Wednesday, May 28, 2008

SAP MM Configuration,Step 4:MM-SAP Enterprise Structure

SAP ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE

SAP enterprise structure is organizational structure that represents an enterprise in SAP R/3 system. It consists of some organizational units which, for legal reasons or for other specific business-related reasons or purposes, are grouped together. Organizational units include legal company entities, sales offices, profit centers, etc. Organizational units handle specific business functions.

Organizational units may be assigned to a single module (such as a sales organization assigned to Sales and Distribution (SD) module, or to several modules (such as a plant assigned to Materials Management (MM) and Production Planning (PP) module).

SAP R/3 system can represent a complex enterprise structure. Its flexibility can integrate the structure of an enterprise by linking its organizational unit. Enterprise structure design is a fundamental process in a SAP implementation project. The design is mainly determined by the business scenarios performed in an enterprise. Once the design is determined, it will affect many things such as how to perform a transaction and generate reports on SAP system. Although it's possible, it requires great effort to change the enterprise structure. So , we must ensure that the enterprise structure designed in the SAP implementation project can accommodate all business scenarios and enterprise's requirements for current and future situation.

From MM and FICO view, the typical enterprise structure can be seen as following image.

  • A Client is the highest-level element of all organizational units in SAP R/3 system. The client can be an enterprise group with several subsidiaries. An SAP client has its own master data (Data which is used long-term in the R/3 System for several business processes such as customers, materials, and vendors master data). In SAP, a client is represented by a unique 4-digit number.
  • A Company Code is a unit included in the balance sheet of a legally-independent enterprise. Balance sheets and Profit and Loss statements, required by law, are created at company code level. The Company Code is the smallest organizational unit for which we can have an independent accounting department within external accounting, for example, a company within a corporate group (client). In SAP, a company code is represented by a unique 4-digit alpha-numeric for a specific client. It is the central organizational element of Financial Accounting. At least there is one company code in a client. We can set up several company codes in one client in order to manage various separate legal entities simultaneously, each with their own balanced set of financial books. Besides company code, in FICO module there is also another important organizational unit which is Controlling Area. The Controlling Area is the business unit where Cost Accounting is carried out. Usually there is a 1:1 relationship between the controlling area and the company code. For the purpose of company-wide cost accounting, one controlling area can handle cost accounting for several company codes in one enterprise.
  • A plant is the place of production or simply a collection of several locations of material stocks in close physical proximity. A plant is represented by a unique 4-digit alpha-numeric for a specific client. Plant is used in Material Management (MM), Production Planning (PP), and Plant Maintenance (PM) module. A plant is assigned to one company code.
  • A Storage Location is a storage area comprising warehouses in close proximity. A Storage Location is represented by a unique 4-digit alpha-numeric for a specific plant. Material stocks can be differentiated within one plant according to storage location (inventory management). Storage locations are always created for a plant.

From MM perspective there another important organizational unit: Purchasing Organization.
It's an organization unit that has responsibility to company's purchasing requirements. It negotiates purchasing conditions (price, discount, and other things) with vendors. A Purchasing Organization is represented by a client-unique 4-digit alpha-numeric.
A company can have one or more purchasing organizations.
If a company centralizes its purchasing activities, it only needs one purchasing organization. It means that it only has one purchasing condition for a material with a vendor at a certain time.
If a company decentralizes its purchasing activities, it will need more than one purchasing organizations. It means that it can have more than one purchasing conditions for a material with a vendor at a certain time. For example, after negotiating with a vendor, a head quarter purchasing organization buys a material with 100 USD price. That company has a branch at other state/region that is assigned to other purchasing organization. The branch can purchase the same material to the same vendor, for some reasons, with different price e.g. 105 USD.
Facts about Purchasing Organization
A purchasing organization must be assigned to one or more plants.
A purchasing organization can be assigned to one company code.
A purchasing organization can also exist without being assigned to a company code. Since each plant must be assigned to a company code, the company code can be determined via the plant.
One plant can have one or more Purchasing Organizations.
Each purchasing organization has its own info records and conditions for pricing.
Each purchasing organization has its own vendor master data.
Each purchasing organization evaluates its own vendors using MM Vendor Evaluation.
Possible organizational forms of Purchasing Organization in a SAP client:

  • Corporate-group-wide purchasing

A purchasing organization is responsible for the purchasing activities of different company codes. In this case, we do not assign a company code to the purchasing organization. We assign plants from different company codes to the purchasing organization.

