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1 Variant Configuration
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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Super BOM
Super Routing
Characteristic
Class
Object Dependencies
Configuration Profile
SD Condition records
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.
Material Variant is an material that can arises from individual Configuration of a configurable
product and can be kept in stock
For variants that are required frequently, we can create material variants, which can be produced
without a sales order and kept in stock. When a sales order is received, it is possible to check
whether the variant required is in stock, so that it can deliver immediately.
For material variants, a separate material master record is created with a material type that is kept
in stock.
Separate BOM and routing for a material variant, or you can link the material variant to the BOM and
routing of the configurable material. The correct BOM items and operations are determined from the
characteristic values assigned to the variant.
6.2 Planning Material
Planning Material is a material, which contains all the non-variant parts.
By using planning material all non-variants are procured / produced before sales order.
It is also possible for Planing the Planning Materials without reference to any sales requirement.
Planning material is planned separately using strategy 65 and produced before sales order creation.
7 Planing in VC
The following strategies are used for planning configurable materials and its variant parts.
Make to Order production of Variants
? Make to Order for Material Variant. - 26
? Planning Variants without final Assembly- 55
? Planning Variants with planning Material - 65
? Make to order with configurable material.- 25
? Characteristic Planning with dependent requirement - 56 and
? Assembly Processing with Characteristic Planning - 89
In this screen it also possible to restrict or hidden or displaying only allowed values to characteristic.
It is possible to that characteristic can be only assigned to particular class type by assigning type in
restriction screen.
To change a characteristic selects the pushbutton Change in characteristics after entering the
characteristic. To display the characteristic chooses the pushbutton Display.
10.1.4 Creating Class:
Purpose:
A class is used to hold the characteristics that describe a configurable material. By linking the class
to the configurable material, you allow the material to be configured using the characteristics of the
class.
Procedure
SAP Menu Logistic->Central function->Environment->classification->Class
Transaction Code CL01
Class holds all characteristics describe configurable material.
Class with class type 300 is used in configuration profile.
On basic Data screen class description, its status is entered. Status determines:
whether a class can be maintained
whether objects can be allocated to a class
whether the class can be used for selecting objects
Class group is used to group together related classes and also for finding classes quickly via a
matchcode.
?Same Classification ?indicator determines whether system check for identical characteristic values.
In this case, where several objects are assigned that have the same values for all characteristics to
the same class. Depends upon indicator system give warning or error message or no message.
Keyword string is used for finding a class via matchcode.The description entered on the basic data
screen serves as the first keyword
On characteristic screen list characteristic which has to attach with configurable material is
entered.
Using document tab screen it is possible to assign documents related to configurable object.
On additional data screen whether or not this class can be used as a class component in bills of
material. If it is yes then Unit of measure in which stocks of the material are managed. The system
converts all the quantities you enter in other units of measure (alternative units of measure) to the
base unit of measure and resulting item category which will replace this class item in BOM (i.e. Stock,
Non-stock item etc?).
10.1.5 Creating Dependency
Purpose
Dependency describes the interdependencies between characteristics and characteristic values and it
controls which components to be selected from a bill of material (BOM) and which operations to be
selected from a task list. It also changes the field values in BOM items and operations during
configuration.
Procedure
SAP Menu Logistic->Central function->Variant Configuration->dependency->Single Dependency->Create
Dependency
Transaction Code CU01
From the variant configuration menu, choose Dependency -> Single dependency-> Create
In initial screen name of the dependency is entered. If dependency need to create for a specific
date, enter a change number. It is also possible to create dependency by copying from existing
dependency.
On basic data screen the following data are required to enter
A language-dependent description for the dependency
Also possible to enter descriptions in different languages by choosing Descriptions.
Long texts for the dependency, choose Extras -> Documentation.
In the standard R/3 System, the status ?In preparation? when a dependency is created first time. The
You can change how characteristics are displayed according to organizational area for your user on
the value assignment screen.
Priority of Configuration Profiles
You can create several configuration profiles for a configurable material. The profile with the lowest
number has the highest priority.
If you define several profiles for an object, you see a dialog box for selecting a profile when you start
configuration. The profile with the highest priority is at the top of the list.
The priority is also relevant if you use Application Link Enabling (ALE) or intermediate documents
(IDocs) to run configuration, rather than dialog mode. In this case, the profile with the highest
priority is selected for the object. Profiles that have no priority are at the top of the list, because
they automatically have priority 0.
10.1.7.2 Profile Detail
Configuration Profiles for Materials
The configuration profile has several screens. Depending on what you enter for the BOM explosion and
configuration process, fields are shown or hidden.
