Custom Time

In addition to the standard Time hierarchy that comes with Birst, M3 Analytics provides a custom time hierarchy based on different periods set up in M3. This allows for the analysis of data on alternative timetables such as looking at sales figures against a company's fiscal calendar.

The M3 Custom Time hierarchy provides a consolidated dimension containing attributes for fiscal, manufacturing, and equipment periods, used in standard M3 Analytics content, as well as period types 1–5, 9, Sales, and HRM. The custom time dimension is derived from period information of each day as defined in CSYPER. You can configure the period type representing each period using these variables:

Period type Variable Default value
Fiscal Period M3A_PeriodTypeFiscal 1
Manufacturing Period M3A_PeriodTypeManufacturing 1
Equipment Period M3A_PeriodTypeEquipment 1

For more information on using the different period set up in M3, see KB 2165396. To configure these and other available period type variables, see Infor M3 Analytics for M3 CloudSuites Administration Guide.

M3 Calendar information is retrieved from CSYCAL for the blank division of the company specified in the M3A_CustomTimeCompany variable. The blank division for the company must be kept up to date.

Standard Birst Time dimension support week starting Sunday. To support week starting Monday, these attributes were added in M3 Custom Time:
  • Week Start Date - determines the start date of the week (Monday)
  • Week End Date - determines the end date based from the Week Start Date
  • Week Number - determines the current week number from the start of the year

The attributes listed in the table are part of the custom subject area. Attributes for Period Types 1–5, 9, Sales, and HRM are available in the default subject area. M3 Analytics contains more attributes in the default subject area. For a complete list, see the mapping document in KB 2015457.

Hierarchy Custom subject area Attributes
M3A Custom Time

M3A Equipment

M3A Finance

M3A Procurement

M3A Production

M3A Rental

M3A Sales

M3A Warehouse

M3A Opportunity Management

Equipment Period, Equipment Period Last Year, Equipment Period Sequence No.

Equipment Year

Fiscal Period, Fiscal Period Last Year, Fiscal Period Sequence No.

Fiscal Year

Last Equipment Period, Last Equipment Year

Last Fiscal Period, Last Fiscal Year

Last Manufacturing Period, Last Manufacturing Year

Manufacturing Period, Manufacturing Period Last Year, Manufacturing Period Sequence No.

Manufacturing Year

Week Number, Week Start Date, Week End Date

Drill map

This table shows the drill map for Custom Time:

Name Drill From Column Drill To Column
M3A Fiscal Calendar Fiscal Year Fiscal Period
Fiscal Period Date
M3A Manufacturing Calendar Manufacturing Year Manufacturing Period
Manufacturing Period Date
M3A Equipment Calendar Equipment Year Equipment Period
Equipment Period Date