Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Variant Configuration6
1 Variant Configuration
Variant configuration is for manufacturing complex products in which customer determines the features of the product. Objective of variant
configuration is to react quickly to customers’ requirements.
Here it needs not to create separate material for each variant of a product. When companies introduce variant configuration this often goes
beyond a business process re-engineering project. Variant configuration offers an opportunity to restructure product structures for which then
processes are defined. This has a direct impact to the core areas such as marketing and product data management.
2 Advantages of VC
· No need to Create separate material master for each variant combination.
· Super BOM and Super Routing is enough for representing all possible Variants and Operations.
· Able to react more flexible to customer demands.
· Increase Information exchange between sales, engineering and production.
3 What is Configurable Material?
· A material with different features or characteristics and options is known as configurable material. Example: PC, Car.
· Configurable materials are either created in a material type that allows the configuration (n the standard system, the material type KMAT) or
they are given the indicator Configurable in the material master record.
4 Master Data used for VC
Following Objects are used as Master data for Variant configuration.
1. Super BOM
2. Super Routing
3. Characteristic
4. Class
5. Object Dependencies
6. Configuration Profile
7. SD Condition records
4.1 Super BOM
Super BOM Contains all the components for producing configurable product. It contains both variant as well as non-variant parts required for
producing configurable product.
4.1.1 Super BOM configuration
Super BOM can be created either one of the following methods.
· Create BOM with class Item of 200-class type that contains all characteristic of a configurable material.
· Create BOM with all possible materials as its components. Then assign /define dependencies to each component.
The different between this two method is
· BOM with class item, no need to assign or define object dependencies. Instead of that each material is classified in material master itself using
class 200.
· For both cases all characteristics are assigned to class 300 which is again assigned to KMAT material in order to trigger configuration in
configuration profile.
4.1.2 Super BOM with Class Item
Class items used to control the selection of variant parts in a BOM. Variant parts are classified in a class, and the class is entered in the BOM as
a class item. When you configure the material, the class is replaced by a suitable variant part.
4.1.3 Advantages of using Class Item in BOM
· Only one item for the class is enough, instead of several items for the individual variant parts.
· No need to create and assign selection conditions.
· Able to classify additional objects in the class at any time, without having to change the BOM.
4.1.4 Steps involved in super BOM with Class
? Define all Characteristics and its Values assign it to Class with type 200.
? Assign characteristic Values to materials by Classification material
? Assign class 200 with material instead of assigning all BOM items.
? Create and Assign class 300 (with same characteristics) with configurable product using configuration profile.
4.1.5 Super BOM with Material Components
This bill of material (BOM) of a configurable material contains all the components that are required to manufacture the material. The BOM
contains components that are only used in specific variants (variant parts), as well as components that are used in all variants (non-variable
parts).
4.1.6 Steps involved in super BOM with Material Components
? Define all Characteristics and its values assign it to Class with type 300.
? Assign Class with configurable material in Configuration profile.
? BOM is created with all variant and non-variant items.
? Define interdependency between objects (Characteristic, BOM item, Routing Operation etc?) by using Object Dependencies.
? Assign class 300 with configurable product using configuration profile.
4.2 Super Routing
A configurable routing describes the production process for all variants of a product. Instead of creating a routing for each variant of a product,
you can create operations for one routing, or a "super" routing.
It is possible to maintain Object dependencies for following in super routing:
· Sequences
· Operations/sub-operations
· Production resource/tool assignments
The routing is configured by system, when order is created for KMAT material.
2
4.3 Characteristic
Characteristic is used to define the features of a configurable material. To enable to use characteristics to configure a material, assign the
material to a class of class type 300. The customer can choose from among different options for each characteristic.
· Characteristics describe the properties of objects. The values of a characteristic specify these properties.
· Value assignment to characteristic may be single value or multiple value with required entry or restrict able entry.
· In characteristic it is also possible to use table name and its field name in order to change the Object quantity or values. I.e. BOM item quantity
or Operation time, which is known as ?reference characteristic?.
· In Restriction screen allowed Class types are entered i.e. for what are the class this characteristic may used. In general for Variant configuration
class 200 and 300 are used.
