Consumption Based Planning Process in SAP MM

The below SAP Tutorials help to know the consumption based planning procedures in detail. These are used in areas without in-house production and/or in production plants for planning both B- and C-parts and operating supplies. The consumption based planning Includes Recorder Point Planning, Forecast based Planning, and Time Phased Planning,we can discuss below in detail.

Reorder Point Planning

In the reorder point planning procedure, the system compares available warehouse stock with the reorder level. If available stock falls below the reorder level, an order proposal is generated. The reorder level (also known as the reorder point) is made up of the sum of the safety stock plus the expected average material consumption within the replenishment lead time. Therefore, when determining the reorder level, you must take safety stock, previous consumption values or future requirements and the replenishment lead time into account.

Safety stock must be set at a level which covers both excess material consumption within the replenishment lead time and the additional requirements which may occur during delivery delays. You must, therefore, take previous consumption or future requirements, and the vendor’s delivery timeliness or that of production into account when determining the safety stock level.

Forecast Based Planning

Like reorder point planning, forecast-based planning operates using historical values and forecast values as future requirements are determined via the integrated forecasting program. However, in contrast to reorder point planning, these values then form the basis of the planning run in forecast-based planning.

The forecast, which calculates future requirements using historical data, is carried out at regular intervals. This offers the advantage that requirements, which are automatically determined, are continually adapted to suit current consumption needs. If, during the current period, material has already been withdrawn from stock, then the forecast requirement is reduced by the quantity of material that was withdrawn. This mean that the quantity of the forecast requirement that has already been used is not included in the planning run again.

You can specify the period split for the forecast (daily, weekly, monthly or per accounting period) and the number of periods to be included in the forecast individually for each material. It is possible; however, that the forecast period split is not specific enough for planning purposes. Therefore, for each material, you can determine that the MRP forecast requirement values should be divided according to a finer period split. You can also determine how many forecast periods are to be taken into account during requirements planning.

For a monthly forecast, the requirements date would be set on the first workday of the month because, for planning, it is assumed that the total requirement must be available at the beginning of the period. You can then divide this monthly requirement into either daily or weekly requirements.

The requirements quantities forecast by the system are used in the planning run to carry out the net requirements calculation. During this calculation, every period is checked to make sure that the forecast requirements are covered either by available warehouse stock, by planned receipts from purchasing or by production. If the requirements forecast by the system are not met by these above mentioned possibilities, then an order proposal is generated.

Time Phased Planning
If a vendor always delivers a material on a particular day of the week, it makes sense to plan this material according to the same cycle in which it is delivered, but displaced by the delivery time. This is possible with the time-phased planning procedure. If a particular material is to be planned using this procedure, you must set the MRP type for time-phased planning and you must enter the planning cycle in the material master record. You enter the planning cycle in the form of a planning calendar in the Planning cycle field. You must also define a planned delivery time and the Lot-for-lot order quantity as the lot-size key.

You can also use the optimum lot-sizing procedures for time-phased planning. They are used here in the same way as in Reorder Point Planning. Materials that are planned using the time-phased planning technique are provided with an MPR date in the planning file. This date is set when creating a material master record and is re-set after each planning run. It represents the date on which the material is to be planned again and is calculated on the basis of the planning cycle entered in the material master record. For materials that are planned using the time-phased planning procedure, the two indicators, the total change indicator and the net change planning indicator are irrelevant. Therefore, they are not set by the system even if changes that are relevant to the planning run are made.

By using this planning technique, you can set the system so that it only plans materials on specific pre-defined days. For example, if you assign the same planning cycle to all the materials of a particular vendor, the system will always plan these materials on the same day. The purchase requisitions that are created in the planning run to cover material shortages can be processed, per vendor, by the MRP controller in the SAP purchasing system.

If you use the SAP Merchandise Management System, the system proposes the planning cycle from the vendor sub-range when you create a material master record. The vendor sub-range contains all the goods of a particular vendor that, from a logistical view, can be planned similarly.

