SAP Products and Services

Use

Products and services are combined in the SAP R/3 System under the term material. All information necessary for the management of a material and its stocks, as well as its use, is maintained in the so-called material master record. This includes, for example, data on purchasing, on sales and on storage.

Different company areas and SAP modules access the material master records, which therefore must meet a wide variety of requirements. During sales processing, the system repeatedly accesses the material master records. It is one of the basic sources of data for sales processing. The material master record is accessed, for example, in the inquiry, in the quotation and in the sales order. Data in the material master record is also of great importance for shipping and billing. However, the data required for shipping, for example, is not the same as that required for sales or billing.

SAP Material Types

Use

Material types in the SAP standard version are, for example, raw materials, trading goods, semi-finished products, finished products, or services. The material type represents certain features of materials in the system, and has important control functions: the material type is used, among other things, to group field selection functions for a material, or to define the screen sequence, the type of number assignment and number ranges during material master record maintenance. Depending on the material type, company areas maintain different data screens. This screen selection applying specifically to an application is called a "view".

The following are examples of possible material types in the SAP standard version:

• Trading Goods

• Non-stock Material

• Services

• Packaging Material

Trading Goods

Trading goods are movable goods intended for commercial exchange. Examples of trading goods are market goods, consumption goods and durable goods. Trading goods are always bought and re-sold by your company. The material master record for trading goods therefore always contains purchasing data and sales data. Trading goods are managed in the SAP R/3 System using the key HAWA.

Non-stock Material

Non-stock material includes materials that are not managed on an inventory basis (for example, small parts such as nails) though physically in stock. Non-stock materials are managed in the SAP System using the key NLAG.

Services

Services are represented and managed in the SAP System as materials. Services are immaterial goods that differ from other goods, particularly in that their production and consumption coincide. Services are generally regarded as non-transportable and non-stockable. Typical services are commercial services, transport services, bank and insurance services, goods from cultural organizations and the mass media, as well as services provided by the public security forces or the education and health sectors.

Since services cannot be stored, a material master record of this material type does not contain inventory data or inventory management data. No fields for gross weight, net weight or unit of weight are included in the basic data for a service, as are for other material types. Services are managed in the SAP R/3 System with the key DIEN.

Packaging Material

This material type includes all materials needed for packaging. For example, boxes or crates. Packaging materials are managed in the SAP R/3 System with the key VERP.

Other Material

Materials which cannot be assigned to any of the standard material types, can be maintained, as "Other material". Thus, besides standard material types (trading goods, finished products, services etc.) you can also create additional material types. When creating such a material, note that a material type must be entered on the first data screen. For standard material types, this entry is not necessary because the material type is selected in the menu.

SAP Industry Sectors

Industry sectors indicate the assignment of a material to a certain branch of industry (for example, plant engineering and construction, chemical industry, mechanical engineering, and pharmaceuticals industry).

Use

Like the material type, the industry key also has important control functions. It determines, for example, the selection of data fields on screens or the screen sequence. The subdivision into different industry sectors is necessary because, for example, a material in the chemical industry, such as a chemical solution, differs from a material in mechanical engineering in its basic characteristics.

In the standard version of the SAP R/3 System, the following industry sectors have been defined for the material master record:

Industry Sectors in the Standard Version of the SAP R/3 System:

Industry key	Industry sector
A	Plant engineering and construction
C	Chemical
M	Mechanical engineering
P	Pharmaceutical

SAP Organizational Structure of the Material Master Record

Use

Each company has a specific structure and a typical organization. This is represented in the SAP R/3 System as an organizational structure. A certain part of the organizational structure is relevant for every company area.

Organizational Levels

An organizational structure consists of several organizational levels. These are used by different company areas. The organizational levels sales organization and distribution channel are, for example, used exclusively by sales and distribution while plant and storage location are shared by sales and distribution and materials management.

The sales and distribution data for a material is managed at the organizational levels client, plant, sales organization and distribution channel. Therefore, you have to enter the plant, the sales organization and the distribution channel for which you want to change a material master record.

If a material which is available both in plant 1 and plant 2 is to be changed in plant 1, enter only that plant number. You then only get the plant data for this material in plant 1. If you only enter the sales organization and the distribution channel, then you get the sales-specific data without plant data.

Using the organizational level distribution channel, you can, for example, sell materials with different conditions. The prices agreed for distribution channel wholesale trade, for example, are not the same as those for distribution channel retail sales.

SAP Data Structure of the Material Master Record

Use

All data and information entered for a material is stored in the data structure of the material master record. For sales and distribution, general data and sales and distribution data in the material master record are relevant.

General data

General data in a material master record is identical for every sales organization, plant and storage location. General data, which is of importance for all departments, is always entered by the department which creates the first part or view of the master record. General data contains, for example, the material number that identifies it, the material description, units of measure, value, weight, volume and divisions.

Sales and Distribution Data

Sales and distribution data in a material master record is defined for a specific sales organization and distribution channel. The delivering plant, the assignment to the sales group, grouping terms for price agreements and sales texts, for example, are included in sales and distribution data. The fact that a material is linked to a distribution channel allows the material to be sold with different conditions through the various distribution channels.