· It is also possible to assign Dependency to characteristic values maintained in Characteristic.
4.4 Variant Class
· In Variant configuration, Class is used to hold the characteristics that describe about configurable material. Class type to determine which
object types can be classified.
· Class is used in variant configuration if the class has a class type that supports variant configuration. In Customizing for Classification, the
Variant class type indicator must be set for the class type. In the standard system, this is class type 300.
4.5 Dependencies
· Dependencies restricts the combinations of options i.e. characteristic that are not allowed. It also select exactly the right BOM components and
operations to produce a variant.
· It also describe the interdependencies between characteristics and characteristic values
· It control which components are selected from a bill of material (BOM) and which operations are selected from a task list
· It also changes the values of fields in BOM items and operations during configuration.
4.5.1 Global and Local Dependencies
Global dependencies have the following properties:
· They are independent of any object.
· They are identified by a name that you assign, and are maintained and managed centrally.
· If you change a global dependency, the change affects all the objects where the dependency is used
Local dependencies have the following properties:
· They are only available to the object for which you create them
· You cannot use the central maintenance functions on these dependencies, and you cannot allocate them to other objects
· They are identified by a number assigned by the system, not an external name
Local dependencies are only used where certain dependency will not be needed elsewhere
The differences between global and local dependencies are as follows:
· Global dependencies are created centrally and can be assigned to several objects.
· Local dependencies are created for one object and can only be used with this object
4.5.2 Declarative and Procedural Dependency
· In Declarative dependencies the result are explained logically
· Declarative dependencies are easier to trace than procedural dependencies, because the point in time when the dependency is processed and the
sequence in which the dependencies are processed are not relevant.
· Example for Declarative dependency:
Constraint
Actions
Preconditions (provided that they contain no non-declarative expressions)
Selection conditions (provided that they contain no non-declarative expressions)
· In Procedural Dependency result depends on the processing sequence and the point in time when the dependency is processed.
Procedures
Preconditions (only if they contain non-declarative expressions)
Selection conditions (only if they contain non-declarative expressions)
4.5.3 Dependencies Types
The SAP System supports the following types of dependencies:
· Preconditions
· Selection conditions
· Procedures
· Actions (obsolete)
· Constraints
4.5.4 Preconditions
Preconditions can be allocated to the following objects:
· A characteristic that you want to hide
· A characteristic value that you want to hide
Preconditions are used to hide characteristics and characteristic values that are not allowed and thereby ensure that the configuration of an object
is consistent. In the precondition, it is also possible define the circumstances under which a characteristic or value is hidden.
A precondition is fulfilled if the condition you enter is either true or not violated.
4.5.5 Selection Conditions
Selection conditions used to ensure that all the objects relevant to a variant are selected:
· Selection conditions determine which variants require a specific component or operation
· Selection conditions determine when it is mandatory to assign a value to a characteristic
Selection conditions may allocate to the following objects:
· Characteristics
· BOM items
· Operations in task lists
3
· Sub-operations
· Sequences of operations
· Production resources/tools (PRTs)
A selection condition is fulfilled if the condition in it is unambiguously true.
4.5.6 Procedure
Procedures can be assigned to the following objects:
· The characteristic value that triggers the procedure
· The characteristic that triggers the procedure
· The configuration profile of the configurable object
Procedure is used for following purposes.
· A procedure is used to infer a value for a characteristic, you enter the variable $SELF before the characteristic.
· Procedures can overwrite values that are set by other procedures.
· Procedures are always used for pricing (see Variant Conditions).
Processing Sequences of Procedure
If an object has more than one procedure, a processing sequence is used to define the point when the procedure is processed.
4.5.7 Action
Actions are used to infer characteristic values. An action is processed as soon as the characteristic to which it is assigned has a value. It is not
possible to overwrite the characteristic values that are set by an action.
The following Objects can assign to action:
· The characteristic value that triggers the action
· The characteristic that triggers the action
· The configuration profile of the configurable object
· Configuration profile
· BOM items ? to change the quantity
· Operations in task lists ? to change the standard values
Since Action is lead to serious system performance problems, it is replaced by Procedure and Constraint.
