How to Compare Two Scenarios Side by Side in EDGEBIC

To compare two scenarios side by side in EDGEBIC by User Solutions you open the quote's scenario view, switch to the Comparison Analysis tab, tick the scenarios, and read the lead time, cost, and utilization charts. The control is the Comparison Analysis tab in the What-If Scenario Analysis view, with its Select Scenarios to Compare checkbox list. Each chart shows one bar per selected scenario, so you pick with numbers instead of instinct, then apply the winner to the quote.

For the full scenario-building and comparison walkthrough, read how to build and compare scenarios. This task is documented behavior of EDGEBIC, and the full task library is in the how-to hub. If you have not built the scenarios yet, start with how to create a what-if scenario.

Before You Start

• At least two scenarios exist on the quote, and each has been simulated. Only simulated scenarios can join the comparison.
• You keep a no-override baseline scenario (a Standard), because a comparison is meaningless without it.

Step 1: Open the Comparison Analysis Tab

On the quote's What-If Scenario Analysis view, click the Comparison Analysis tab.

Step 2: Select the Scenarios

Under Select Scenarios to Compare, tick the scenarios to include. The helper text reads "Select scenarios to include in comparison by clicking the checkboxes below." Only simulated scenarios are eligible.

Step 3: Read the Charts

Read the three chart tabs, each with one bar per selected scenario:

Do not judge on lead time alone. A scenario that wins by running a work center above 100% for weeks has no slack for a breakdown, a late material delivery, or a rework loop, which is exactly what the Utilization tab is for. A plan that hits the date at 85% utilization is usually worth more than one that hits it three days sooner at 105%, because the first has room to absorb a bad day and the second does not. Read all three charts before deciding: lead time tells you whether it fits, cost tells you what it costs, and utilization tells you whether it survives a normal week on the floor.

Step 4: Apply the Winner

Select the winning scenario and click Apply to Quote. Confirm the prompt. The scenario's estimated dates, hours, and costs are written onto the parent quote, and the scenario view closes. Re-price the quote if the cost changed.

Worked Example: Standard vs Second Shift vs Weekend

Acme's Widget-A quote needs to land by August 8, and you have built three scenarios. On the Comparison Analysis tab you tick all three under Select Scenarios to Compare and read the charts:

The Lead Time chart shows 2nd Shift on Mill as the shortest bar, Weekend Push next, Standard longest and six days too late. The Cost chart shows the trade: Second Shift costs $240 more than Weekend Push but buys three extra days of safety margin (August 5 versus August 8, which is zero slack). The Utilization chart is the tiebreaker: if either winning scenario runs a machine above 100% for weeks, it has no absorption for a breakdown, and you would rather pay for the margin.

You pick 2nd Shift on Mill, select it, and click Apply to Quote. Confirming the prompt writes end August 5 and cost $9,830 onto the quote. Margin at $85 a unit becomes ($17,000 minus $9,830) divided by $17,000, which is 42.2%, still comfortably green. You re-price only if you want to protect a target margin, then arrange the real second shift before converting.

What Changes When You Save

Apply to Quote copies the scenario's results onto the quote and marks the quote simulated. It does not change the product's routing, any work center, or the production schedule. The quote's unit price is not re-derived automatically, so re-apply markup yourself if the cost moved.

Two Habits That Make Comparisons Honest

Keep a no-override baseline. A scenario named Standard with no changes gives every comparison a reference point and documents what "do nothing" looked like when the decision was made. Without it, a chart of two expedited options tells you which is faster but not whether either was worth the cost over leaving things alone.

Change one lever per scenario. If a scenario changes three things at once, a shorter lead time tells you nothing about which change bought it. Isolate variables: 2nd Shift on Mill boosts one machine, Weekend Push opens weekends, Vendor Cutting outsources one step. Then the comparison charts actually attribute the improvement. This is classic what-if discipline, and it is why the scenario names in the charts should be the levers themselves, since the name is all you see on each bar. A scenario called "Scenario 2" tells a reader nothing; 2nd Shift on Mill tells them everything.

How to Check It Worked

After applying, reopen the quote and confirm its Est. Hours, Est. Cost, Start Date, and End Date now match the winning scenario. If the cost changed, confirm the margin still meets your floor before sending.

Common Mistakes and Gotchas

• Empty charts mean nothing is ticked or simulated. Tick simulated scenarios under Select Scenarios to Compare. Run each scenario first.

• Apply demands a fresh simulation. If a scenario was edited since its last run, apply reports "Cannot apply scenario. Please run simulation first." Re-run, then apply.

• Applying is not doing. The quote's numbers update, but real capacity and the routing do not. Make the real change (shift, override, routing) before converting.

• Scenarios run forward. For a backward finish-by quote, compare each scenario's estimated end date to the customer date by hand; the just-in-time framing does not carry into scenarios.

• A comparison lives inside one quote. Scenarios belong to a single parent quote, and the charts compare its siblings only. To weigh options that span two different quotes, read the numbers off each quote's comparison and line them up by hand, or export them; there is no cross-quote comparison chart.

When the comparison points at expediting, the pricing side of a rush is covered in how to quote a rush order.