Sales and distribution data is divided into data that depends on the sales organization and data that depends on the plant:

• Sales organization/distribution channel data

This data includes the delivering plant, the sales unit, the minimum order quantity and the minimum delivery quantity.

• Plant data

This data applies to a plant and all its storage locations. Examples of plant data are MRP data, such as the safety stock quantity, the reorder level, or the shipping processing time.

SAP Maintenance Status in the Material Master Record

Use

Every material master record has a maintenance status that indicates the department-specific view from which a master record is maintained.

The maintenance status is automatically updated and managed by the system.

As soon as a material master record, is maintained, for example, by sales and distribution, the indicator in the maintenance status is automatically set to V. If it is also maintained by purchasing, the system adds E to the maintenance status indicator. The same material master record can be maintained, for example, by sales and distribution and by purchasing, but not by accounting. The master record then would have the maintenance status V and E but not B (accounting).

You can display which departments have not yet maintained a material master record. For further information on this, see Maintaining a Material Master Record.

SAP Sales and Distribution Screens in the Material Master Record

Four screens in the material master record are relevant for sales and distribution:

• Sales 1

• Sales 2

• Sales/Plant Data

• Texts in Sales and Distribution

Use

The following overview includes a short description of the individual sales and distribution screens, and lists the important data fields found on these screens.

Sales and distribution screens	Description and important data fields
Sales 1	Basic data and units of measure (e.g. sales units, order quantities)
Sales 2	Material groupings and tax classification (e.g. product hierarchy, material pricing group)
Sales/Plant Data	Sales and shipping data (e.g. gross weight, loading group)
Texts in Sales and Distribution	Single-line or multi-line texts for sales documents, in several languages

SAP Grouping Materials

Use

Materials can be grouped according to different criteria. This allows for easier management and better evaluation of materials with similar features. The standard version of the SAP R/3 System does not provide exact criteria to differentiate between individual groupings. These result from company-specific applications. The materials can therefore be grouped by the company to meet their specific demands. The groupings are determined and defined by the system administrator. Contact him, if you have questions concerning the existing groupings.

In the standard version of the SAP R/3 System the following groupings are possible, for example:

• Material Group

• Material Pricing Group

• Product Hierarchy

Material Group

Goods with the same features (for example, nails) can be grouped using the field Material group. Unlike the product hierarchy, the material group does not contain different levels or possible combinations of goods. You can, however, use the material group to carry out different analysis functions.

The material group is defined by a nine-digit, alphanumeric key. It is not primarily of importance for sales and distribution, but is used mainly in materials management.

Material Pricing Group

A further option for grouping materials is represented by the material pricing group. This can be used both for pricing as well as for evaluation and analysis. The material pricing group is defined by a two-digit, numeric key.

Product Hierarchy

The product hierarchy is used to group materials by combining different features. It is used for analyses and pricing. A product hierarchy can consist of up to eighteen characters. Its features can be combined in various ways. The following figure gives an example of how materials can be grouped using product hierarchies.

In this case, a dishwasher can be described by product hierarchy 00010000200000002. This series of characters states that dishwashers belong to the category electrical appliances (series of characters 00001, position 1-5), and also to wet appliances (series of characters 00002, position 6-10) and, finally, to dishwashers (series of characters 00000002, position 11-18).

SAP Units of Measure and Quantity Specifications

Units of Measure

A material can be stored, transported and sold in various units of measure. In the SAP R/3 System, you can therefore define various units of measure which are maintained in the sales and distribution screens. However, you only need to maintain the fields of the units of measure if they deviate from the base unit of measure. If no other fields with units of measure are maintained, the system automatically takes the base unit of measure as a basis for its calculations. You can enter the following units of measure in the sales and distribution screens:

• Base Unit of Measure

• Alternative Unit of Measure

• Sales Unit

• Delivery Unit

Base Unit of Measure

Stocks of a material are managed in the base unit of measure. All quantity movements in other units of measure are converted automatically by the system into the base unit of measure.

Alternative Unit of Measure

As soon as units of measures other than the base unit of measure are used in a material master record, the system prompts you in a dialog box to enter a calculation factor to the base unit of measure, the so-called alternative unit of measure. The alternative unit of measure does not refer to an entry field in one of the sales and distribution screens. It is either requested in a dialog box or entered on a secondary screen, which you can access by pressing F5 (Unit of measure). Several alternative units of measure can be defined.

If, for example, a product is managed in the base unit of measure "Piece" but is sold in the sales unit "Box", you must define the conversion factor. The alternative unit of measure can define, for example, that 1 box of this material contains 12 pieces.

Sales Unit

The unit of measure in which materials are sold is referred to as a sales unit (for example, piece or bottle). The value you define in the material master record is proposed during business transactions relevant for sales, such as the sales order. You can replace them with other alternative units of measure in the sales order.