The parameters you maintain for a material apply to the material as a header material in a BOM
structure. You cannot define separate settings for use of a configurable material as an assembly in a
BOM.
By choosing the Assignments pushbutton, you can assign dependencies to the configuration profile.
You also see this pushbutton on the basic data tab, once at least one dependency is assigned.
Basic Data Tab
In the basic data, click on the profile overview data.
If configuration process need to starts with a Start logo, documents are assigned such, as a graphic
showing the product you want to configure, to the variant class.
Configuration Initial Screen Tab
Configuration parameters
The parameters for BOM explosion and the configuration process in the sales order are specified here.
BOM application must be entered, if BOM explosion ?None? is selected rather than single and multi
level explosion is selected.
By entering a level of detail for a multi-level configuration, system performance will be improved.
It is also possible to define a filter and set the indicator for an availability check on assemblies.
10.1.8 Changing Configuration Profile: Add User Interface Settings
Purpose
Settings for the configuration editor in user interface.
An interface design is used to group characteristics together on the value assignment screen.
Here it also possible to define object-specific settings for functions in the configuration editor. These
settings are defaults for configuration, and can be overwritten for your user in the configuration
editor.
For all configuration parameters except BOM explosion ?None?, manually select the screens for the
configuration editor and define which screen configuration starts with. The start screen must be one
of the allowed screens.
The indicator for the configuration browser independently of the other start screens can be selected,
because the browser is an additional screen section.
Configuration Profiles for Objects Other than Materials
Object-specific settings for displaying characteristics and characteristic values in the configuration
editor can be defined. These settings are defaults for configuration, and can be overwritten for your
user in the configuration editor.
Procedure
Access the activity using one of the following navigation options:
SAP Menu Logistics Production Master Data Material Master Environment Configuration
Profile Change
Transaction Code CU42
10.1.9 Configuration Simulation
Purpose:
Configuration simulation is used to check the configuration model. In the configuration simulation,
the whether or not Object structure is created correctly and dependencies are working fine is
checked.
Simulation of Sales/Engineering
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
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
discounts.
For transmission medium 1 (Print output) or 7, you can maintain the communication data. To do this,
choose Communication.
Save the condition records.
10.2.3.1 Creating Output Condition Records: Billing
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to create output condition records for billing. Output types are used to
represent various forms of output in the SAP system. Examples of output types in Sales and
Distribution processing are order confirmations, freight lists, and invoices. You use the output type to
control how the output should be transmitted, for example whether an order confirmation should be
sent via EDI, or be printed
Procedure
1. Access the activity using one of the following navigation options:
SAP Menu Logistics Sales and Distribution Master Data Output Billing Document Create
Transaction Code VV31
Enter an output type.
Choose Edit >Key combination
Select the key combination for which condition records are to be created.
Choose Enter.
Enter the appropriate key for each condition record, according to the key combination you selected.
For transmission medium 1 (Print output) or 7, you can maintain the communication data. To do this,
choose Communication.
Save the condition records.
10.2.4 Order BOM
Purpose:
Products that are made to order in plant engineering and construction and mechanical engineering
are generally very complex and are specific to one customer. For this reason, you cannot define a
BOM entirely in advance. Once you have created your sales order, you need to make manual changes
to the BOM by creating an order BOM especially for the sales order, without changing the original
BOM.
The sales order, sales order item, and material number identify an order BOM. In variant
configuration, you can work with 2 types of order BOM. The difference is in the way they are saved.
Knowledge based order BOM
The order BOM is saved as a copy of the super BOM with manual changes and dependencies.
Result Oriented BOM
The configuration result is saved as an order BOM, with manual changes but without dependencies.
Procedure (For knowledge based BOM)
SAP Menu Logistics Production Planning Master Data Bills of Material -> Order BOM Maintain
(Multi-Level)
Transaction Code CU51
The Create Order BOM: initial screen appears.
Enter the sales order number, the order item, the material number and the BOM usage
If you want to use material BOM, or an existing order BOM to copy from, go to step 4. If you want to
create an order BOM without a reference, click and go to step 7
You cannot use a configurable BOM as a reference
Click on copy order BOM or Click on copy material BOM
The Copy material BOM or Copy order BOM dialog box appears
Enter the data required and click . The item overview appears, for the bill of material you are using
as a reference.
Enter new items and alter items if necessary. Entering items in order BOMs is similar to entering
items in material BOMs. However, you cannot enter class items in order BOMs.
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