means that the agreement is currently active and has not reached its end date or renewal period. References: Define Renewal Period for Sales Agreements, Renew a Sales Agreement.

The renewal days for sales agreement is a setting that defines the number of days before the end date of a sales agreement to mark the beginning of the renewal period. Users can renew a sales agreement only when the renewal period starts. This helps to plan ahead and negotiate better terms for the next sales agreement1. References: 1: Define Renewal Period for Sales Agreements | Salesforce Help2

To forecast at the product hierarchy level, the system administrator needs to create a flow that modifies the Advanced Account Forecasting to include the product category as a custom dimension. The product category is a field on the product object that defines the hierarchy of products. By adding the product category as a custom dimension, the system administrator can enable the regional sales manager to view and adjust forecasts based on different product categories. The flow should use the Data Processing Engine to aggregate data from orders, opportunities, sales agreements, and other custom objects by product category, and then use the Calculate Advanced Account Forecast and Update Advanced Account Forecast Set Partner invocable actions to generate the forecasts. The flow should also assign the appropriate forecast set to the regional sales manager based on their role and region. References: Create Holistic Forecasts with Advanced Account Forecasting, Example: Generate Forecasts Across Multiple Regions with Advanced Account Forecasting, Calculate Account Forecasts Using Flows

According to the Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud documentation, you can use the Formula Builder on the Account Forecasting page in Setup to create formulas for forecast calculations. You can define your own formulas for quantity and revenue based on sales agreements, orders, opportunities, and account metrics. You can create either a single formula for all periods, or multiple formulas for different period ranges. If the forecast display period is 12 months, you can create up to 12 formulas. However, if you want to calculate an account based forecast for the next 13 months, you need to create separate formulas for periods 1-12 and period 13, because the Formula Builder does not support more than 12 periods in a single formula. This way, you can ensure that the forecast calculations are accurate and consistent for each month. References: Build Formulas to Calculate Forecast, Configure Forecast Metrics and Formulas

The start period is the number of periods before or after the current period that the forecast generation starts from1.

To generate forecasts from a future period, a positive start period offset is required2.

Since the current period is Feb 2024 and the organization wants to start forecasting from Jan 2024, the start period offset is 2 (Jan 2024 is two periods before Feb 2024).

The other options are incorrect because they do not match the desired start period for the organization.

Configure Account Forecasts - Salesforce

Considerations for Advanced Account Forecasting - Salesforce

On the Forecast settings page within Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud, actions such as updating the forecast start period, forecast adjustment period, and forecast formula will trigger the regeneration of all the eligible accounts that meet the forecast generation criteria. These updates necessitate a re-evaluation of forecast data to ensure that the forecasts remain accurate and reflective of the latest business conditions and settings. This regeneration process is integral to maintaining the integrity and relevance of forecast data, facilitating effective planning and decision-making based on the most current information .

The best way to reassure the client that the data has been accurately calculated is to launch the calculations of the Advanced Account Forecast and compare the values with the legacy system. This will ensure that the forecast metrics, such as planned revenue, actual revenue, forecast quantity, and forecast revenue, are consistent and correct. The administrator can use the Data Processing Engine templates to configure the calculations and run them manually or on a schedule1. The administrator can also view the forecast results in the Accounts Health dashboard or the Account Forecast tab2. Using Data Loader to generate a .csv file and manually compare it to import files is not a reliable method, as it may introduce errors or inconsistencies in the data format or values. Requesting the users to verify the Advanced Account Forecast values of their accounts is not a feasible method, as it may be time-consuming, impractical, or inaccurate, depending on the number and complexity of the accounts. References: Learn How Forecast Data Is Created, View and Adjust Forecasts

 A sales agreement is a long-term agreement between a buyer and a seller to negotiate price and volume of products. To create a sales agreement in Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud, you need to have an account object that represents the buyer. The account object stores the information about the customer, such as name, address, contact, industry, and so on. You can also associate a contact object with the account to specify the person who is responsible for the sales agreement. Other objects that are related to the sales agreement are sales agreement product, sales agreement product schedule, sales agreement line item, and sales agreement forecast. References: SalesAgreement | Manufacturing Cloud Developer Guide | Salesforce Developers, Sales Agreements and Forecasting in Manufacturing Cloud | Salesforce Module, Convert Opportunity to Sales Agreements in Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud

The account manager looking to analyze business performance across various units and create a sales forecast based on customer accounts, products, and business units should use Advanced Account Forecasting. This solution generates baseline 360-degree forecasts considering opportunities, orders, sales agreements, historical orders, and other custom measures, providing a holistic view of business aspects .