Delivery Unit

The delivery unit refers to the unit in which materials can be delivered. Only exact multiples of the delivery unit can be delivered. For example, with a delivery unit of 30 bottles, 30, 60 or 90 bottles can be delivered, but not 100 bottles.

Quantity Specifications

Two different quantity specifications are used:

• Minimum Order Quantity

• Minimum Delivery Quantity

Minimum Order Quantity

The minimum order quantity refers to the minimum quantity the customer must order. A warning message appears if the minimum order quantity is not reached during order entry. The order can be entered in spite of the warning message.

Minimum Delivery Quantity

The minimum delivery quantity refers to the minimum quantity you must deliver to the customer. The minimum delivery quantity is automatically checked during delivery processing. A warning message appears during delivery processing if you enter a delivery quantity lower than the minimum delivery quantity. The delivery can be created in spite of this warning message.

SAP Delivering Plants

The delivering plant refers to the plant from which the goods are to be delivered to the customer, within a specific sales organization and distribution channel. The plant can be automatically proposed by the system when processing a sales order, if it has been maintained in one of the master records. It can be derived from:

• the customer/product info record

• the customer master record of the ship-to party

• the material master record.

The order of priority is as in the list above.

SAP Item Category Groups

Use

The item category group determines how a material is processed in the sales order. It defines, for example, that pricing does not take place for a free of charge item, such as a business gift; or that inventory management is not carried out for a service. When processing sales and distribution documents, the system uses the item category group to determine the item category. The system determines the item category based on the item category group of the material and the current business transaction, and proposes it in the respective document.

When creating the material types non-stock material and services, DIEN is proposed in both cases for the item category group, because the order processing for both material types is identical: for example, pricing is carried out for both, but no availability check.

SAP Number Assignment for Material Master Records

Use

The material number can either be entered externally by the user, or assigned internally by the system. Both internal and external number assignment is possible. If you do not enter a material number when creating a material master record, the system automatically carries out internal number assignment.

SAP Creating a Material Master Record

There are two ways of creating a material master record:

• A new material master record is created with or without reference. It is mainly the responsibility of materials management to create new material master records in the system.

• An existing material master record is extended by creating new segments for other company areas. Thus, a view which has not yet been maintained is added to the material master record.

This documentation describes the material master record exclusively from the sales view. Therefore, the following description refers to adding new views to already existing material master records.

Steps:

Using the example of trading goods (HAWA), the section below describes how to extend a material master record. You proceed in the same way for other material types.

1. In the
SD Master Data Screen select, Products ® Material ® Trading goods ®Create.

The Create Material: Initial Screen.

2. Enter the number of the material whose sales and distribution screens you want to maintain.
3. Press ENTER.

The system issues a message telling you that the industry sector has automatically been transferred from the master record.

4. Press ENTER.

A dialog box appears from which you can select the views which you want to work with.

5. Select the sales views you want to maintain.

By selecting views you define an individual screen sequence. If you do not select any new views you receive a system error message:

Material already maintained for this transaction/event.

6. Press ENTER.

Another dialog box appears in which you specify the organizational level at which you want to carry out the change.

7. Enter a valid combination of plant, sales organization and distribution channel to define the organizational level.
8. Press ENTER to reach step by step the data screen you want to edit.

Edit these data screens. You must at least enter data in the required fields.

After you have edited the last data screen, a dialog box appears in which you see the system message that the editing process will end. Select Yes to save your material data.

9. You return to the screen Create Trading Goods: Initial Screen, where the following system message is displayed:

Material created.

This concludes the processing. You have extended the material master record by adding new sales views.

Sales prices are determined by conditions. You will find a detailed description of how material prices and sales prices are calculated in the SD Guide to Pricing and Conditions. In the material master record you can access the price condition screen by selecting Extras ® Sales Details ® Price in the menu and maintain the material price.

SAP Deleting a Material Master Record

A material may have to be marked for deletion, if it is no longer offered as a product. If a material has been marked for deletion, an error message appears during order entry or delivery processing, which blocks these transactions.

Steps:

You can mark a material of the material type "trading goods" for deletion by using the following steps:

1. In the
SD Master Data Screen select, Products ® Material ® Trading goods ®Change.

You reach the Change Material: Initial Screen.

2. In the menu bar, select Material
® Set deletion flag ® Immediately.

You reach the screen Flag Material for Deletion: Initial Screen, in which you enter the material, as well as the data on the organizational level.

3. Press ENTER.

You reach anotherDisplay screen.

4. In the left column mark the material and the organizational level at which you want to mark the material for deletion.
5. Press ENTER.

The material is marked for deletion.

A deletion flag cannot be cancelled. However, a material is only deleted during archiving, if all business transactions depending on it have been concluded.

SAP Blocking a Material Master Record Sales Status

If a material has technical defects or is to be discontinued, you can block the material.

If you set a block, orders, deliveries and invoices containing this material cannot be created at all, or only with a warning message. The system reactions to a blocked material depends on the type of block set.