4.5.8 Constraint
This dependency type is mainly for intensively interactive configuration tasks and for configuration tasks in which you need to take into account
the dependencies between the characteristics of several objects. The main purpose of a constraint is to monitor the consistency of a
configuration.
Constraints have the following distinguishing features:
· Constraints are used to describe the dependencies between completely different objects and their characteristics.
· Constraints are used to store information on which conditions must be fulfilled if the configuration is to be consistent.
· Constraints are not directly allocated to individual objects. They are grouped together to form dependency nets and allocated to a configurable
material in the configuration profile.
· In constraints, you enter objects in their general form of expression, without using $SELF, $ROOT, or $PARENT to identify objects. As a rule,
you refer to objects in constraints by entering the class to which the objects are allocated.
· Constraints are declarative dependencies. The processing sequence of constraints and the point in time when constraints are processed is not
relevant.
· Constraints are not processed in a specific order. You cannot determine when a specific constraint is used.
In any processing situation, a constraint is only processed once. If a value that is relevant to the constraint is changed, the constraint is triggered
again.
4.5.8.1 Structure of Constraints
There are four sections in a constraint. Each part is identified by a keyword. A colon follows the keyword. Each section ends with a period.
OBJECTS:
In this section, you enter the objects that are relevant to the constraint. You must enter the relevant objects in all constraints. You can also define
variables for objects or characteristics.
CONDITION:
The condition entered here must be fulfilled in order for the constraint to be used. You do not need to enter a condition in a constraint. You can
leave out the keyword CONDITION: if required. However, if you enter the keyword you must enter a condition.
RESTRICTIONS:
In this section, you enter the relation that must exist between the objects and characteristics if the configuration is to be consistent. You must
enter a restriction in a constraint.
INFERENCES:
In this section, you enter the characteristics for which characteristic values are to be inferred. The main purpose of constraints is to check the
consistency of a configuration. Usually, values are only inferred if you make an entry in this section.
For reasons of performance, only use constraints to infer values if it is really necessary. Constraints are grouped together to form dependency
nets. The dependency net is allocated to a configurable material in the configuration profile.
4.5.9 Dependency Net:
Constraints are grouped together in dependency nets. For this reason, the variant configuration menu does not support a function for creating
constraints directly. So that only constraints are defined within a dependency net.
5 Configuration Profile
The configuration profile for a material controls the configuration process in sales order. Configurable profile also used to define central settings
for configuring the object. Using this profile it is possible to hide some of the characteristic value defined during characteristic creation. We can
assign any number profile for a configurable material in which selection is based on either priority or manual selection during configuration.
By defining a filter in the configuration profile, possible to determine the scope of the BOM items to improve system performance when
exploding the BOM. The filter is active in high-level configuration, in result-oriented BOMs, and in SET processing.
5.1 Filters in Configurable Profile
Following objects can be used as filter:
4
· Object type
Class, material, document, text
In the standard system, all object types are selected and therefore exploded in the configuration. Deselect the object types that you do not want
to be displayed.
· Item category, for example, stock or non-stock item
All item categories in the configuration are exploded in the standard system. Remove the selection for the item categories you do not want to be
displayed.
· Item status
You maintain the status of a BOM item in maintain BOM dependent on its usage.
All items are displayed regardless of their item status in the standard system. However, only the items with this status are displayed when you
select specific item statuses. Items are not displayed that do not have the selected status.
· Sort string
You can assign sort strings for BOM items in maintain BOM. You can restrict the display of the BOM items by using these sort strings.
Only items that carry sort strings are checked and only those that match are displayed. Items that have no sort string are always displayed.
5.2 Component availability in the configuration profile
The availability check is just a snapshot, telling that whether the materials required are in stock at this moment. Several users can access the
same material at once. This means that supply problems can sometimes be overlooked.
Example: Only 2 pieces of a material are in stock, but the material is used in 3 BOMs. The availability check does not detect a supply problem.
The availability check for all 3 BOMs shows 2 pieces in stock.
5.3 Process Overview
There are different processes for configurable materials in sales documents. These processes can be defined on the Configuration initial screen
tab in the configuration profile, by choosing the Configuration parameter tab.
