lets discuss,steps
necessary to process a configurable sales order.
The goal of a configurable sales order is to
allow customers to tailor a product to their needs. Configurable sales orders enable customers to
choose the specific parts which are combined to form their customized product. Configurable sales orders are commonly used
for products which include numerous configurations, such as cars, bikes, a ski
set and computers. A configurable sales
order for a computer, for example, would allow the customer to mix and match
different memory, speed, size of screen, peripherals, etc. Before a material can be configured in a
sales document, the following prerequisites must be met by Materials Management
(MM) and Production Planning (PP):
·
The
material must be created and defined as configurable in the material master.
·
The
material must be allocated to a class (ie. a product category) and assigned
characteristics (the different pieces combined to form the material). For example, if a PC was a configurable
product, it would be allocated to a class (ie. computer equipment). The product, PC, would then be assigned
characteristics, such as memory, speed, and screen, etc., to identify the
characteristics necessary for completion
of the line item product. These
characteristics can be assigned values.
Values can be assigned to the characteristic ‘memory’ to specify the
desired amount of memory.
·
A
bill-of-material (BOM) which can be configured in the sales document, must be
created. A configurable BOM describes
the different assemblies that make up a configurable product.
·
A
configuration profile with configuration parameters used to control sales
document processing must be created for the material. This profile controls how the BOM is exploded
during processing (ie. production order, sales order, or order BOM).
·
Dependencies
are allocated to characteristics so that separate pieces of the final product
are properly combined. A particular
‘screen size’, for example, may not fit a certain type of laptop PC. Dependencies, therefore, are assigned to
ensure that product pieces are combined appropriately.
·
Finally,
selection conditions must be created so that the system chooses the proper
routing and items needed to create the end material.
For
information on the Materials Management and Production Planning processes that
must be carried out before a sales order can be configured, refer to Solution
Define Materials with Characteristics.
It is important to note that sales orders are
configured based on BOMs created within Materials Management. A BOM is a list of the components that make
up a product. BOMs are exploded and
configured in sales orders. This
explosion in the sales order opens the configurable BOM for the selected
material, so that the components can be determined and listed. Using this BOM, the user from Sales and
Distribution configures the material from the choices provided in the BOM. Configurable BOMs, therefore, are usually not
created in a sales order; they are simply customized and processed. There are four ways of processing
configurable materials (or exploding BOMs) in sales orders. They include:
·
Planned/Production
Order: Single-Level: The
configurable item appears as the header material in the sales order. With this type of processing, the material
characteristics and values are allocated to the header material and cannot be
configured separately.
The header material ‘bike’, for example,
has the characteristic ‘tire’ which has predetermined value options. ‘Tire’, however, cannot be configured
separately. A pre-defined value must be
assigned to it within the configurable profile of the bike. After this header item is configured in the
sales order, a production order is created and the material is assembled. This type of processing is used when the
separate parts of the header material must still be assembled to form a
configurable item. If a sales order is
created for a bike, for example, a production order must also be placed for the
assembly of the unique parts of the bike.
The specific parts demanded by the customer are crucial to the proper
assembly of the bike.
On the other hand, once each
separate piece of a laptop has been put together (ie. Memory, speed, screen,
etc.), no further assembly is necessary because the pieces can be easily
combined to form the PC at the time of a sales order. In single-level planned/production order
processing, the individual pieces of the configurable product are already
determined, however, they still must be properly selected and assembled to form
a one-piece unit, like a bike.
·
Planned/Production
Order: Multi-Level: In this case, the characteristics of the
header material can be configured separately.
Unlike single-level production order processing, configuration is not
limited to the header material. A car,
for example, possesses characteristics (the parts which are combined to create
it), such as the body, engine, and tires which can be configured
individually. If a car is the
configurable header material, its characteristic tire can also be
configured. The configurable assemblies
of the characteristic materials, however, are stored separately from the BOM
item (header material). Using a
production order, the different characteristic items are produced and then,
assembled to form a car.