Steps:

You use the same procedure to block all material types. To block trading goods, for example, use the following steps:

1. In the
SD Master Data Screen select, Products ® Material ® Trading goods ®Change.

You reach the Change Material: Initial Screen.

2. Enter the trading goods you want to block.
3. Press ENTER.

A dialog box appears in which you can select a view.

4. Select view Sales 1
5. Press ENTER.

Another dialog box appears in which you must define the organizational level.

6. Enter a valid combination of plant, sales organization and distribution channel.
7. Press ENTER.

You reach the Change Material: Sales (1) screen.

8. Enter a blocking reason in the Sales status field.
9. Press ENTER.
10. Save the data record and return to the initial screen. You receive a message informing you that the material has been changed.

Maintaining a Material Master Record

Since different company areas access a material master record, it can happen that a material master record already exists for other company areas, but has not yet been maintained for your area.

You can use the function Maintain material to add new views to an existing material master record. In contrast to changing a material master record, you add new views to the data records when maintaining. The main difference between maintaining a material master record and creating it, in the sense of adding another view, is that, when maintaining, more selection criteria are available to you. These selection criteria are not available for the function Change and Create.

The maintenance status tells you which department has already maintained the material master record. For more information on the maintenance status of a material master record, see Maintenance Status in the Material Master Record.

Steps:

Use the following steps to maintain a material master record:

1. In the
SD Master Data Screen select, Products ® Material ® Maintain material.

You reach the Extendable Mat.view(s): Initial Screen, on which you can enter various selection criteria, such as maintenance status, plant, sales organization, etc. The entries in the fields displayed offer you a flexible way of searching. You can limit the search by combining criteria and select specifically: you can search for all materials, for example, which have not yet been maintained from a certain view and belong to a certain industry sector. You can combine any criteria.

2. Enter the sales organization for whose materials you want to maintain certain views.
3. Select Execute.

You receive a list of all materials which have not yet been maintained from the view entered (i.e. sales).

4. Select the material you want to edit, by marking it at the left screen border.
5. Press Actions
® Maintain materials.

You reach the department-specific data screens of the material master record, which you can now maintain.

6. When you want to exit the material master record, the system prompts you to save the data.
7. Save your work.

You return to the initial menu where you see the system message

Material exists and is being extended.

Defining Defaults for a Material Master Record

If you want to always work with the same views (for example, the sales screens), at the same organizational level or within the same industry sector, you do not need to enter all these specification every time you carry out a transaction in the material master record. You can define defaults for each user.

Steps:

If you want to define a certain view selection as a default, you must select a material type such as trading goods, to reach the data screen in which you define the defaults. Defining defaults other material types is done in the same way. Proceed as follows:

1. In the
SD Master Data Screen select, Products ® Material ® Trading goods ®Change.

You reach the Change Material: Initial Screen.

2. In the menu bar, select Defaults.

You see a pull-down menu with the options Industry sector, Views and Organizational levels.

3. Select the menu option Views.

A dialog box appears from which you can select the views which you want to work with.

4. Select your views as required. In addition, mark the field View selection only on request.
5. Press ENTER.

You have now defined a default for view selection. When you edit a material master record, the dialog box for view selection is no longer displayed and you automatically access the predefined views.

In the same way, you can suppress the selection of the organizational level or the industry sector for processing a material master record. The use of defaults speeds up access to material master records.

Cancelling Defaults

To cancel a default, repeat the described procedure and delete the check mark in the View selection only on request field.

Product Selection

Purpose

In the standard order processing cycle, a customer requests a specific product that you then ship. In reality, however, there are situations where you want to substitute the product ordered with an alternative, for example when products are repackaged for promotional purposes (for Christmas, or with free prizes or coupons).

With the product selection functions in the R/3 System, you can flexibly manage product substitution. Based on your priorities for the customer account and restrictions imposed by the customer, you can ship a promotional item when the customer requests a standard one.

Integration

Product selection functions rely heavily on the condition technique and material determination.

Features

The standard available-to-promise (ATP) check is available to help you determine exactly what to ship. A check is carried out:

• At order entry

This ensures that sufficient quantities of the product acceptable to the customer are available to meet the requested delivery date.

• At picking

This ensures that your preferred substitute is shipped. If there is insufficient stock of the preferred item, the system fulfills the order with additional alternative items.

Product selection can be manual or automatic. Depending on how you configure your system, you can:

• Produce a list of alternative products from which the order entry person can choose
• Automatically select products according to their availability and priority

For tracking purposes, the system stores data about what the customer has ordered. You can use this information as a reference, or for printing invoices and packing lists.

Evaluating the Substitution Procedure SD Product Selection

Before setting up product selection, you must determine how substitution is to be carried out, as well as evaluate the process flow from beginning to end. Here are several questions to help you prepare for setting up product selection functions:

• How are substitute products determined?

By the product entered in the order, or by material group?

• How many substitutes are offered for each product?

How are the substitutes prioritized?

• Are there any product attributes that would cause a customer to refuse or accept a substitute?

For example, coupons, packaging, or special offers.