You can also enter an MRP date during the planning run, meaning that you can bring the planning run forward to an earlier date, if necessary. For example, if the planning run is set for Monday, you can bring it forward to Saturday instead

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What is Difference between Safety stock and Reorder Level in SAP

If a warehouse that stores material has to be ready for delivery at all times, then there has to be a high level of safety stock in this warehouse, as forecasting error cannot always be ruled out. This would also entail a high level of warehousing costs. The level of safety stock depends on the service level you select, on the replenishment lead time and on the accuracy of the forecast.

In order to keep the safety stock and therefore the storage costs as low as possible, the MRP controller usually specifies a service level for each material. From a mathematical point of view, the service level represents an organization’s ability to avoid a shortfall occurring during replenishment lead time. If you opt for a relatively high service level, then the safety stock level calculated by the system will also be high. If you opt for a low service level, then the stock level will also be low.

Safety stock and Reorder Point in SAP

The replenishment lead time refers to the in-house production time for in-house production and the planned delivery time for external procurement. It represents the time between the initiation of a procurement procedure and transferring the material into the warehouse. The replenishment lead time is stored at plant level in the material master record by the MRP controller. Since the probability of a shortfall is higher in a longer period, the safety stock level must also be set higher for long replenishment lead times.

Finally, the safety stock level also depends on the accuracy of the forecast. If the forecast deviates greatly from the actual consumption values, then the safety stock level will also be unusually high.

In addition to the safety stock level, the system recalculates the reorder level for materials which are subject to automatic reorder level adjustment. The reorder level is the sum of the safety stock and the forecast requirement within the replenishment lead time or the overall lead time for materials produced in-house.

The system compares “static” availability during material withdrawal; that is current availability, without taking future requirements into consideration, with the reorder level. In other words, it compares the remaining stock with the reorder level. If remaining stock falls below the level, then the system marks the material for the planning run by making an entry in the planning file. During the next planning run, the system automatically generates a purchase requisition or a planned order for the material.

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Consumption Based Planning Process in SAP MM

The below SAP Tutorials help to know the consumption based planning procedures in detail. These are used in areas without in-house production and/or in production plants for planning both B- and C-parts and operating supplies. The consumption based planning Includes Recorder Point Planning, Forecast based Planning, and Time Phased Planning,we can discuss below in detail.

Reorder Point Planning

In the reorder point planning procedure, the system compares available warehouse stock with the reorder level. If available stock falls below the reorder level, an order proposal is generated. The reorder level (also known as the reorder point) is made up of the sum of the safety stock plus the expected average material consumption within the replenishment lead time. Therefore, when determining the reorder level, you must take safety stock, previous consumption values or future requirements and the replenishment lead time into account.

Safety stock must be set at a level which covers both excess material consumption within the replenishment lead time and the additional requirements which may occur during delivery delays. You must, therefore, take previous consumption or future requirements, and the vendor’s delivery timeliness or that of production into account when determining the safety stock level.

Forecast Based Planning

Like reorder point planning, forecast-based planning operates using historical values and forecast values as future requirements are determined via the integrated forecasting program. However, in contrast to reorder point planning, these values then form the basis of the planning run in forecast-based planning.

The forecast, which calculates future requirements using historical data, is carried out at regular intervals. This offers the advantage that requirements, which are automatically determined, are continually adapted to suit current consumption needs. If, during the current period, material has already been withdrawn from stock, then the forecast requirement is reduced by the quantity of material that was withdrawn. This mean that the quantity of the forecast requirement that has already been used is not included in the planning run again.

You can specify the period split for the forecast (daily, weekly, monthly or per accounting period) and the number of periods to be included in the forecast individually for each material. It is possible; however, that the forecast period split is not specific enough for planning purposes. Therefore, for each material, you can determine that the MRP forecast requirement values should be divided according to a finer period split. You can also determine how many forecast periods are to be taken into account during requirements planning.

