SD2009- SD Variant Configuration v 1.

India SAP CoE, Slide 1

Variant Configuration
1 PrepareMe

2 TellMe

3 ShowMe

4 LetMe

5 HelpMe
India SAP CoE, Slide 2
Variant Configuration
1 PrepareMe

2 TellMe

3 ShowMe

4 LetMe

5 HelpMe
India SAP CoE, Slide 3
Purpose

Many a times with simple changes to the existing products

Business can match the expectations of the customer. In
this case adding new attributes to the existing products
serve the purpose. Variant configuration is one answer
where we create characteristics for a material and configure
the material in the order to match the expectations of the
customer.

India SAP CoE, Slide 4

Uses

• Can match the needs of the customer by adopting new models

by making changes to an existing product.

• Can increase the profits of the Business by offering new

products at higher price.

• Can reduce the R&D costs while developing new products.

• New products can be configured immediately by the system

itself and all changes in the costs of production, pricing for the
new product are taken into account by the system automatically.

India SAP CoE, Slide 5

Challenges

• The final product is not defined in the system before an order is

placed.

• To Integrate the cost of production with different models inherited

from the base model.

• Proper integration of data between sales, distribution and

manufacturing.

• To put together specifications for a product and ensure that the

product can be produced from these specifications.

India SAP CoE, Slide 6

Variant Configuration
1 PrepareMe

2 TellMe

3 ShowMe

4 LetMe

5 HelpMe
India SAP CoE, Slide 7
Variant Configuration
Variant configuration is for manufacturing complex products. The
manufacturer is always having to offer new products or models of an
existing product. Often, new products are created by modifying
existing product designs. The important thing is to react quickly to
customer’s requirements.

The customer determines the features of the product. A customer

buying a Bike, for example, can choose the features of the Bike and
combine these features as required. The Variant configuration
improves information exchange between sales, engineering, and
production. Variant configuration helps the customer or salesperson
to put together specifications for the product and ensure that the
product can be produced from these specifications. It also ensures
that production costs do not overstep the pre established mark.

India SAP CoE, Slide 8

Variant Configuration
In glimpse variant configuration involves the following,

1. Configurable Material – a material which is configurable

2. Characteristic- the characteristic contains the values which are

used to define the product.

3. Dependency - is used to restrict the combination of characteristic

values.

4. Configuration Profile - is used to control the configuration of a

material in sales order.

5. Variant Conditions - are used to define prices or surcharges for a

variant.

India SAP CoE, Slide 9

Variant Configuration
Configurable profile

Class Configurable material

Characteristic Dependency

Value1 Value3
Value2

India SAP CoE, Slide 10

Configurable Material

Before we can create a configurable material, the material master

record must have the ‘Material configurable indicator ‘ selected in
its Basic data.

We can create a material using a material type that has the

configurable indicator defined in Customizing. This means that all
materials created with this material type are configurable. In the
standard system, material type KMAT is defined for this purpose.

We can define individual materials of other material types as

configurable. To do this, set the Material configurable indicator in
the Basic data of the material master record.

India SAP CoE, Slide 11

Characteristics
Customer Recorded as
Expectations Characteristics

• To define the features of a configurable material, we use characteristics.

• To enable us to use characteristics to configure a material, we assign the

material to a class of class type 300. Possible characteristics of a bike, for
example as expected by customer, are model, color, and engine.

• The customer can choose from among different options for each
characteristic (values).

India SAP CoE, Slide 12

Dependencies
Dependencies refers to combinations of features that are not
possible for either technical or marketing reasons

Example:

We cannot combine all types of Bike engine with all types of

transmission, like certain types of engine models are only
available for more expensive models

Use : In Variant Configuration, we use dependencies to control

combinations of variants. This prevents combinations of options
that are not allowed. Dependencies also select exactly the right
BOM components and operations to produce a variant.

