4 Data Requirements
This section describes the data Quiver typically needs from customer source systems for a custom planning integration.
The exact field names do not need to match the names below. During implementation, Quiver maps customer-provided fields to the canonical data model used by the Quiver platform.
Each concept should either be available from the customer source systems or explicitly marked as unavailable during implementation.
4.1 Minimum To Start
For an initial planning setup, Quiver can normally start with a limited dataset if the identifiers are stable and the data is refreshed reliably.
| Dataset | Minimum Fields | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Material / product master | Material number, material description, material status, stock policy (mto/mts), cogs/unit cost | Stable material identifiers are required for all downstream planning data. |
| Inventory locations | Plant, warehouse, or storage location code; location name | Locations define where stock and supply/demand are planned. |
| Inventory balances | Material number, location, on-hand quantity | Available/reserved/blocked quantities are recommended when the source can provide them. |
| Supplier and supplier-product data | Supplier number, supplier name, material number, lead time, minimum order quantity, order multiple or pack size | If a planning parameter is unavailable, Quiver can use an agreed default |
This minimum dataset is suitable for early validation of the product, location, inventory, and planning-parameter mapping. For complete planning workflows, Quiver recommends adding the datasets below.
4.2 Recommended Planning Dataset
| Dataset | Expected Fields | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open purchase orders | Purchase order number, line number, material number, open quantity, requested or expected delivery date, receiving location, status | Confirmed and actual delivery dates are useful when available separately from requested dates. |
| Open production orders | Production order number, material number, remaining quantity, planned finish date, production site or receiving location, status | Start date, planned quantity, operation or line number, and routing variant are useful where available. |
| Open sales commitments | Sales order number, line number, material number, open quantity, requested or confirmed delivery date, supplying location, status | Quiver uses this as committed or expected demand depending on the agreed source semantics. |
| Bill of material | Parent material number, component material number, component quantity, plant or production site, status | Version, alternative, valid-from, valid-to, scrap, and yield factors are recommended where available. |
| Historical sales or demand | Transaction date, material number, quantity, customer number or demand channel, location, document number | Net amount and currency are recommended for revenue KPIs and product value calculations. |
| Historical inventory development | Snapshot date or posting date, material number, location, quantity or movement quantity | Movement type, batch or lot, inventory value, and currency are useful where available. |
| Product attributes | Material number, product hierarchy, material group, category, lifecycle/status, customer specific grouping | Used for filtering, grouping, planning rules, and user-facing views. |
| Customer master and attributes (optional) | Customer number, customer name, customer group status | Required when planning or reporting needs customer-level demand or grouping. |
4.3 Dataset Notes
4.3.1 Material And Supplier Data
Quiver separates the product itself from supplier-specific planning parameters. In practice, lead time, minimum order quantity, order multiple, and pack size often belong to the relationship between a material, supplier, and planning group or location.
If the source system stores these fields on the material master instead, Quiver can map them during implementation.
4.3.2 Inventory Data
Current inventory can be provided as either a balance snapshot or as movements from which Quiver derives the current balance. A balance snapshot is usually simpler for the first integration. If the source provides both physical stock and availability fields, Quiver should receive the definitions for on-hand, available, reserved, blocked, quality etc quantities.
4.3.3 Open Supply And Demand
Open purchase orders, production orders, and sales orders should include a stable external reference. For line-based sources, this is normally the document number plus line number.
Status fields are important because Quiver needs to exclude closed, cancelled, blocked, or otherwise non-planning-relevant records.
4.3.4 Historical Data
Historical sales and inventory development are typically loaded as a one-time bulk extract during onboarding, separate from the ongoing daily synchronization. Once the initial history is loaded, incremental daily updates can be added if the source supports it.
Historical data is not required for the first operational planning setup, but it improves KPI calculations, trend visualizations, and validation of planning behavior.
4.3.5 Bill Of Material
Bill of material data is required when Quiver needs to support production planning, component planning, or bundled products.
If multiple active versions or alternatives exist, the source should provide the rule for selecting the version relevant to planning.
4.4 Delivery Guidelines
The following conventions reduce implementation risk:
- Include source status fields and define which statuses are planning-relevant.
- Use consistent unit-of-measure definitions, or provide conversion rules.
- Keep the file or API schema stable once implementation starts.
- Communicate expected schema or status-code changes before they reach production.