For a monthly forecast, the requirements date would be set on the first workday of the month because, for planning, it is assumed that the total requirement must be available at the beginning of the period. You can then divide this monthly requirement into either daily or weekly requirements.

The requirements quantities forecast by the system are used in the planning run to carry out the net requirements calculation. During this calculation, every period is checked to make sure that the forecast requirements are covered either by available warehouse stock, by planned receipts from purchasing or by production. If the requirements forecast by the system are not met by these above mentioned possibilities, then an order proposal is generated.

Time Phased Planning

If a vendor always delivers a material on a particular day of the week, it makes sense to plan this material according to the same cycle in which it is delivered, but displaced by the delivery time. This is possible with the time-phased planning procedure. If a particular material is to be planned using this procedure, you must set the MRP type for time-phased planning and you must enter the planning cycle in the material master record. You enter the planning cycle in the form of a planning calendar in the Planning cycle field. You must also define a planned delivery time and the Lot-for-lot order quantity as the lot-size key.

You can also use the optimum lot-sizing procedures for time-phased planning. They are used here in the same way as in Reorder Point Planning. Materials that are planned using the time-phased planning technique are provided with an MPR date in the planning file. This date is set when creating a material master record and is re-set after each planning run. It represents the date on which the material is to be planned again and is calculated on the basis of the planning cycle entered in the material master record. For materials that are planned using the time-phased planning procedure, the two indicators, the total change indicator and the net change planning indicator are irrelevant. Therefore, they are not set by the system even if changes that are relevant to the planning run are made.

By using this planning technique, you can set the system so that it only plans materials on specific pre-defined days. For example, if you assign the same planning cycle to all the materials of a particular vendor, the system will always plan these materials on the same day. The purchase requisitions that are created in the planning run to cover material shortages can be processed, per vendor, by the MRP controller in the SAP purchasing system.

If you use the SAP Merchandise Management System, the system proposes the planning cycle from the vendor sub-range when you create a material master record. The vendor sub-range contains all the goods of a particular vendor that, from a logistical view, can be planned similarly.

You can also enter an MRP date during the planning run, meaning that you can bring the planning run forward to an earlier date, if necessary. For example, if the planning run is set for Monday, you can bring it forward to Saturday instead

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Master data in SAP MM

What are the different Types of Master data in SAP MM?

The Master data in SAP is used to be base data that can store all the required inform about the transaction. If someone producing, transferring stock, selling, purchasing, doing physical inventory it necessary to maintain some data that includes material master data,vendor master data and purchasing master data.The below post we are going to discuss the information of different types of master data in sap mm.

Material master data, The basic details on materials an enterprise procures externally or produces in-house. The unit of measure and the description of a material are examples of the data stored in a material master record. Other SAP Logistics components also access the material data.

The material master database (often referred to simply as the “material master“, and comprising all the individual material master records stored in the system) contains descriptions of all materials that an enterprise procures, produces, and keeps in stock. It is the central repository of information on materials (such as inventory levels) for the enterprise.

The integration of all material data in a single materials database eliminates the problem of data redundancy and permits the data to be used not only by Purchasing, but by other applications (such as Inventory Management, Materials Planning and Control, Invoice Verification, and so on).

Vendor master data called as Information about external suppliers. The vendor’s name and, the currency the vendor uses, and the vendor number (stored in the SAP system as an account number) are typical vendor data.

The vendor master database contains information about the vendors that supply an enterprise. It consists of a large number of individual vendor master records, each containing the relevant vendor’s name and address as well as data such as:

• The currency used for ordering from the vendor
• Terms of payment
• Names of important contact persons (sales staff)

In Accounting, the vendor represents an account payable, the vendor master record also contains accounting information, such as the relevant control account (reconciliation account) in the general book keeping system.