India SAP CoE, Slide 13

Dependencies (continued)
Dependencies are used to do the following:

 Describe the interdependencies between characteristics and

characteristic values

 Control which components are selected from a bill of material

(BOM) and which operations are selected from a task list.

 Change the values of fields in BOM items and operations during

You use a configuration

 Special syntax in the dependency editor to define dependencies.

India SAP CoE, Slide 14

Dependency Types
Dependencies can be classified as follows :

Preconditions
Selection conditions
Actions
Procedures
Constraints

Global and Local Dependencies

1. Global dependencies are created centrally and can be assigned

to several objects.

2. Local dependencies are created for one object and can only be
used with this object.

India SAP CoE, Slide 15

Configuration Profile
Each configurable object must have a configuration profile. The
configuration profile for a material controls the configuration
process in the sales order.

Purpose

We maintain configuration profiles for configurable objects to

define central settings for configuring the object.

We can create several configuration profiles with different settings

for an object. If an object has several configuration profiles, we
must select a profile during configuration. we can only make
changes to a configuration with the profile that you first used to
configure the object.

India SAP CoE, Slide 16

Features of Configuration Profile
We define different settings in configuration profiles for materials
than for other configurable objects. we use the configuration
profile to assign the configurable object to one or more variant
classes. This links the object to the characteristics of the class for
configuration.

Note that the class is then assigned to the configurable object, not
the profile. The profile only allows you to go to classification.

We can define settings that affect the display options and scope of
characteristics on the value assignment screen. You define these
settings for each object, and they apply to the object wherever it is
used. However, we can overwrite these settings for the user in the
configuration editor.

India SAP CoE, Slide 17

Features of Configuration Profile
(continued)

We can use an interface design to group characteristics together

and define a sequence on the value assignment screen. You need
to assign a name to an interface design to enable further
maintenance in the configuration simulation.

We can use the configuration profile to assign dependencies to a

configurable object. we can only assign dependency nets to a
configuration profile. If you assign actions and procedures to the
configuration profile, we can manage them more easily because
they are all in one place.

India SAP CoE, Slide 18

Variant Conditions
o We can make the price of a variant dependent on the
characteristic values .

o We can use variant conditions to define surcharges

and discounts for a variant.

o We can create variant conditions for material variants,

which can be used in sales order.

India SAP CoE, Slide 19

Variant Conditions
Definition
We can use variant conditions to influence the price of a
configurable material depending on the characteristic values
assigned.

We have two variant conditions :

VA00: This condition type expresses an absolute amount.
VA01: This condition type expresses the surcharge/discount as a
percentage.

Structure
Variant conditions consist of a variant key and an amount that is
identified by the variant key.

India SAP CoE, Slide 20

Variant Conditions in Sales
Use:
In Sales and Distribution, We can use variant conditions to define
surcharges and discounts for configurable materials, depending on
the characteristic values you assign.

Example:
If a customer wants a Bike with a Disk brake, the net price is
increased by a value of Rs.3500/-.

Note:
We create variant conditions with reference to a material, a
distribution channel, and a sales organization.

India SAP CoE, Slide 21

Variant Conditions in Sales
How to create variant conditions?

We have to create a characteristic that refers to table SDCOM,

field VKOND. The characteristic is assigned to the variant class
for the configurable material.

Note:
An object characteristic with a reference to the table SDCOM
field VKOND is multi-value because several variant conditions
can be entered

India SAP CoE, Slide 22

Variant Conditions in Sales (continued)
Use:
We maintain a variant condition for a material with reference to a
distribution channel and a sales organization. When we configure the
material, the variant condition created for the material is accessed. Variant
conditions are identified by a key.

Procedure:

We have two condition types VA01 and VA02 to create variant conditions
for a configurable material.

VA01 is used to create value condition for a variant.

E.g.. If the color of a bike is red and it has a price of Rs.2000/- then we
create value condition for this.

VA02 is used to create surcharge condition for a variant.