·
Sales
Order: Also referred to as SET
processing, sales order processing allows the user to view the different items
that are combined to create the configurable header material in the sales
order. Collectively, the materials that
make up the configurable product are referred to as a SET. Skis, poles, and ski boots, for example, form
the SET that make up a ski set. The
items of the ski set, like other configurable items that utilize sales order
processing, are predetermined and remain separate when delivered to the
customer. A production order,
therefore, is not created for the
assembly of SET items. SET items are
simply combined in the sales order to create a configurable material whose
pieces remain separate. Only the header
material (ie. that of the ski set) can be configured and displayed in the sales
order, not the components of each individual item of the set. The different characteristics of the material
appear as separate order items. This
type of processing is effectively used for configurable products, like ski sets
and stereos, whose parts require little or no internal configuration. For example, there are few, if any,
configurable assemblies for the item skis.
They can be easily pulled from inventory along with boots and poles and
sent unassembled at the time of delivery.
·
Order
BOM: This type of processing is
used when a customer wants a make-to-order product. Make-to-order products are unique to a
particular customer, and therefore, cannot be properly configured from any
existing BOM. Since customer demand
cannot be predicted in the case of a make-to-order, SAP allows the user to make
manual revisions to an existing BOM by creating an order BOM in the sales
order. From this BOM, the user is able
to configure the various pieces of the end product by deleting, inserting, and
changing the quantity of items. The
results are sent to MRP for assembly.
Initiate
Configurable Order Entry
Order type (any order type is possible),
business partners, and sales hierarchy information are entered normally at this
stage of the process.
This task is carried out in the same manner as a
standard order.
Determine
Order Items and Terms
At this point, the user chooses the desired
configurable material. The appropriate
BOM explosion indicator must be set in the configurable profile of the selected
material for planned/production orders: single-level, planned/production
orders: multi-level, sales order, or order BOMs.
Contracts, payment terms, and scheduling
agreements are determined in the same manner as for a standard order.
Check Configurability
of Material
To create a configurable sales order, the end
user must first ensure that the material desired by the customer is
configurable. As stated previously, a
configuration profile, indicating which type of BOM explosion (processing type)
to use, must be set up for the configurable material. In addition, the BOM for the ordered material
must be configurable, meaning that it offers multiple options for each item
that makes up the finished product.
If the configurable BOM does not meet customer
demands at sales order time, an SD order BOM can be created. This BOM is created in the sales order so the
user can make the necessary manual revisions to the pre-existing BOM of the
chosen material. The revisions made for
the SD order BOM are not saved as a new BOM for later use, nor is the original
BOM updated with the changes.
Configure
Material
At this point, the material is configured to
customer specifications. After the
necessary configuration profile is set up, the user enters the customer's
selections in the configurable sales order.
If the customer simply orders off the configurable BOM that is exploded
in the sales order, SET or production order processing is utilized. A make-to-order, in contrast, is utilized to
meet customer demand for materials and combinations which are not options in
the BOM. In this case, manual changes
are made to the existing BOM through order BOM processing. This type of processing is effective for a
configurable product that requires a large amount of internal
configuration. A car, for example, is
one material with many internal configurations.
The customer, as a result, can be more particular about the component
assemblies. To execute this type of
processing the order BOM indicator must be set in the configuration profile of
the material. This allows the user to
revise the present BOM according to customer specifications. A stereo or a ski set, on the other hand, is usually
processed in a SET. These materials
consist of separate items which are already assembled and therefore, do not
permit internal configuration. The
chosen items, which form a SET, are simply taken from inventory and delivered
to the customer. SETs consist of
separate items that do not require assembly.
A material that utilizes production order processing, however, requires
a production order for the assembly of its parts.
Determine
Type of Payment Guarantee
Typically payment terms have been set up for the
customer on the customer master, prior to creation of the sales order. There are situations, though, where the
payment terms may be either changed from what has been defaulted from the
customer master into the order, and a different form of payment may be input.