Therefore, the vendor master record is maintained by both Accounting and Purchasing.

Purchasing master data, such as the following:
Purchasing info record establishes the link between material and vendor, thus facilitating the process of selecting quotations. For example, the info record gives the unit of measure used for ordering from the vendor, and indicates vendor price changes affecting the material over a period of time.

Source list, The source list specifies the possible sources of supply for a material. It shows the time period during which a material may be ordered from a given vendor.

Quota arrangement, specifies which portion of the total requirement of a material over a certain period is to be assigned to particular vendors on the basis of quotas.

This section provides an overview of materials planning and control and shows how the latter affects the purchasing activities in the SAP system.

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Release Procedure for Purchase Requisition in SAP MM

This post describes the release procedure for requisitions in Purchasing. This topic “release” means giving approval, or clearance, to go ahead with the procurement of the materials or services set out in the requisition, and should not be confused with the issuing of orders against longer-term purchase agreements.

The topic discusses how the release (approval) of purchase requisitions is controlled, how you can determine who must release (approve) a purchase requisition, and how a purchase requisition is actually released (approved). In this topic within the Purchasing, there are two procedures for releasing purchase requisitions,

Release procedure 1 (without classification)

Release procedure 2 (with classification)

To Explain Release Procedure 1
 
This procedure serves as a correction and approval procedure for purchase requisitions. Its aim is to check the data on material, quantity, and dates for accuracy and ensure the correctness of the specified account assignment and source of supply. Purchase requisitions are released on an item by item basis.

For example, suppose strategy S1, which is assigned to requisitions with a face value of more than $10,000, requires approvals as shown in the following table.

Release prerequisites in the case of release strategy S1

Release procedure for Purchase Requisition in SAP MM

Strategy –  Release point, Strategy

Prerequisites -S1

1 – Project manager – None

2 – Department manager- None

3 – Cost center manager-  1, 2

4 – Controller- None

5 – CEO-1, 2, 3, 4

In addition, the following release prerequisites apply for release strategy S1:

Release points 1 – 4 must release a requisition before it is released by the CEO (release point 5).

Release point 4 may release at any time, but before release point 5.

After a requisition is released by release points 1 – 3, Purchasing may issue RFQs to potential vendors.

This procedure is only available for purchase requisitions.

What is Release procedure 2

The aim of this procedure is to replace manual written authorization procedures using signatures by an electronic one, while maintaining the dual control principle. The person responsible processes the relevant document in the system, thereby marking it with an “electronic signature” which can give the document legal force. A purchase order contains an item relating to 1,000 pieces of Steel 1 for plant 2.

The material belongs to the material class Metal 05. The item has a value of 15,000 dollars. As soon as the item has been entered, the system passes on the field contents from MM Purchasing to MM Classification in a communication structure. Classification first selects the relevant characteristics and then checks the characteristic values.

For example, let us assume that the Classification System has been set up as follows: System settings for 01-S4 (Group 01, purchase order, strategy S4)

Characteristic – Characteristic value

Plant  1, 2, 3

Material class – Metal 1

Value > $12,000

This means that the characteristics plant, material class, and value of item are relevant for the determination of the release strategy for purchase orders. The system determines the release strategy S4 on the basis of the characteristic values.

This procedure is available not only for purchase requisitions but for all other purchasing documents as well. Release on an item-by-item basis is only possible in the case of requisitions, not in the case of the other purchasing documents.

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Outline agreement in SAP

This post explains general background information on the “outline agreements” (which, outside the SAP System, may also be referred to as blanket, master, framework or umbrella agreements) that are used in the SAP MM Purchasing component. In basic Outline Agreement can be classified with 2 different types. Contract and Scheduling agreements.

Contract is nothing but where you can have contract with the vendor,and this might be predetermined quantity. For example whenever you need the material the you need to make PO reference to this contract and asking for the delivery of the material.

