Master Data in Sales and Distribution

Purpose

Sales processing is based on the following basic structures:

• Every company is structured in a certain way. In order to work with the SAP System your company structure has to be represented in the system. This is done with the help of various organizational structures.

• In sales and distribution, products are sold or sent to business partners or services are performed for them. Data about the products and services as well as about the business partners is the basis for sales processing. Sales processing with the SAP R/3 System requires that the master data has been stored in the system.

In addition to sales and distribution, other departments of the company such as accounting or materials management access the master data. The material master data is stored in a specific structure in order to allow access from these different views.

• The processing of business transactions in sales and distribution is based on the master data. In the SAP R/3 System, business transaction are stored in the form of documents. These sales and distribution documents are structured according to certain criteria so that all necessary information in the document is stored in a systematic way.

Organizational Structures in Sales and Distribution SD

Use

In the SAP R/3 System you can use several structures to represent the legal and organizational structure of your company. You can structure from the point of view of accounting, materials management, and sales and distribution. It is possible to combine these structures. The organizational structures form a framework in which all business transactions can be processed.

Organizational Structures in SAP SD

Use

In the SAP R/3 System you can use several structures to represent the legal and organizational structure of your company. The organizational structures form a framework in which all business transactions can be processed.

Integration

You link the organizational structures in SD with those in Financial Accounting and Materials Management.

Activities

You maintain and assign the organizational units in Customizing for the enterprise structure.

Sales Area in Sales and Distribution SD

Use

SD is organized according to sales organization, distribution channel and division. A combination of these three organizational units forms the sales area.

The following graphic displays these organizational elements.

In sales organization 1000, sales and distribution transactions can be carried out through all distribution channels and for all divisions. In sales organization 2000, products of both division 01 and division 02 are only sold through distribution channel 10. In sales organization 3000, only products of division 01 are sold, and only through distribution channel 10.

Features

Creating a sales area allows you to exclude certain combinations of the different organizational areas.

Sales organization in Sales and Distribution SD

Definition

The sales organization is an organizational unit within logistics, that structures the company according to its sales requirements.

Use

A sales organization is responsible for the sale and distribution of goods and services.

It represents the selling unit as a legal entity. It is responsible for product guarantees and other rights to recourse, for example. Regional subdividing of the market can also be carried out with the help of sales organizations. Each business transaction is processed within a sales organization.

The sales organization must be specified in all sales documents. It is therefore available for all basic functions of SD (such as pricing, availability, etc.).

Structure

A sales organization can be subdivided into several distribution chains which determine the responsibility for a distribution channel.

Several divisions can be assigned to a sales organization which is responsible for the materials or services provided.

A sales area determines which distribution channel can be used to sell the products from one division in a sales organization.

Integration

Each sales organization is assigned exactly one company code for which you enter all accounting details of the sales organization.

A distribution chain can be active for several plants and the plants can be assigned to different company codes. If the sales organization and plant are assigned to different company codes, an internal billing document is sent between the company codes before the sales transactions are entered for accounting purposes.

Distribution channel in Sales and Distribution SD

Definition

The distribution channel represents the channel through which salable materials or services reach customers. Typical distribution channels include wholesale, retail and direct sales.

Use

Within a sales organization a customer can be supplied through several distribution channels. In addition, the material master data relevant for sales, such as prices, minimum order quantity, minimum quantity to be delivered and delivering plant, can differ for each sales organization and distribution channel.

Structure

A single distribution channel can be assigned to one or more sales organizations.

Division in Sales and Distribution SD

Definition

In the SAP R/3 System you can define a division-specific sales organization. Product groups, i.e. divisions, can be defined for a wide-ranging spectrum of products.

For every division you can make customer-specific agreements on, for example, partial deliveries, pricing and terms of payment. Within a division you can carry out statistical analyses or set up separate marketing procedures.

Internal Organization in SD/Business Development

Use

The organization in Sales is represented by the elements sales office, sales group and salespersons. The following figure displays a sample organization in business development and sales.

Sales Office

Geographical aspects of the organization in business development and sales are defined using the term sales office. A sales office can be considered as a subsidiary. A sales office establishes contact between the firm and the regional market.

A branch office of a company in Chicago could be designated as a sales office.

Sales Group

The staff of a sales office may be subdivided into sales groups. For example, sales groups can be defined for individual divisions.

Salespersons

You can maintain personnel master records for sales representatives in your company. In the personnel master record, you assign the salesperson to the sales office and the sales group.

You can also enter the system user name of the sales person. This allows mails to be sent to the salesperson (define the partner function for sales personnel in the sales document).

Integration

Sales offices are assigned to sales areas. If you enter a sales order for a sales office within a certain sales area, the sales office must be assigned to that area.

The sales groups are assigned to the sales offices.

The salespersons are assigned to the sales group and the sales office via the personnel master record.

Organization in Shipping and Transportation in Sales and Distribution SD

Use

Independent organizational entities, such as shipping points, are responsible for scheduling and processing deliveries to customers, as well as replenishment deliveries to your own warehouses.