• Are products substituted consistently, or does the substitution process change according to dates or seasons?

What is the date range validity for the substitution rules?

For example, material A is substituted with material B in November and December. The rest of the year, it is substituted with material C.

• What number is printed on documents?

The product number entered in the order, the substitute product number, or both?

Is this consistent for all documents, for example, order confirmations, deliveries, and invoices?

• How is pricing performed when a product is substituted?

Are prices based on the product entered or the substitute product?

• Are standard item and schedule line categories suitable for your company’s product selection?

The standard item categories are TAX (main item) and TAPS (sub-item).

Their schedule line categories are CX and PP respectively.

• Should the system redetermine product selection when you copy data from document to document?

For example, you may want a new product selection when copying from sales order to delivery, but not from sales order to return.

Configuring Product Selection SD Product Selection

Product selection is controlled by various Customizing activities, mainly for material determination.

The following topics explain the configuration procedure step by step. Activities have been split up to make them easier to perform.

Setting the Condition Technique SD Product Selection

Prerequisite

Product selection uses the condition technique to determine substitutes for a material entered in the order. Review the field catalog, condition tables, access sequences, and condition types in the standard system to determine if they fit your company's version of product selection. If not, you can modify the field catalog and create condition tables, access sequences, and condition types to meet your requirements.

Procedures

Modify the field catalog (OV26)

The field catalog for material determination contains fields for determining substitute products. Review these fields in the standard catalog. If your company determines substitutes based on a characteristic not listed as a viable field in the catalog, simply add it:

1. Add the new field to the user include structure:

• Header data KOMKDZ
• Item data KOMPDZ.

2. Add code to the routines for assigning values to the new fields in order processing in program MV45AFZA. Use user exits:

• USEREXIT_MOVE_FIELD_TO_KOMKD (header fields)
• USEREXIT_MOVE_FIELD_TO_KOMPD (item fields)

3. Add the new field to the field catalog (Customizing activity Basic Functions ® Material Determination ® Maintain prerequisites for material determination ® Maintain field catalog).

Create a condition table for substitution (OV16)

You can create a table in the system based on how you perform product substitution. The condition table serves as the format and eventual storage area where detailed condition records on product substitution mappings are stored.

To create a table, perform the Customizing activity Maintain prerequisites for material determination ® Create condition tables:

1. Key in a table number (using a number greater than 500), or leave the table field blank for the system to assign the next available number.
2. Select the appropriate fields to be included in the table.
3. Save and generate the table.

Create an access sequence for substitution (OV11)

You can create an access sequence in the system based on how you perform product substitution. The system uses the access sequence to search for valid condition records within the condition tables.

To create an access sequence, perform the Customizing activity Maintain prerequisites for material determination ® Maintain access sequences:

1. Choose New entries.

Enter a code and description for the access sequence.

2. Save and choose Back to return to the main screen.
3. Select the new entry and choose Accesses.
4. Choose New entries.

Enter an access level, the condition table number and, if necessary, a requirement. Add additional tables if needed.

5. Save and choose Back.
6. Select the new entry and choose Fields.

Enter a direct value or select the initial value indicator.

7. Save and and choose Back.
8. Select the new access sequence and choose Utilities.

Complete the access sequence fields with the new access sequence number.

Create condition type and assign access sequence (OV12)

You can create a condition type in the system based on how you perform product substitution. A condition type directs the system to the access sequence and eventual condition table containing the condition records that are used to determine substitutes.

To create a condition type, perform the Customizing activity Maintain prerequisites for material determination ® Define condition types:

1. Choose New entries

Enter a code and description for the condition type.

2. Assign a valid access sequence and identify the rule to be used to propose the from and to validity dates.
3. Save.

Creating Product Substitution Procedures SD Product Selection

Prerequisite

Substitution procedures contain condition types that direct the system to the access sequence and eventual condition table containing the condition records that are used to determine product substitutes.

Procedure

To create a procedure, perform the Customizing activity Basic Functions ® Material Determination ® Maintain prerequisites for material determination ® Maintain procedures (transaction OV13):

1. Choose New entries.

Enter a code and description for the procedure.

2. Save and choose Back to return to the main screen.
3. Select the new entry and choose Control.
4. Choose New entries.

Enter an access level, control number, the condition type, and, if necessary, a requirement. Add additional condition types if needed.

5. Save and choose Back to return to the main screen.

Assigning Procedures to Sales Document Types SD Product Selection

Prerequisite

The system uses the document type to decide what data in the sales document to use for determining substitute products. The link between procedure and document type directs the system to the selection records that are processed during order entry.

By making this assignment, you are essentially "turning on" substitution for specific document types. When you leave the assignment field blank, the system does not check for substitutes even if the records exist.

Procedure

To assign a product selection determination procedure to document types, perform the Customizing activity Basic Functions ® Material Determination ® Maintain prerequisites for material determination ® Assign procedures to sales document types (transaction OV14).