  • Company-specific purchasing:

A purchasing organization is responsible for the purchasing activities of just one company code. In this case, we assign a company code to the purchasing organization. The purchasing organization may procure only for this company code. we assign only plants of the company code concerned to the purchasing organization.

  • Plant-specific purchasing:

A purchasing organization is responsible for the purchasing activities of one plant. In this case, we assign the plant and the company code of the plant


SAP MM Configuration,Step 3: Define Storage location

Maintain Storage Location

MMSC - Collective entry of Storage Location for a material.

Insert new or delete un-used Storage Location.

Maintain whether the storage location was included or excluded from MRP run.

Block Storage Location from further posting

1. You can block the storage location of a material without affecting the rest of the location using the same material.
Create a Physical Inventory document for the storage location with transaction MI01

Select the Posting Block checkbox.
This would prevent transactions from occuring until you either post or delete the physical inventory document.
(There are no impact, unless you do a post difference for the physical inventory document.)

2. Another method is to rename the storage location name.

Go to transaction OX09
Edit -> Copy as (copy the original storage location to a new name, replacing the first character e.g. ZXXX)
Edit -> Delete (delete the original storage location)

Do the reverse if you want back the original storage location.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

SAP MM Configuration Step 1: Maintain Plant

Maintain Plant

Plant 0001 is the SAP default.

OX14 - Define Valuation Area (Tick one only- Once your system go live, no more changes)
Most company take the SAP recommended choice - Value Material Stock at Plant level
Value Material Stock at Plant or Company Level

    • If you valuate material stocks at plant level, the plant is the valuation area.
    • If you valuate material stocks at company code level, the company code is the valuation area.
    • The decision you make applies to the whole client.

OX10 - Create / Change / View Plants

OVXB - Create / Change / View Division

OX18 - Assign Plant to company code
e.g. 0001 - 0001 - All Plants
Px1 - Plant Px1
Px2 - Plant Px2
OX19 - Assignment of company code to the Controlling Area

OB38 - Assign company code to Credit Control Area

OMJ7 - Assign business area to Plant/Valuation area and division
e.g. Plant Px1 - Business Area Bx1
Bx2
Assign Valuation area to the Business Area
.e.g. Valuation area Vx1 - Business Area Bx1
Business Area Bx2

OMS0 - Assign Factory Calendar to the Plant and Business Area

The plant plays an important role in the following areas:

  • Material Valuation - If the valuation level is the plant, the material stocks are valuated at plant level. Each plant can have its own material prices and account determination.
  • Inventory Management - The material stocks are managed within a plant.
  • MRP - Material requirements are planned for each plant. Each plant has its own MRP data. Analyses for materials planning can be made across plants.
  • Production - Each plant having they own production/planning.
  • Costing - In costing, valuation prices are defined only within a plant.
  • Plant Maintenance - If a plant performs plant maintenance planning tasks, it is defined as a maintenance planning plant. A maintenance planning plant can also carry out planning tasks for other plants (maintenance plants).

If you want to use the application PP (production planning) or product costing and job-order costing, you must set valuation at plant level.

The valuation level that you choose affects

  • the maintenance of material master records
  • the G/L accounts in which material stocks are managed
  • the G/L accounts to which transactions are posted in Materials Management

Effect on the maintenance of material master records:

Depending on the valuation level chosen,

  • you maintain accounting data in the material master record for each plant or for each company code
  • you define a valuation price for the material in each plant or in each company code

Effect on G/L accounts:

If material stocks are valuated at company code level, all plant stocks of a material are managed in a joint stock account for each company code.
If material stocks are valuated at plant level, you can manage the material stocks for each plant in different accounts. For each plant, you can define a separate determination.
If several plants are to use account determination, you can group these plants in "Valuation and Account Assignment" Customizing.

SAP MM Configuration Step 2: Material Master - Introduction

Material Master - Introduction

The material master is the starting point for the rest of the modules.

What Material Types are there?

The material types that you use are configured in Customizing for the Material Master under

Logistics Master Data : Material Master -> Material -> Control data -> Define material type attributes.