A delivery is always carried out by one shipping point only. The shipping point depends on the following criteria:

• Delivering plant

• Type of shipping (for example, train, truck)

• Loading equipment necessary

Loading Point

Shipping points can be subdivided into loading points. For example, ramp 1, ramp 2 and ramp 3 belong to the shipping point Forwarding depot.

The following figure displays a possible organization in shipping.

Transportation Planning Point

The transportation planning point is an organizational unit in Logistics, responsible for planning and processing transportation activities.

It organizes the responsibilities in a company, e.g. according to shipment type, mode of transport or regional departments.

Integration

The shipping point is assigned to a plant.

Loading points are assigned to shipping points.

Department and Receiving Point in Sales and Distribution SD

Definition

Departments are subdivisions of a ship-to party. These might be, for example, different departments in a store, bays in a distribution center, or areas in a manufacturing plant.

Departments are assigned to receiving points, which in turn are assigned to unloading points. One receiving point may have several departments assigned to it, but each department is assigned to only one receiving point. By knowing a department, you can therefore also determine the receiving point and the unloading point.

Using departments and receiving points enables you to more finely specify the final destination for a shipment or portions of a shipment, thus reducing the time it takes for the goods to become available for the receiver’s use or sale.

A pallet load of merchandise is delivered to Bay 1 at a department store (unloading point). The shipment is broken down and delivered to one or more floors (internal receiving points). From there the packages are delivered to one or more departments, such as Housewares, Consumer Electronics, Health & Beauty Aids, or Women’s Dresses.

Use

• Sales orders

The receiving point and department are located on the Business Data Detail Shipment screen, either at the header or item level. If the header contains this information, this becomes the default for all items, but you can override it for individual items if you wish. Items in a sales order may have different receiving points and/or departments.

• Picking lists and delivery notes

You can print the receiving point and department on picking lists and delivery notes. If this information was included in the sales order, then it will automatically be inserted in these other documents; otherwise, you can enter it manually. (However, picking lists and delivery notes are not split by receiving point or department.)

• Billing documents

You can specify that the department and receiving point are to be printed on billing documents. You can also specify that invoices are to be split by receiving point and department.

In Customizing for Retail (Retail ® C entral coordination ® Sales ® Sales order processing ® Maintain promotion/receiving point determination per sales document type) you can specify for each type of document whether or not automatic department and receiving point determination is to be done.

Structure

The department and receiving points are fields in sales orders and delivery notes.

Integration

The system can automatically determine the appropriate department and receiving point for an article. To enable this you must first of all carry out the following:

• For external customers: Assign merchandise categories in the customer master
• For internal sites (for example, member stores or distribution centers): Assign merchandise categories in the company master

In either case, you then assign valid departments and receiving points to the customer or site, and a department to each merchandise category. A merchandise category can only have one department.

When you enter an article on a sales order, for example, the system checks the merchandise category to which the article belongs, then checks the merchandise category information for that site or customer. The system then locates the corresponding department and receiving point for this article.

Organizational Structures in Accounting in Sales and Distribution SD

A group can be represented in the system using the terms client and company code. Generally, a client represents a group, while a company code represents a company in the sense of an independent accounting unit. Company codes are independent from each other in the legal sense.

The following figure illustrates how the client is subdivided in company codes.

Organizational Structures in Material Management

To monitor the stock of material it is necessary to be able to store in the system the locations at which materials are kept. You can do this using the terms plant and storage location. A plant can either be a place of production or a single storage location, or a combination of closely situated storage locations where stock is kept.

Every plant is assigned to a company code. This ensures that stocks and stock values can be managed separately in each company.

The following figure illustrates how the client is subdivided in plants and storage locations.

Link to Accounting Structure in Sales and Distribution SD

By assigning sales organizations and plants you create a link between company codes and sales organizations. A plant, though always linked to one company code, can be assigned to different sales organizations. Within a company code several sales organizations can be active. Business transactions can also be carried out between different company codes.

The following figure displays possible assignments of company codes, sales organizations and plants.

Plants 1, 2 and 3 belong to company code 1. Sales organization 1 uses plants 1 and 2. Sales organization 2 uses plants 2 and 3. Sales organizations 1 and 2 can make cross-company sales for goods from plants 4 or 5.

Link to Materials Management Structure in Sales and Distribution SD

The plants allowed for sales are determined for each sales organization according to the distribution channel, so that a sales organization can sell goods from several plants. A plant can be assigned to different sales organizations. All of these sales organizations can sell from that plant.

You can differentiate further between the plants belonging to a sales organization from the sales view using the distribution channel. For certain plants within a sales organization, the distribution channel "sales from plant" is allowed, but not for others.

The following figure shows an assignment of sales organizations and plants.

Sales organization 1000 sells goods from plants 1000 and 2000. Sales organizations 2000 and 3000 only sell goods from plant 2000 and 3000 respectively.