Map Handling State

Map raw rows into the scenario's handling state table: the outcome of handling, the total handling cost realized at each facility.

This is the output side of handling. Pair it with Map Handling Policy, the per-unit rule, on baselines.

When to use this

• The scenario is a baseline that should preserve observed handling cost
• Cost to Serve allocates the realized cost on this table, so a per-customer breakdown needs it

Network Optimization does not read this table. It recomputes handling cost from handling policy times throughput on every run. Optimization-only workflows can skip this node.

What you need

• An upstream Import Data node with one row per (location, product) you have observations for
• A realized-cost column

Field mapping

Auto-detection is all or nothing. With no explicit mapping on the node, every field is matched against the headers listed below, case-insensitively, and a space in your header reads as an underscore, so Site Name matches site_name. Set even one field explicitly and detection switches off for the whole node: only the fields named in the mapping are filled, and the rest arrive empty.

Set mappings in the node's panel. Connect an upstream table and select the mapping node to see automatic matches. Choosing a column saves all displayed matches as an explicit mapping. Use Use automatic detection to return to header detection. Required fields without a match are marked in the panel.

Field	Type	Required	Example	What it is	Auto-detected headers
Location	text	Yes	Warehouse A	Where handling occurred. Must match a Location name.	location, loc, name, id, location_id, loc_id
Product	text	Yes	Widget	Product or SKU, or ALL for a rate that applies to every product at this location.	product, sku, item, material, product_id
Realized Handling Cost	number	No	400.0	Total handling cost actually incurred in the baseline (unit cost × throughput).	realized_cost, supply_cost, handling_cost, total_supply_cost, production_cost, total_handling_cost

How it works

Each row becomes a handling state record. The scenario stores the realized totals so dashboards and side-by-side comparisons can read handling cost directly. A location-wide (ALL) row is a single total for the location. It is split across the products flowing through it in proportion to their throughput, never duplicated onto each.

Workflow wiring

Pair with Map Handling Policy when building a baseline:

flowchart LR
    n1["Import Data (handling.csv)"] --> n2["Map Handling Policy"]
    n2 --> n3["Create Scenario"]
    n1 --> n4["Map Handling State"]
    n4 --> n3

Common mistakes

• Wiring only this node and expecting it to drive the optimizer. The optimizer reads the per-unit rate on Map Handling Policy and recomputes handling itself. It never reads this table. Cost to Serve is the other way round: this table is the one it allocates, and it reads no policy at all.
• Mapping a per-unit cost here. Realized Handling Cost is a total.