India SAP CoE, Slide 23

Variant Conditions in Procedures
Example:
If a bike is ordered with Disk brake, the price increases by
Rs.2000/-. Configurable material BIKE has characteristic Brake
with value ‘Disk’ (Disk brake).

Procedure:

1. We have to create variant condition ‘Disk’ with the amount

Rs.2000/- in condition type VA00.

2. We have to create characteristic VARCOND with a reference

to structure SDCOM and field VKOND.

India SAP CoE, Slide 24

Variant Conditions in Procedures
Procedure:

3. We can Create a single dependency of dependency type

procedure. In the procedure, we have to enter the
characteristic with the table reference and the variant key as a
value.

E.g.. $SELF.VARCOND = ‘Disk’

Note: Variant keys are case sensitive. In object dependencies, we

must enter the variant key in exactly the same form as in the
condition table. If the combination of upper and lower case
letters does not match the table, the variant condition is not
processed.

India SAP CoE, Slide 25

Pricing Factors
Use:
Surcharges or discounts can depend partly on a specific
characteristic value, partly on other factors, such as length.
This method of pricing can also be expressed in
dependencies. To do this, you enter the factor by which you
want the surcharge or discount to be increased or reduced, as
well as entering the variant condition.

Note: Pricing factors can only be maintained on characteristic

level, not
in the sales order.

The syntax of pricing factors is as follows:

$SET_PRICING_FACTOR ($SELF, <characteristic>, <variant key>,

<factor>)

India SAP CoE, Slide 26

Pricing Factors (continued)
$SET_PRICING_FACTOR ($SELF, <characteristic>, <variant key>,
<factor>)

This expression contains the following information:

• The characteristic that refers to structure SDCOM, in which

variant conditions are defined.

• The variant key used to relate the condition for a

characteristic value.

• The factor by which the surcharge increases. we can enter the

factor as a constant, a numeric characteristic, or a numeric
expression.

India SAP CoE, Slide 27

Variant Configuration
1 PrepareMe

2 TellMe

3 ShowMe

4 LetMe

5 HelpMe
India SAP CoE, Slide 28
Steps in Variant Configuration
Step1. Create a Material – KMAT type with Item category (002)

Step2. Create Characteristics in CT04 - Zbike, where in values mention the Color of the
bile
like Red, Blue etc. Create another characteristics in CT04 - ZPrice, where
directly go
the additional data tab and maintain the table SDCOM and field VKOND.

Step3. Assign these two characteristics to a Class in CL01 - ZBikeclass ( Type 300) in
characteristics tab page.

Step4. Then go to CU41 Configuration profile select the material and enter the
description
click on the class assignment i.e. assign Zbike class.

Step5. Now go back to CT04 - enter Zbike go to values select Red- go to extras – Other
Dependencies – Select Procedure enter – $self.ZPrice=’Red’ and save.
repeat the process for other values.

Step6. Go to VK11 - Enter VA00 (Condition)– enter variant Red and Blue give the rates
accordingly and create the sales order.

India SAP CoE, Slide 29

Settings in Material Type
Item category group is
002 for configurable
material

Select indicator material

is configurable Select classification
View of material master.

T.Code OMS2
India SAP CoE, Slide 30
Create Configurable Material
Select the Basic data2 tab

Description of material

Item Category Group is

0002 for configurable
material

T.Code MM01

India SAP CoE, Slide 31

Create Configurable Material
(continued)

Set the indicator material

is configurable.

