Demand planning dashboard XML schema validation fails when importing supplier forecast files

SCM Manhattan Active Supply Chain
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1

We’re encountering XML schema validation failures when importing supplier forecast files into our demand planning dashboard on MASC 2023.1. The error message indicates namespace issues, but the XML files validate successfully against the XSD schema using external validators.

Error: Namespace 'http://supplier.forecast/2023' not found in schema
File: supplier_forecast_Q1_2025.xml
Line: 3, Column: 45

The supplier XML files include multiple namespaces for different forecast elements. Our XML namespace mapping configuration appears correct, but the dashboard import process rejects the files. We’ve verified namespace normalization is enabled in the supplier integration settings.

The schema validation config shows the expected namespaces registered, but something in the import process isn’t recognizing them. This is blocking our Q1 forecast consolidation. Has anyone successfully configured complex namespace mappings for supplier forecast imports?

2

I checked the namespace registry and found that one of the supplier namespaces wasn’t registered. However, after adding it, I’m now getting a different error about schema location. The XML file has schemaLocation attributes, but MASC seems to be looking for the schemas in a different location. Where should the XSD files be stored?

3

I’ve dealt with similar namespace issues in supplier integrations. The problem is often in the namespace mapping configuration file. MASC requires explicit mapping of each namespace URI to a prefix, and the order matters.

In your dashboard import configuration, check the namespace registry. Each supplier namespace needs to be registered with a unique prefix. Also verify that the schema location hints in your XML match what’s configured in MASC. Even if the namespace URIs are correct, mismatched schema locations can cause validation failures.

Another thing to check - are you using namespace-qualified element names in your XPath expressions for field mapping? If the mapping configuration doesn’t include proper namespace prefixes, it won’t match the elements correctly even if validation passes.

4

I’ve implemented supplier forecast integrations for multiple MASC deployments and encountered this exact namespace validation issue repeatedly. The solution requires addressing XML namespace mapping, schema validation configuration, namespace normalization, and supplier integration settings comprehensively.

1. XML Namespace Mapping: First, ensure all namespaces are properly registered in your dashboard import configuration. Edit the namespace registry file (typically namespaces.xml in your dashboard config):

<namespaces>
  <namespace prefix="sf" uri="http://supplier.forecast/2023"/>
  <namespace prefix="common" uri="http://supplier.common/2023"/>
  <namespace prefix="metrics" uri="http://supplier.metrics/2023"/>
</namespaces>

Verify that every namespace used in supplier XML files has a corresponding entry with a unique prefix.

2. Schema Validation Config: Configure XML catalog for local schema resolution. Create catalog.xml in {MASC_HOME}/config/schemas/:

<catalog xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:entity:xmlns:xml:catalog">
  <uri name="http://supplier.forecast/2023" uri="file:///schemas/suppliers/forecast-2023.xsd"/>
  <uri name="http://supplier.common/2023" uri="file:///schemas/suppliers/common-2023.xsd"/>
</catalog>

Place actual XSD files in the mapped locations. This prevents network lookups during validation and ensures consistent schema versions.

3. Namespace Normalization: Enable and configure namespace normalization in the supplier integration settings. In your dashboard import properties:


supplier.import.namespaceNormalization=true
supplier.import.defaultNamespace=http://supplier.forecast/2023
supplier.import.stripUnusedNamespaces=true
supplier.import.validateAfterNormalization=true

The normalization process should run before schema validation. Configure the import pipeline order: normalize → validate → transform → import.

4. Supplier Integration Configuration: Update the field mapping to use namespace-qualified XPath expressions:


forecastQuantity=/sf:forecast/sf:item/sf:quantity
forecastDate=/sf:forecast/sf:item/@date
supplierCode=/common:header/common:supplier/@code

Each XPath must use the namespace prefix defined in your namespace registry. Without prefixes, element matching fails even with valid namespaces.

Pre-processing Transformation: For complex supplier XMLs with inconsistent namespace usage, implement an XSLT pre-processor:


// Pseudocode - XSLT transformation pipeline:
1. Load supplier XML file
2. Apply XSLT transform (normalize namespaces, remove duplicates)
3. Validate transformed XML against registered schemas
4. Pass validated XML to dashboard import
5. Log any transformation warnings for supplier review

Configure this in the import pipeline: supplier.import.preprocessor=xslt, supplier.import.xsltPath=/config/transforms/supplier-normalize.xsl.

Validation Testing: Test the complete pipeline with sample supplier files:

  1. Enable DEBUG logging for XML validation
  2. Import sample file and review detailed logs
  3. Verify namespace resolution in logs
  4. Confirm schema validation passes
  5. Check field mapping extracts correct values

Common Issues:

  • Default namespace conflicts: If supplier XML uses default namespace (xmlns=“…”), ensure your XPath expressions account for this
  • Schema location hints: Remove or update xsi:schemaLocation in supplier XMLs if they point to inaccessible URLs
  • Nested namespaces: Some suppliers use different namespaces for nested elements - all must be registered

This comprehensive approach to XML namespace mapping, schema validation configuration, namespace normalization, and supplier integration settings will resolve validation failures and enable successful forecast imports.