Scheduling agreement is nothing but long term purchase agreement, where you can keep issuing the delivery schedules whenever there is change in requirement or predetermined time intervals. We can classify the delivery schedule on hour or daily or weekly or monthly basis.

An outline agreement is a longer-term arrangement with the vendor regarding the supply of materials or the performance of services according to predetermined terms and conditions. In MM Purchasing, such agreements are subdivided into “contracts”and “scheduling agreements.” Outline agreements may be subject to a release (approval or clearance) procedure.

To Create Contract following the below steps:

Path to create Contract:
Logistics => Materials Management => Purchasing => Outline Agreement => Contract => Create
Transcation Code: ME31L

The Structure of an outline agreement

As in the case of other purchasing documents, an outline agreement consists of the following elements:

Document header:

• It contains information specific to the entire agreement.
• For example: the vendor information and header conditions are in the document header.

Items:

• Items that contain the information specific to the material or service. For example:
• Statistics on ordering activities for the item
• Quantity or price of the item
• Pricing conditions, such as quantity discounts and surcharges

Texts in outline agreements

You can create your own texts from scratch in an agreement or change a text that has been suggested by the system. There are two kinds of agreement text: header text and item text. The texts are further subdivided into text types, for example, shipping and delivery instructions. The text type determines the print sequence on the document printout.

Outline agreement is nothing but long term purchasing agreement with vendor in containing certain terms and conditions regarding the raw material that is supplied by the vendor. Outline agreement which is valid up to certain period of time with some predefined quantity or value.

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SAP ERP: Technosap

SAP ERP is enterprise resource planning software developed by the German company SAP SE. SAP ERP incorporates the key business functions of an organization. The latest version (SAP ERP 6.0) was made available in 2006. The most recent Enhancement Package (EHP7) for SAP ERP 6.0 was released in 2013.

Business Processes included in SAP ERP include Operations (Sales & Distribution, Materials Management, Production Planning, Logistics Execution, and Quality Management), Financials (Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Financial Supply Chain Management) and Human Capital Management (Payroll, e-Recruiting)

Development

SAP ERP was built based on the former SAP R/3 software. SAP R/3 through version 4.6c consisted of various applications on top of SAP Basis, SAP's set of middleware programs and tools. When SAP R/3 Enterprise was launched in 2002, all applications were built on top of the SAP Web Application Server. Extension sets were used to deliver new features and keep the core as stable as possible. The Web Application Server contained all the capabilities of SAP Basis.

As a result of marketing changes and changes in the industry, new versions of SAP have been released. The first edition of mySAP ERP was launched in 2003 and bundled previously separate products, including SAP R/3 Enterprise, SAP Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM) and extension sets. The SAP Web Application Server was wrapped into NetWeaver, which was also introduced in 2003.

A complete architecture change took place with the introduction of mySAP ERP edition in 2004. R/3 Enterprise was replaced with the introduction of ERP Central Component (SAP ECC). The SAP Business Warehouse, SAP Strategic Enterprise Management and Internet Transaction Server were also merged into SAP ECC, allowing users to run them under one instance. Architectural changes were also made to support an enterprise service architecture to transition customers to a services-oriented architecture.

ERP advantages and disadvantages

Advantage

• Allows easier global integration (barriers of currency exchange rates, language, and culture can be bridged automatically)
• Updates only need to be done once to be implemented company-wide
• Provides real-time information, reducing the possibility of redundancy errors
• May create a more efficient work environment for employees
• Vendors have past knowledge and expertise on how to best build and implement a system
• User interface is completely customizable allowing end users to dictate the operational structure of the product

Disadvantages

• Locked into relationship by contract and manageability with vendor - a contract can hold a company to the vendor until it expires and it can be unprofitable to switch vendors if switching costs are too high
• Inflexibility - vendor packages may not fit a company's business model well and customization can be expensive
• Return on Investment may take too long to be profitable
• Implementations have a risk of project failure 

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