The Process are described in the following scenarios:
Planned/Production orders
This processing type is used to describe variant products whose configurable materials are assembled using planned and production orders. The
bill of material (BOM) can have single-level, multi-level, or no explosion.
Sales Order (SET)
This processing type is used to describe variant products that comprise salable configurable materials. These products are supplied together, but
are not assembled in a production order. Only sales-relevant BOM items are exploded in the sales order.
Order BOM.
You use this processing type if you want to make customer-specific changes to the BOM of a material that you configure in the sales order. In
the sales order, you assign values to the characteristics of the header material, but the BOM is not exploded in the sales order.
6 Material Variant and Planning Material
The configuration parameters in the configuration profile apply. Whether the configuration is simulated from the sales point of view or the
engineering point of view is defined.
If select Sales & distribution is selected the configuration in a sales document will be simulated (sales order or quotation), so the BOM
explosion depends on the settings in the configuration profile.
If Engineering is selected, the configuration in order BOM processing will be simulated. The configuration and BOM explosion depend on the
configuration parameters in the same way as when maintaining an order BOM. For example, we cannot configure the header material, because
the configuration is copied from the sales order.
· Simulation of a Planned Order
On the characteristic value assignment screen, we can choose Planned order to display the components that are determined in material
requirements planning (MRP) according to the characteristic values assigned. This is especially relevant to assemblies whose BOMs are
exploded in MRP, not in Sales & distribution (for example, assemblies with the BOM explosion setting None in their configuration profile).
Procedure:
SAP R/3 menu Logistics ® Production ® Master Data ® Bills of Material ® Environment ® Variant Configuration ® Environment ®
Configuration Simulation
Transaction Code CU50
· On the initial screen of the configuration simulation, select BOM to display the entire structure on the result screen.
· If you have created more than one configuration profile for a material, you see a dialog box. Select a profile and choose Continue. If you want
to call detailed information on the profile, choose Profile Detail or double-click on the profile.
· To display the task list of an assembly on the result screen, select the assembly and choose View ® Objects ® Task list.
· You see the operations or activities in the task list that was selected for the assembly during configuration.
· Operations that have been changed by dependencies have an information icon next to them. You can display changes by choosing Information.
· To return to the BOM explosion, choose View ® Objects ® BOM
10.2 Sales and Distribution
10.2.1 Creating Condition Records – VA00
Purpose:
The purpose of this activity is to create condition records for VA00.
Procedure
1. Access the activity using one of the following navigation options:
SAP Menu Logistics ® Sales and Distribution ® Master Data ® Conditions ® Select Using Condition Type ® Create
Transaction Code VK11
· Create price for each value of the characteristics by select using condition type VA00.
· Create the Price for the condition type that represents these types of the standard-delivered condition type for this functionality is ?VA00.?
· Condition type VA00 requires as key fields the sales Organization, distribution channel, and material number of the configurable.
· Condition type PR00 used to maintain base price of the configurable material.
· Using VA01it is also possible to maintain Surcharges and discounts.
10.2.2 Condition records for Variant Price and Surcharges
Purpose
9
Condition records allow you to store and retrieve pricing data in the system. All the pricing elements of your daily business – the prices,
discounts, and surcharges for freight and taxes – that you want to use for automatic pricing must be stored in the system as condition records.
You can define as many condition records as you want for the different pricing elements for any validity period.
You create condition records for all the pricing elements that the system takes into account during automatic pricing. During document
processing, the system transfers data from the condition records and determines the amounts for individual pricing elements (prices, discounts
and surcharges) and the final amount for the sales document
Procedure
10.2.2.1 Create a characteristic for the Pricing
Create Pricing characteristic like CAR_Pricing and go to additional data tab give SDCOM table name VKOND field name.
10.2.2.4 Assign the dependency to the characteristic value that triggers the price
For example eCar2002, the value ?V8? refers to the engine selected by the customer. Therefore, the dependency must be linked to the value ?
V8? of the characteristic that represents the engine type. To do this, go to the master data record of the characteristic CAR_ENGINE