Creating Substitution Reasons SD Product Selection

Prerequisite

The substitution reason directs how the system performs product selection. With this reason, you can specify, for example:

• What products should be printed in documents, such as an order confirmation
• Whether the selected products should be reevaluated when the document is referenced, for instance when a delivery is created
• Whether the selected products should be copied directly from the source document, from returns for example.

Procedure

To create a substitution reason, perform the Customizing activity Basic Functions ® Material Determination ® Maintain prerequisites for material determination ® Define substitution reasons (transaction OVRQ):

1. Choose New entries.

Enter a code and description for the substitution reason.

2. Select the Entry indicator if you want the original material (not substitutes) to be printed in documents.
3. Leave the Warning and Strategy indicators blank.

Do not mark these indicators, or you will not be able to perform automatic product selection based on ATP.

4. Assign either outcome A or B depending on your preferences for the following:

Substitution Outcome Reason Codes

	Outcome
	A	B
Create as sub-items	Yes	Yes
Repeat selection in delivery	Yes	No

You must choose either A or B. Do not leave this field blank.

Integration

One of the most important decisions that you have to make about the product selection process is whether or not substitutions determined in the order are to be redetermined in the delivery.

OUTCOME A

When you assign outcome A to a substitution reason, note the following special processing features and constraints:

• The system redetermines product substitutions when copying them from sales documents to deliveries.
• Rush orders are not supported.
• Main item and sub-items must be carried through from the sales document, to the delivery, to the billing document.
• If you use listings and exclusions in the sales document process, the system does not take these listings/exclusions into account when it redetermines substitutions in the delivery.
• The system uses only the copy rules associated with the main item when transferring data from document to document.To properly transfer the sub-item from order to delivery, you must assign copy rule 110 to it.
• Item category usage indicator PSHP is used for the main item, and PSEL for the sub-item.

OUTCOME B

When you assign outcome B to a substitution reason, note the following special processing features and constraints:

• The system does not redetermine product substitutions when copying them from sales documents to the deliveries. All items are directly copied.
• Rush orders are fully supported.
• Main item and sub-items do not have to be carried through from the sales document, to the delivery, to the billing document.
• If listings and exclusions are used in the sales document process, the changes made as a result influence the delivery documents.
• The system takes copy rules for both the main and sub-items when transferring data from document to document.
• Item category usage indicator PSA1 is used for the main item, and PSA2 for the sub-item

In this example, product selection is performed in the order.

If you select outcome A, the system repeats product selection in the delivery. At the time the delivery is created, there is more inventory available for alternative 1. In this case, the system ignores the second alternative and confirms the entire requested quantity of the first alternative.

If you select outcome B, the product selection from the order is copied directly from to the delivery. There is no new ATP check.

Substitution Outcome Scenario

Setting Item Categories SD Product Selection

There are two separate item categories in sales documents for product selection. The item category TAX contains specifications for the main item (original product). The other, TAPS, contains specifications for the sub-items (substitute product).

Review the item category configurations in the standard system. If these do not meet your requirements, perform the activities in the following topics to modify the item category configuration, or create your own categories. Note that unless your product selection procedure requires that pricing be done at the main item instead of the sub-item, it is not necessary to create new item categories.

The following examples detail how pricing is carried out at the main item level and sub-item level for product selection.

In this first example, the price for the order is determined based on the price condition records for the main item only. You have set the sub-item category to be irrelevant for pricing, so the system does not determine a price for it. Since both the main item and the sub-item categories are relevant for billing, these prices (or lack of price) are carried through to the invoice and billed accordingly.

Pricing at the Main Item

In this second example, the price for the order is determined based on the price condition records for the sub-items. You have set the main item category to be irrelevant for pricing, so the system does not determine a price for it. Since both the main item and the sub-item categories are relevant for billing, the prices (or lack of price) are carried through to the invoice and billed accordingly.

Pricing at the Sub-item

Configuring Sales Document Item Categories SD Product Selection

Prerequisites

Item categories contain instructions about the attributes of the line item to which they are assigned. Review the standard sales document item categories for product selection. If you decide that these do not meet your business requirements, for example if you require that pricing be done at the sub-item level rather than the main item level, create new sales document item categories for the main and sub-items.

Procedures

We recommend that you copy, then change the standard sales document item categories instead of creating them from scratch. To copy categories, perform the Customizing activity Sales ® Sales Documents ® Sales Document Item ® Define item categories (transaction VOV7).

To copy the main item category, select the entry TAX and choose Copy. Overwrite the key and description with your sales document item category. Make any additional changes and save.

To copy the sub-item category, select the entry TAPS and choose Copy. Overwrite the key and description with your sales document item category. Make any additional changes and save.

Schedule Lines and relevance for delivery

Select the Item relev.for.dlv indicator for the main item category if you are using outcome A. Although the main item may not actually be delivered, this is necessary so that product selection can be re-determined in the delivery.

If you are using outcome B, select this indicator for the sub-item category only.