The detailed technical design document is a document that describes the technical specifications and architecture of a solution. It is based on the functional and nonfunctional requirements that are captured in the business requirement document1. Therefore, the detailed technical design document should be completed after the business requirement document has been generated, and before the development and testing phases of the project. This ensures that the technical design aligns with the business needs and expectations, and provides a clear roadmap for the implementation team2. References: 1: Get Started with the Technical Project Documentation3, 2: Documentation and Implementation Diagrams1

 Data Processing Engine (DPE) Templates are used to customize the data model and calculations for account-based forecasting in Manufacturing Cloud. DPE Templates allow users to define the dimensions, metrics, and formulas for their forecasts based on their business needs. In this case, UC needs to customize the DPE Template to include the product category as a dimension, and the ordered quantity, revenue, shipped quantity, and revenue as metrics. UC also needs to specify the custom fiscal year and the weekly forecast frequency in the DPE Template. The other options are not relevant for this requirement. Sales Agreement Metrics are used to track the performance of sales agreements, not forecasts. Advanced Account Forecast Fact object is a standard object that stores the forecast data, not a customization option. References: Customize Data Processing Engine (DPE) Templates, Account-Based Forecasting in Manufacturing Cloud

The Advanced Account Forecast object is used to track the expected and actual order values for each account and product family. It allows field reps to compare the forecasted and actual order values for each account and product family, and update them as needed. The Advanced Account Forecast object also enables field reps to collaborate with their distributors and align on the sales agreements, orders, and brand-promotion campaigns12. References: Meet Manufacturing Cloud, Strengthen Relationships with Partners

 The Minimum Inventory field on the Sales Agreement Product Schedule object is used to store the minimum inventory quantity required for each product in a sales agreement. To make this field visible and editable on the Forecast grid, UC needs to add a custom Minimum Inventory field to the Sales Agreement Product object, which is the parent object of the Sales Agreement Product Schedule object. Then, UC needs to map the two fields using the Field Mapping tool in the Sales Agreement setup. This will ensure that the values entered in the Forecast grid are synced with the values in the Sales Agreement Product Schedule object. Finally, UC needs to add the Minimum Inventory field to the list of available metrics in the Sales Agreement setup. This will allow users to select the Minimum Inventory metric from the dropdown menu on the Forecast grid and see the values for each product and time period. References: Sales Agreement Product Schedule, Sales Agreement Product, Field Mapping, Forecast Grid

A System Integration Testing (SIT) environment is used as an environment to perform system-to-system testing. This means that the SIT environment is used to test the integration of different systems or components that are part of the Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud solution. The SIT environment allows the verification of the functionality, performance, and reliability of the integrated systems, as well as the identification and resolution of any defects or issues that may arise during the integration process. The SIT environment is typically a replica of the production environment, but with a smaller data set and lower security requirements. The SIT environment is also used to validate the data migration and synchronization between the source and target systems, as well as the compatibility and interoperability of the APIs and web services that are used for the integration. References:

Manufacturing Cloud - Salesforce

How to Perform Automated Integration Testing in Salesforce

Automate and Test During Integration

Program Based Business is a feature of Manufacturing Cloud that allows manufacturers to track and manage the demand from their end customers (such as phone brands) and compare it with the actual orders from their channel partners (such as distributors or contract manufacturers). This feature helps manufacturers to plan for future opportunities, optimize their inventory and production, and increase their market share. Program Based Business enables manufacturers to:

Create programs that represent the end customer demand for a specific product or product family over a period of time.

Associate sales agreements and orders with programs to track the actual performance against the program demand.

Use program analytics to monitor the program health, identify gaps and risks, and take corrective actions.

Use program forecasts to generate account forecasts based on the program demand and actuals. References: Program Based Business Overview, Create a Program, Associate Sales Agreements and Orders with Programs, Use Program Analytics, Use Program Forecasts.

