SAP (Advanced Planning and Optimizer) or SAP (APO)is the planning component with in the mySAP SCM solution.

APO is an acronym for Advanced Planner and Optimizer. This is a large component of SAP's New Dimension products. APO is an entire sui te of supply chain planner applications that increase overall knowledge of the s upply chain and provide forecasting, planning and optimization. There are eight application levels within SAP APO: network design, supply network planning, dema nd planning, production planning and detailed scheduling, transportation plannin g and vehicle scheduling, global availabilty and supply chain collaboration. The SAP APO is not a standalone application and requires a backend ERP system su ch as SAP R/3 for the execution. SAP R/3 communicate with SAP APO using the the APO Core Interface (CIF) which supplies SAP APO with the master and the transact ion data in the real time. Interaction between the SAP R/3 at backend and the SA P APO is in real time and any data related to the production, the sales or the s upplies is immediately transfered from one system to another without requiring a ny batch processing. The efficient way of installing some standard SAP APO scenarios is by reference to the SAP Best Practices for Supply Chain Management. SAP APO (Advanced Planner and Optimizer) Hints and Tips What is SAP APO? SAP Adv anced Planner and Optimizer (SAP APO) is a key application component of mySAP.co m and forms a technical foundation for several mySAP.com solutions. What is the benefits of using SAP APO? The benefits of the SAP APO, is that it provides the basis for an end-to-end supply chain management solution, seamlessly linking all key processes -- from order generation to production planning to transportation Demand planning Supply network planning Prod . SAP APO offers functionality for: uction planning Detailed scheduling Available to promise Although SAP APO is no longer marketed as a separate solution, its functionality underlies mySAP Supply Chain Management, mySAP Customer Relationship Management, and mySAP E-Procureme nt