Configuring Delivery Item Categories SD Product Selection

Prerequisite

Review the standard delivery item categories for product selection. If you decide that these do not meet your business requirements, for example if you want to remove quantity lines with zero quantity (i.e. substitutes that were not selected), or check for minimum quantities differently than in the standard system, create new delivery item categories for the main and sub-items.

Procedures

We recommend that you copy, then change the standard item categories instead of creating them from scratch. To copy categories, perform the Customizing activity Logistics Execution ® Shipping ® Deliveries ® Define item categories for deliveries (transaction OVLP).

To copy the main item category:

1. Select the entry TAX and choose Copy. Overwrite the key and description with your sales document item category.
2. Be sure to maintain the AvailCkOff (availability check off) field blank so that the main item is not checked when items are copied to the delivery.
3. If you are using batch-managed materials, select the No batch check indicator so that the main item is not processed in the delivery for batch assignment.
4. Make any additional changes and save.

To copy the sub-item category:

1. Select the entry TAPS and choose Copy. Overwrite the key and description with your delivery item category.
2. Be sure to leave the AvailCkOff (availability check off) field blank so that the sub-item is checked.
3. Make any additional changes and save.

If product selection is performed again in the delivery, the system may copy zero quantity line items into the delivery (due to the rejection of a substitute). In order to prevent these zero line items from being copied, enter B in the Check quantity 0 field.

Determining Sales Document Item Categories SD Product Selection

Prerequisite

When you create a sales document, the system determines the item category for the line according to settings in the item category determination table for the sales document type, item category group, item usage, and higher level item.

In product selection, you choose the item category usage based on the outcome that you specify in the reason for substitution, either A or B. The following usages are available for sales document main and sub-items:

Item Category Usage

	Outcome
Usages	Order & Delivery	Order Only
	A	B
Main item	PSHP	PSA1
Sub-item	PSEL	PSA2

Procedures

Make new entries for the appropriate document type and usage indicator for the outcome that you have specified. To assign categories, perform the Customizing activity Sales ® Sales Document ® Sales Document Item ® Assign item categories (transaction VOV4).

To assign the main item category:

1. Choose New entries to enter the order type, item category group, and usage codes.
2. Leave the higher level item blank.
3. Enter the new sales document main item category in the default Item category field.
4. Save and choose Back to exit.

To assign the sub-item category:

1. Choose New entries to enter the order type, item category group, usage codes, and higher level (main) item category.
2. Enter the new sales document sub-item category in the default Item category field.
3. Save and choose Back to exit.

Determining Delivery Item Categories SD Product Selection

Prerequisites

When you create a delivery, the system determines the item category for the line according to settings in the item category determination table for the delivery type, item category group, item usage, and higher level item.

In product selection, you choose the item category usage based on the outcome that you specify in the reason for substitution, either A or B. Two of the following usages are available for delivery document main and sub-items:

Item Category Usage

	Outcome
Usages	Order & Delivery	Order Only
	A	B
Main item	PSHP	PSA1
Sub-item	PSEL	PSA2

Prerequisites

Make new entries for the appropriate document type and usage indicator for the outcome that you have specified. To assign categories, perform the Customizing activity Logistics Execution ® Shipping ® Deliveries ® Define item category determination in deliveries (transaction 0184).

To assign the main item category:

1. Choose New entries to enter the delivery type, item category group, and usage codes.
2. Leave the higher level item blank.
3. Enter the new delivery main item category in the default Item category field.
4. Save and choose Back to exit.

To assign the sub-item category:

1. Choose New entries to enter the delivery type, item category group, usage codes, and higher level (main) item category.
2. Enter the new delivery sub-item category in the default Item category field.
3. Save and choose Back to exit.

Determining Delivery Item Categories SD Product Selection

Prerequisites

When you create a delivery, the system determines the item category for the line according to settings in the item category determination table for the delivery type, item category group, item usage, and higher level item.

In product selection, you choose the item category usage based on the outcome that you specify in the reason for substitution, either A or B. Two of the following usages are available for delivery document main and sub-items:

Item Category Usage

	Outcome
Usages	Order & Delivery	Order Only
	A	B
Main item	PSHP	PSA1
Sub-item	PSEL	PSA2

Prerequisites

Make new entries for the appropriate document type and usage indicator for the outcome that you have specified. To assign categories, perform the Customizing activity Logistics Execution ® Shipping ® Deliveries ® Define item category determination in deliveries (transaction 0184).

To assign the main item category:

1. Choose New entries to enter the delivery type, item category group, and usage codes.
2. Leave the higher level item blank.
3. Enter the new delivery main item category in the default Item category field.
4. Save and choose Back to exit.

To assign the sub-item category:

1. Choose New entries to enter the delivery type, item category group, usage codes, and higher level (main) item category.
2. Enter the new delivery sub-item category in the default Item category field.
3. Save and choose Back to exit.

Setting Schedule Line Categories SD Product Selection

Prerequisite

Schedule line categories contain specific instructions for the sales document line, dictating how the system passes requirements, and checks ATP and other data. In product selection, the schedule line is important because the system uses it to determine whether to process for the main item or the sub-item.