India SAP CoE, Slide 32

Create Characteristics
Click on create button

Additional Data tab is used to

Configure variant conditions

T Code: CT04

India SAP CoE, Slide 33

Create Characteristics (continued)

Put status as released

Select the character format

Select multiple values

India SAP CoE, Slide 34

Create Characteristics (continued)

Step1: Select the value tab

Step2: Give
Characteristic values
and description

India SAP CoE, Slide 35

Create Class
Enter Class

Select the Create Button

Enter Class Type as 300

(defined for Variants)

T Code: CL01

India SAP CoE, Slide 36

Create Class (continued)

Enter description of class

Select status as released

Validity of the class

Indicates not to check similar
characteristic values

India SAP CoE, Slide 37

Add Characteristics to the Class

Step1: Select Characteristics Tab

Step2: Assign Characteristics to Class

India SAP CoE, Slide 38

Create Configuration Profile

Enter the Material

T Code: CU41
India SAP CoE, Slide 39
Create Configuration Profile
(continued)

Select Class Assignments

Enter Class as 300(variant class)

India SAP CoE, Slide 40

Create Configuration Profile
(continued)

Select Characteristic values

Step1: Double Click on Characteristic

India SAP CoE, Slide 41

Create Dependencies for
Characteristics

Step2: Follow the path and

select Editor

Step1: Open the characteristic in change mode

and select a character for which the
dependency is to be created

T Code: CU41
India SAP CoE, Slide 42
Dependencies For Characteristics
(continued)

Step2: Save the Dependency.

Step1: Enter the dependency

(follow the Dependency syntax)

India SAP CoE, Slide 43

Variant Conditions In Pricing
Procedure
Add Variant conditions in pricing
procedure.

To get pricing for values of characteristic in sales order, we have to

include variant condition types in pricing procedure T.Code V/08

India SAP CoE, Slide 44

Condition Records for Variant Conditions

Records are created for sales

organization, distribution channel and
material.

Enter variants

Enter prices associated with variants.

T Code: VK11
India SAP CoE, Slide 45
Characters for Variant Condition

Price is character for variant condition

Enter Field Name VKOND

Enter Table Name SDCOM

T Code: CT04
India SAP CoE, Slide 46
Assigning Values for
Characteristics in Sales Order

Sales order is created for customer and

material

Enter value for characteristic

Here variant condition refers to PRICE

(character)

T.Code VA01

India SAP CoE, Slide 47

Pricing for Variants in Sales
Order

Variants should get correct pricing

India SAP CoE, Slide 48

Variant Configuration
1 PrepareMe

2 TellMe

3 ShowMe

4 LetMe

5 HelpMe
India SAP CoE, Slide 49
Transaction Codes
Use the Transaction Codes below to create the configuration profile,
class, characteristics and variant condition records.

CT04 Create Characteristics.

CL01 Create CLASS.
CU41 Create Configuration Profile.
VK11 Create Variant condition records.
V/08 Maintain Variant conditions in pricing procedure.
MM01 Create configurable material .
OMS2 Configure Quantity and Value Updates.
VA01 Create Sales Order

India SAP CoE, Slide 50

Variant Configuration
1 PrepareMe

2 TellMe

3 ShowMe

4 LetMe

5 HelpMe
India SAP CoE, Slide 51
Dependency Syntax: General Rules

Operators Use in dependencies

AND Two Statements that are both either true or not true are linked with
AND.
Bike= ‘Passion’ AND Brake = ‘Disk’
OR Two Statements of which at least one is either true or not true are
linked with OR.
Color = ‘Blue’ or Engine = ‘150CC’
NOT You can negate one or more expressions by using NOT.
NOT (Color = ‘Blue’ and Engine = ‘150CC’)
IF Conditions in action and procedures starts with IF.
Color = ‘Blue’ IF Engine = ‘150CC’

India SAP CoE, Slide 52

Continued

Special Features
Lists In lists, the individual elements are always separated
by commas.
COLOR = ‘RED’ IF MODEL = ‘A’,
COLOR = ‘BLUE’ IF MODEL = ‘B’,
COLOR = ‘GREEN’ IF MODEL = ‘C’,
Case sensitivity In characteristic names, object variable, and
operators, there is no distinction between upper
case and lower case letters.

India SAP CoE, Slide 53