Determine
Delivery and Transportation Guidelines
This task is carried out in the same manner as a
standard order.
Check
Processing Type
The system checks material processing type for
production purposes. In single-level
planned/production order processing, sales order configuration requirements for
the different pieces of the line item material are sent to MRP (Material
Requirements Planning) where components are determined and stored in a
production order for assembly. In
multi-level planned/production processing, requirements for the header material
are sent to MRP. The characteristic
values assigned determine the components of the header material. In addition, if these components have been
assigned values, they must also be sent to MRP so the proper materials can be
determined. Once all requirements are
determined and the components are assembled, the material is assembled in a
production order.
In SET processing, the separate items of the
configurable material are simply pulled from inventory. In production terms, this is called stock
material processing. Since the items are
already present in inventory and remain separate, a production order is not
needed to assemble the SET. A production
order, however, is created to pull the appropriate items from inventory and
therefore, also serves as a means of tracking inventory. Only the header material can be configured
and saved in SET processing. Item
characteristics must be configured separately from the header material.
Order BOM processing allows changes to be made
to a BOM which was previously configured in the sales order. For this to occur, a separate order BOM is
created for the material. Once the
revisions are made, assemblies are sent to MRP.
Once the components are determined, a production order is created for
assembly. From a production standpoint,
an order BOM requires sales-order related production because the production of
the material is reliant on the make-to-order product configured in the sales
order. Since the requirements of the
product cannot be predicted, production must rely solely on the configuration
in the sales order.
Perform
Availability Check and Transfer of Requirements
An availability check only occurs for component
of the SET order processing. If the
customer is ordering a ski set, for example, he or she can choose from three
types of skis, two types of poles, and four types of boots which have been
predetermined and stocked. Since the
separate items of the SET are part of the company's stock, an availability
check is carried out.
Planned/production order processing does not
involve an availability check because the chosen parts of the material must be
assembled to create the material.
Although the different pieces of a bike can be selected in the sales
order, the finished product (bike) does not exist in the company's stock. A production order must be placed for the
bike and
its different components. In addition, an availability check is not
carried out for order BOM processing. This type of processing involves the revision
of a configurable BOM. Since a new BOM
is created to account for these changes, the company is not equipped with the
inventory needed to fulfill this order.
The desired assemblies, therefore, must be sent to MRP so a production
order can be placed. Order BOM
processing initiates a make-to-order situation where the company cannot
anticipate customer demands because the desired goods are not available in
stock.
Determine
Pricing
In order to calculate pricing for a configurable
material, SAP uses a method called variant pricing. Variant pricing is controlled by conditions
and variant configuration. Variant
configurations are simply different assemblies of the same material. The material car, for example, may have two
different configurations, one which utilizes a V6 engine and one that uses a
V8. Each of these configurations is a
variant of the material car. Pricing
conditions are records which calculate the discounts, surcharges, and taxes
that are added to the price and can be created at different levels of the
variant configuration. Dependencies tell
the system to apply the relevant condition record to the variant material. If a discount is being offered for a red
two-door car with a V6 engine, for example, the system would use a dependency
to locate the appropriate condition record.
If the car is red and has two doors and a V6 engine, use discount
condition record "XXXX". This
discount condition record is set up at the finished good level (ie. for the
car) to facilitate the pricing process.
If condition records were set up for each of the characteristic values
(ie. V6 engine, two-door, red car), it would be extremely time consuming, not
only to create all the conditions, but also for the system to roll the prices
of the components up into the individual configurable items, and finally into
the header material.
Order BOM processing, however, is unique because
production costing information must be calculated after the sales order is
configured. Since the material is
make-to-order, no prior production costing information exists for the
product. The system, therefore, cannot
derive a price for the configurable product until production costing is
complete.
Check
Customer Credit
A customer credit check is performed in the same
manner for a standard order.
Release
Configurable Sales Order
The release order process
is carried out in the same manner in a standard order.