Review the schedule line category configurations in the standard system. If these do not meet your requirements, perform the following activities to modify the schedule line category configuration, or create your own categories.

For your reference, here are the SAP standard settings for schedule lines:

Procedure

To configure schedule line categories, perform the Customizing activity Sales ® Sales Documents ® Schedule lines ® Define schedule line categories (transaction VOV6).

To configure the main item schedule line:

1. Select the entry CX and choose Copy.
2. Overwrite the key and description with your schedule line category.
3. Make any additional changes and save.

To configure the sub-item schedule line:

1. Select the entry PP and choose Copy.
2. Overwrite the key and description with your schedule line category.
3. Make any additional changes and save.

Entering Materials for Substitution SD Product Selection

1. Choose Logistics ® Sales and distribution ® Master data ® Products ® Material determination ® Create.
2. Enter a material determination type and choose Enter.

The standard system includes only material determination type A001. Depending on your business requirements, you may create additional types.

3. Enter a
substitution reason

You can enter a reason manually in each substitute, or enter a default value which the system proposes automatically in the individual substitutes that you create for the main material. This reason is also used in messages in sales order processing.

The system cannot determine the outcome without the substitution reason. You must specify a reason in order to carry out product selection.

4. Enter a validity period for the substitution

The system checks the validity date in the condition records against the requested delivery date in the order header. For example:

Material:	Product 01
Conditions: 02/01 - 02/28	Product 01 is substituted as follows: Product A Product B Product C
Conditions: 03/01 - 03/31	Product 01 is substituted as follows: Product D Product E Product F
Material entered in order:	Product 01
Header date: 02/01 Line date: 03/01	The system proposes: Product A Product B Product C

5. Enter the product that you want the system to substitute with another

Product selection is triggered automatically when you enter this product in an order.

6. Enter alternative products

To enter more than one alternative, select the main material, choose Alternative materials and list the alternatives in order of priority.

Set the material requirements planning (MRP) indicator for one of the alternatives if you want the system to confirm a partial quantity and pass information about the material shortage on to planning. The system creates a special sub-item in the order for partial confirmations.

Enter the original product as the first alternative if you want the system to check this material for availability first, before checking for other alternatives.

Original Material:

• Product A

Alternatives:

• Product A ® Substitute 1
• Product B ® Substitute 2
• Product C ® Substitute 3

When you enter product A in an order, the system checks whether the item is on substitution before checking ATP. Once it determines that the material is to be substituted, the system attempts to find an alternative from the list of possibilities. Beginning with product A, the system checks ATP for each potential substitute to determine if there is sufficient inventory.

7. Enter a unit of measure for the substitute material if you use international article numbers (EAN)

If you do not enter a substitue unit of measure (UOM), the system determines it using the sales UOM, or if you have not entered one, the base UOM.

8. Save and exit.

Product Attributes SD Product Selection

Use

By defining product attributes, you can take into account customer preferences for product substitution. You can store information for up to ten product attributes in both the material master record and the customer master record of the ship-to party:

• In the material master, you can assign product attributes to the material, to indicate whether a product is available with different kinds of packaging, for example.

• In the customer master of the ship-to party, you can indicate whether a customer rejects materials with certain product attributes.

In product selection, the system ignores any material with a product attribute that the customer has explicitly rejected.

Activities

Evaluate your business to determine if there are situations where certain customers refuse products with special attributes. For example, some customers do not accept products produced abroad, while other customers do not want any product that contains a coupon.

If special circumstances exist where certain customers do not accept products with specific attributes, you can define up to 10 product attributes that the system checks during the product selection process.

Define product attributes in the material master

To assign product attributes to a material, choose Materials management ® Material master. Enter a material, choose Org. levels and select the Sales: Sales org. data 2 view. Mark the attributes that apply.

For example, attribute 1 could be defined as a material that is packaged with a visual coupon reference, while attribute 2 could indicate that the coupon is worth less than $0.50. If this material contains a coupon for $1.00, select attribute 1 only.

Define product attributes in the customer master

Select Sales and distribution ® Master data ® Business partners ® Ship-to party (if different from the sold-to party). Enter a customer and choose the Sales view in the sales area data. Choose Environment ® Product attributes. Mark the product attributes that the customer is not willing to accept.

For example, mark attribute 1 if the customer is not willing to accept any product with a visual coupon reference. Mark only attribute 2 if the customer is willing to accept a product with a visual reference to a coupon, but only if the value is greater than $0.50.

If you change the ship-to partner during order entry, the system redetermines product selection to ensure that the attributes of the product and the customer are compatible.

In Customizing for Sales (Sales Document ® Sales Document Header ® Sales document types in the ProdAttr.messages field), you determine how the system reacts when it checks the preferences of the customer against the product attributes assigned to the material. For example, the system may issue a warning, or an error that prevents further processing.

This function is for manual product selection only. It is not used for automatic product selection. In the case of automatic selection, if the attributes of the customer and material are not compatible, the system simply does not propose the product as a possible substitute. It does not issue error or warning messages.