 The admin at badger power can set up an eligibility criteria for this rebate type with activity Date >= Jan1 and <= Jan31. This option allows the admin to specify the date range for which the rebate type applies to the transactions. The other options are either not possible or not sufficient to achieve the desired result. For example, setting up a new rebate program with a single payout period for Jan does not ensure that the rebate type is valid only for transactions completed in January. Setting the rebate type to active on Jan1 and inactive on Jan31 does not prevent the rebate type from being applied to transactions that occurred before or after January. Using the effective date on rebate type does not specify the end date for the rebate type validity. References: Eligible and Applied Rebate Types on a Transactional Object, Common Rebate Types

Manufacturing Cloud is a solution that enables manufacturers to align their sales and operations teams, improve account-based forecasting, and drive business outcomes. One of the main challenges that Manufacturing Cloud addresses is the volatility of the manufacturing industry, which makes it difficult to plan and execute production and distribution efficiently. By gaining visibility into the entire value chain, manufacturers can improve their forecast accuracy, collaborate with their stakeholders, and respond to changing customer needs and market conditions. References: What Is Manufacturing Cloud?, Inside Salesforce’s New Trends in Manufacturing Report

 Rebate Management allows businesses to create and manage rebate programs that reward their partners for meeting sales targets. A rebate program consists of a rebate type, which defines the incentive structure, and a rebate agreement, which specifies the eligible partners and products. A rebate type benefit is a component of a rebate type that defines the thresholds of an incentive and how payouts are scaled for varying quantities and amounts. A benefit tier is a subcomponent of a rebate type benefit that specifies a range of sales targets and applicable benefit values. The minimum and maximum range values of a benefit tier must be positive integers and must not overlap with other benefit tiers in the same benefit. Therefore, the sequence of 0 to 100 is valid, while the other sequences are not. References: Rebate Management, Create and Manage Rebate Programs, Rebate Management Workflow

 To collaborate with channel partners in Manufacturing Cloud, it is recommended to use external apps and Experience Cloud. External apps are applications that run outside of Salesforce but can integrate with Salesforce data and functionality. They can provide custom solutions for specific business needs and extend the capabilities of Manufacturing Cloud. For example, external apps can enable partners to access inventory levels, order status, product catalogs, and pricing information from Salesforce. Experience Cloud, formerly known as Community Cloud, is a platform that allows you to create branded digital experiences for your customers, partners, and employees. It can help you engage with your channel partners and provide them with self-service tools, collaboration features, and personalized content. For example, Experience Cloud can enable partners to view and update sales agreements, account forecasts, rebates, and targets from Salesforce. It can also help you train and onboard your partners, monitor their performance, and reward them for their achievements. References: Engage with Your Partners, Re-Imagining Partner Relationships with Manufacturing Cloud, Manufacturing Cloud

To load data into Manufacturing Cloud, you need to follow a specific order of operations to ensure data integrity and avoid errors1.

The order of operations is based on the dependencies and relationships between the objects in Manufacturing Cloud1.

The recommended order of operations is as follows1:

Load Accounts, Contacts, and Products first, as they are the base objects that other objects depend on.

Load Sales Agreements next, as they reference Accounts, Contacts, and Products, and are used to track run-rate or long-term negotiated business.

Load Orders last, as they reference Sales Agreements, Accounts, Contacts, and Products, and are used to track actual business transactions.

The other options are incorrect because they do not follow the recommended order of operations and may cause data integrity issues or errors.

Load Data into Manufacturing Cloud - Salesforce

n: A stepped calculation method calculates a benefit structure based on the quantity of units sold within a specified range. For example, if you sell 150 units, and the first 100 units earn $0 per unit and the next 50 units earn $10 per unit, the total benefit is $500. This is different from the other calculation methods, which are:

Specified: Calculates a benefit structure based on a fixed amount or percentage for each unit sold.

Elapsed: Calculates a benefit structure based on the time elapsed since the start of the sales agreement.

Aggregate: Calculates a benefit structure based on the total quantity of units sold across all products in the sales agreement. References: What Is Manufacturing Cloud?, [Create a Benefit Structure for Sales Agreements]

According to the Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud documentation, to apply a rebate program to more than one account, you need to add each account to the members related list on the rebate program. This way, you can enroll multiple accounts as members of the same rebate program and track their transactions and payouts. You can add one account at a time, or use an existing Accounts list view to enroll multiple members. You can also enroll an account in multiple rebate programs if needed1. References: 1: Enroll Members to a Rebate Program

Account Manager Targets is a feature in Manufacturing Cloud that allows businesses to set and track sales goals for their account managers based on product volume, revenue, or any other custom measure. Account managers can create, assign, and edit targets for their team members and monitor their performance against the targets. When a target is changed in Account Manager Targets, the change is not reflected immediately in the assignment values of the team members. To see the updated assignment values, you must perform the Refresh Assignments action on the Assignments tab of the target record. This action recalculates the assignment values based on the new target value and distributes the target among the team members according to the assignment rules. The other actions are not valid for Account Manager Targets. References: Account Manager Targets in Manufacturing Cloud, Learn About Account Manager Targets, Enable Account Manager Targets, Assign an Account Manager Target