The following list shows you the material types contained, for example, in the standard SAP R/3 System, and what their different roles are:

DIEN (services)
Services are procured externally and cannot be stored. A material master record of this material type can always contain purchasing data.

FERT (finished products)
Finished products are produced by the company itself. Since they cannot be ordered by Purchasing, a material master record of this material type does not contain purchasing data.

FHMI (production resources/tools)
Production resources/tools are procured externally and used in the manufacture of products. A material master record of this material type can contain purchasing data, but no sales data. It is managed on a quantity basis. Examples of production resources/tools are apparatus, equipment, and measuring and testing devices.

HALB (semifinished products)
Semifinished products can be procured externally (sub-contracting) as well as manufactured in-house. They are then processed by the company. A material master record of this material type can contain both purchasing and work scheduling data.

HAWA (trading goods)
Trading goods are always procured externally and then sold. A material master record of this material type can contain purchasing and sales data.

HIBE (operating supplies)
Operating supplies are procured externally and required for the manufacture of other products. A material master record of this material type can contain purchasing data but no sales data.

NLAG (non-stock material)
Non-stock material is material that is not held in stock because it is consumed immediately. (Office supplies such as stationary. You need to create purchase order and accounting document for payment but the stock balance is always zero as it is issued out immediately to the various department.)

ROH (raw materials)
Raw materials are always procured externally and then processed. Since raw materials cannot be sold, a material master record of this material type contains no sales data.

UNBW (non-valuated materials)
Non-valuated materials are managed on a quantity basis, but not by value.

VERP (packaging materials)
Packaging materials are used to transport goods and come with the goods free of charge. A material master record of this material type is managed both on a quantity basis and by value.

WETT (competitive products)
Competitive products have their own material master records created from the Basic Data view. The competitor's number, which is stored in the material master record, assigns the material to a particular competitor.

Maintain the Material Type

OMS2 - Material Type Maintenance - Create/Change/Display

Steps:-

  • transaction OMS2
  • click Change
  • key in the Material Type you want to change e.g. FERT then hit enter

The Views belows allows you to choose the Views for each Material Type.
(Press the Page up/Page Down keys to scroll the views)

If you tried to change from FERT to HAWA in 4.6x, you will receive an error message :-
The material type cannot be changed. This is not allowed if only external procurement is defined for the new material type, or if the new material type has a different account category reference than the old material type.

To overcome it, goto OMS2 and change the HAWA material type.
In the Internal/external purchase orders sections:
Original Changes
Ext. purchase orders 2 1
Int. purchase orders 0 1

Screens in Material Master

  • MM01 - Create, MM02 - Change, MM03 - Display and MM06 - Flag for deletion.
  • MM04 - Display the changes done to the material master.
  • MMAM - Change the Material Type. for e.g. from FERT to HALB

Configure the Material Master Screen MM01 / MM02 / MM03

OMSR - Assign the field to the field group
OMS9 - Maintain the data screen field

Unit of Measure

In the material master, there is a Units of measure button for users to store in the different conversion rate. This sample program (ZUNT) extract the data from the unit of measure conversion table.

In the Material Master the moving average price are affected by:-

  • Goods Receipt for Purchase Orders
  • Transfer from Plant to Plant
  • Invoice Receipt
  • Settlement
  • Price Change

Common configuration changes-

  • define new material group (OMSF)
  • define new valuation class (OMSK) and automatic posting (OBYC)
  • define new material account assignment group (transaction OVK5) and


Customer/Material/Account keys (transaction VKOA)

Block materials from inventory posting

After blocking, when the user do a inventory posting, they will get this error message :-

E: Material xxxxx has status Blocked for procmnt/whse


Monday, May 26, 2008

SAP@MM&SRM

Hello Viewers ,

This is a blog to make you aware of the most recent changes in the SAP Technology,most focused towards the SAP MM and SRM 5.0 learners,the most common issues and their solutions.

Mostly cover the Integration ascpects of R/3 and SRM 5.0,not just related to MM,also towards the SAP HR Module and the Hierarchy maintainance in SRM using Mini HR.
The workflow issues and how to fix them at a single stroke,where to look for the WF Issues and their fixes.