According to the Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud documentation, to create a new custom metric on the Account product period forecast component, you need to create a custom field on the Account Product Period Forecast object and another custom field on the Account Product Forecast object. Then, you need to map both of these fields in the Account Forecast setting page. This will allow you to add the custom metric to the Forecast tab of an account and track it along with the standard metrics1. References: 1: Create Custom Fields for Account Product Forecast and Account Product Period Forecast Objects

To maintain data integrity in Manufacturing Cloud, the administrator should limit the mass update capability for Sales Agreements to only System Administrators. This will prevent accidental or malicious changes to the Sales Agreement data by other users. To do this, the administrator can clone the standard Manufacturing Sales Agreements permission set, which grants access to the Sales Agreement object and related fields. Then, the administrator can deselect the mass update for Sales Agreements permission in the cloned permission set, and assign it to all non-System Administrator users. This way, only System Administrators can perform mass updates on Sales Agreements, while other users can still view and edit individual records. References: Sales Agreement Permissions, Mass Update Sales Agreements

Validating the functionality against business process flows is a key step in the implementation or system update of Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud. It helps to ensure that the system meets the business requirements and expectations of the stakeholders, and that it can handle the various scenarios and use cases that may arise in the manufacturing industry. By validating the functionality, you can also identify and resolve any issues or gaps that may affect the system performance, usability, or security. Additionally, validating the functionality can help you to document and communicate the system changes and benefits to the end users and other parties involved in the project. References: Implementation Guide, System Updates

To ensure data consistency following the migration of sales agreements, the administrator should verify the migration file and compare randomly selected lines with the legacy system. This method allows for a focused and manageable approach to validating the accuracy of the migrated data, ensuring that no data was lost or incorrectly migrated during the process. It's a practical approach that balances thoroughness with efficiency, particularly when dealing with large datasets.

Manufacturing Cloud supports two types of Experience Clouds: Customer and Partner. Experience Cloud is a digital experience platform that enables you to create secure websites, portals, and apps with connected data. Customer Experience Cloud allows you to build self-service portals, help centers, and storefronts for your customers, where they can access their account information, order products, manage cases, and more. Partner Experience Cloud allows you to build partner portals, channel management solutions, and microsites for your partners, where they can collaborate with you, manage leads and opportunities, access marketing campaigns, and more. Manufacturing Cloud also provides a standard Manufacturing Experience Cloud Template that includes two key functionalities: Sales Agreements and Account Based Forecasts. References: Experience Cloud | Salesforce DXP, What Is Experience Cloud?, Manufacturing Experience Cloud Template.

https://www.salesforce.com/products/manufacturing-cloud/overview/

Actuals are the quantities of products that have been fulfilled or shipped to the customer as part of a sales agreement1. Manufacturing Cloud calculates actuals based on orders that are associated with a sales agreement2. For an order to be included in the actuals calculation process, the following three conditions need to be fulfilled23:

The order needs to have Status = Activated. Only activated orders are considered for actuals calculation. Draft orders are not included.

The date in the Order Date field should be in the past. Only orders with a start date that is on or before the current date are considered for actuals calculation. Future orders are not included.

The Sales Agreement field needs to be populated on the order. Only orders that have a reference to a sales agreement record are considered for actuals calculation. Orders that are not linked to a sales agreement are not included.

https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.sa_admin_actualscalc_task.htm &language=en_us&type=5

To export Account Based Forecast data, the user needs to add the fields that capture the forecasting quantity data, including any sales team adjustments. The ‘Adjusted Forecast Quantity’ field shows the forecast quantity after applying the adjustment percentage for each account product forecast. The ‘Total Adjusted Forecasted Quantity’ field shows the sum of the adjusted forecast quantity for all the account product forecasts in the same account forecast1. These fields are available in the standard report type of ‘Account Forecasts with Product Period Forecast’, so there is no need to create a custom report type. References: What Is Manufacturing Cloud?, Create Holistic Forecasts with Advanced Account Forecasting

The correct approach for importing order data into Manufacturing Cloud involves providing the client with a comprehensive data template file that reflects the data mapping, including the identification of related records such as accounts and sales agreements. It is also crucial to disable any irrelevant automations or rules that might interfere with the data import process. This ensures a smooth transition and accurate reflection of order data within the Manufacturing Cloud environment